Validation of the Mental Illness Sexual Stigma Questionnaire (MISS-Q) in a sample of Brazilian adults in psychiatric care

Objective: We evaluated the psychometric properties of a new instrument "Mental Illness Sexual Stigma Questionnaire" (MISS-Q). Methods: We interviewed 641 sexually active adults (ages 18-80) attending public outpatient psychiatric clinics in Rio de Janeiro about their stigma experiences. Results: Nine factors were extracted through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and labeled: 'individual discrimination by others'; 'staff willingness to talk about sexuality'; 'staff and family prohibitions'; 'sexual devaluation of self'; 'perceived attractiveness'; 'mental illness concealment'; 'perceived sexual role competence'; 'withdrawal'; and 'locus of social-sexual control'. 'Withdrawal' and 'locus of social-sexual control' showed poor psychometric properties and were excluded from further analysis. The remaining seven factors had high factorial loadings (.39 to .86), varying from sufficient to optimal reliability (Ordinal α ranged from .57 to .88), and good convergent and discriminant validity. Conclusions: The resulting MISS-Q is the first instrument assessing mental illness sexual stigma with demonstrated psychometric properties. It may prove useful in reducing stigma, protecting sexual health, and promoting recovery. Keywords: Stigma; psychometric assessment; severe mental illness; sexual and romantic relationships

Modelo para avaliação de relações dimensionais na criação de conhecimento organizacional

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia e Gestão do Conhecimento, Florianópolis, 2016.A complexidade organizacional tem sido analisada com base em diferentes aspectos que afetam o ambiente interno das organizações, tais como, tecnologias, múltiplas relações com parceiros internos e externos, adaptação por diferenças culturais, aprendizagem e compartilhamento de conhecimento. Dessa forma, as organizações podem ser consideradas como sistemas complexos de incertezas e interações. Sob este aspecto, esta pesquisa visa propor um modelo para avaliação de relações dimensionais na criação de conhecimento organizacional. Para tanto, buscou-se por meio de uma revisão sistemática da literatura, quais dimensões organizacionais estão relacionadas e contribuem na criação de conhecimento. As dimensões identificadas na literatura foram: Cultura Organizacional (CO), Aprendizagem Organizacional (AO), Cognição Organizacional (CgO), Capital Intelectual (CI), Processos e Rotinas (PR), Espaço Tempo Organizacional (ET), Fluxo de Comunicação (FC), Epistemológica (Ept), Ontológica (Ont), Capacidade de Absorção (CA) e Axiológica (Axl). O modelo foi desenvolvido levando em consideração a arquitetura do principal símbolo kabbalístico - a Árvore Sefirótica. Esse símbolo é composto por dez sefiroth e uma não sefirha (DA?AT) com o qual procura representar o cosmo em toda a sua complexidade. O agrupamento de algumas sefiroth na estrutura sefirótica representa três estágios distintos na criação de conhecimento ? o cognitivo, o emocional e o comportamental/ação. Esse sistema holístico e complexo pode ser comparado a um sistema organizacional, e o modelo proposto intenciona uma representação estrutural de dimensões organizacionais que podem expressar a complexidade organizacional na criação de conhecimento de forma holística. Compõe o modelo um instrumento avaliativo, validado por especialistas (doutores com ampla visão de negócio em empresas intensivas em conhecimento), que possibilitou a construção de uma escala de métricas dimensionais. O instrumento foi aplicado em cinco empresas de core business distintos para investigar o grau da capacidade de criação de conhecimento organizacional. Para tratamento e análise dos dados foram aplicados os conceitos da Lógica Fuzzy que proporciona tratamento matemático de incertezas da vida, do pensamento humano e de ambientes complexos. Os resultados mostraram que, para cada empresa, a criação de conhecimento organizacional se comporta de forma única revelando em qual nível (cognitivo, emocional e comportamental) de conhecimento a empresa expressa maior capacidade criativa. Esta capacidade de criação de conhecimento organizacional é uma representação do fluxo de energia que interconecta toda a arquitetura holística do símbolo kabbbalístico.Abstract : Organizational complexity has been analyzed based on different aspcts that affect the internal environment of organizations, such as, technologies, multiple relationships with internal and external partners, adaptation for cultural differences, learning and knowledge sharing. In this way, organizations can be considered as complex systems of uncertainties and interactions. In this aspect, this research aims to propose a model for evaluating dimensional relationship in the creation of organizational knowledge. In order to do so, it sought through a systematic literature review, which organizational dimensions are related and contribute to the knowledge creation. The dimensions identified in the literature were: Organizational Culture (OC), Organizational Learning (OL), Organizational Cognition (OCg), Intellectual Capital (IC), Processes and Routines (PR), Organizational Space-Time (ST), Communication Flow (CF), Epistemological (Ept), Ontological (Ont), Absorption Capacity (AC) and Axiological (Axl). The model was developed taking into account the architecture of the main Kabbalistic symbol - the Sephirotic Tree. This symbol is composed of ten sefiroth and one non-sefirha (DA'AT) with which it seeks to represent the cosmos in all its complexity. The grouping of some sefiroth into the sefirotic structure represents three distinct stages in the knowledge creation - cognitive, emotional and behavioral/action. This holistic and complex system can be compared to an organizational system, and the proposed model intends a structural representation of organizational dimensions that can express organizational complexity knowledge creating in a holistic way.The model is compose of an evaluation instrument, validated by specialists (doctors with a broad business vision in knowledge intensive companies), which enabled the construction of the scale of dimensional metrics was constructed. The instrument was applied to five distinct core business companies to investigate the degree of organizational knowledge creation capacity. For the treatment and analysis of the data was applied the concepts of Fuzzy Logic that provides mathematical treatment of uncertainties of human life, human thought and complex environments. The results showed that, for each company, the creation of organizational knowledge behaves in a unique way revealing at what level (cognitive, emotional and behavioral) the company expresses greater creative capacity. This ability to create organizational knowledge is a representation of the flow of energy that interconnects all holistic architecture of the Kabbalistic symbol

Self-organizing, social and adaptive nature of agile information systems development teams : essays on leadership and learning

Information Systems Development (ISD) keeps changing and evolving rapidly in a huge variety of aspects, including the technologies that are developed, the methods that are applied, and the structures in which it is organized (Avison & Fitzgerald, 2006). Noticing the need for further understanding of adaptive outcomes such as learning and leadership in agile ISD teams, this research is divided into different phases. The first phase was the review of the literature on learning in the Information Systems literature within IS development teams. Findings from the systematic literature review are reported in Paper 1, entitled “Team Learning in Information Systems Development: A Literature Review”. The last phase includes a comprehensive case study through which Paper 2, entitled “Self-Organization and Leadership in Agile Teams: A Complexity Leadership Approach”, and Paper 3, entitled “Social Capital and Adaptive Outcomes in Agile Information Systems Development Teams”, are derived

Analytical Quality Control in Shipping Operation Using Six Sigma Principles

A large number of benefits achieved through the successful implementation of Six Sigma programmes in different industries have been documented. However, very little research has been conducted on their applications in the shipping sector, especially in the Onshore Service Functions (OSFs) of shipping companies. Literature shows that heavy human involvement in the service industries such as shipping leads to a high volume of uncertainties which are difficult to be correctly and effectively measured or managed by simply using the traditional data analysis and statistical methods in Six Sigma. The aim of this study is to develop new quantitative analytical methodologies to enable the application and implementation of Six Sigma to improve the service quality of OSFs in shipping companies. Intensive investigations on the feasibility and effectiveness of the developed new methods and models through case studies in world leading container ship lines and shipping management companies have been carried out to ensure the achievement of the aim.This study firstly reviews the evolvement of quality control and some typical methods in the area, the development of Six Sigma, its tools and current applications, especially in the service industries. It is followed by a new framework of the Six Sigma implementation in the OSFs of shipping companies which is supported by a few real process excellence projects carried out in a world-leading ship line. In the process of the framework development, various issues and challenges appear largely due to the existence of uncertainties in data such as ambiguity and incompleteness caused by extensive subjective judgements. Advanced methods and models are developed to tackle the above challenges as well as complement the traditional Six Sigma tools so that the new Six Sigma methodologies can be confidently applied in situations where uncertainties in data exist at different levels.A new fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution ii(TOPSIS) method is developed by combining the traditional TOPSIS, fuzzy numbers and interval approximation sets to facilitate the effective selection of Six Sigma projects and achieve the optimal use of resources towards the company objectives. A revised Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) model is proposed in the “Analyse” step in Six Sigma to improve the capability of classical FMEA in failure identification in service industries. The new FMEA model uses the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Bayesian Reasoning (FBR) approaches to increase the accuracy of failure identification while not compromising the easiness and visibility of the Risk Priority Number (RPN) method. Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Analytical Network Process (ANP) methods are incorporated with Fuzzy logic and Evidential Reasoning (ER), for the very first time to generate a Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) management method where the weights of indicators are rationally assigned by considering the interdependency among the indicators. Incomplete and fuzzy evaluations of the KPIs are synthesised in a rational way to achieve a compatible and comparable result.It is concluded that the newly developed Six Sigma framework together with its supporting quantitative analytical models has made significant contribution to facilitate the quality control and process improvement in shipping companies. It has been strongly evidenced by the success of the applications of the new models in real cases. The financial gains and continuous benefits produced in the investigated shipping companies have attracted a wider range of interests from different service industries. It is therefore believed that this work will have a high potential to be tailored for a wide range of applications across sectors and industries when the uncertainties in data exceed the ability that the classical Six Sigma tools and methods possess

A knowledge-based view of process improvement: a mixed methods study into the role of social networks and knowledge acquisition

The goal of this dissertation is to motivate a Knowledge-Based View of Process Improvement. In doing so, it advocates that acquiring and exploiting knowledge is the key to achieving and sustaining competitive advantage. The heightened competitive landscape firms now operate in, is not only driving the need for process improvement in order for firms to stay competitive, but also the need to acquire knowledge from external sources as firms may no longer have the luxury of developing solely from internally generated ideas. With the understanding that knowledge resides in and is created by individuals, and in line with broader trends towards more micro-views of the firm, the research looks at process improvement and knowledge acquisition at the individual level. Based on a mixed methods design, founded on a comprehensive review of the knowledge-based view, process improvement, and social network literatures, eight case interviews were first employed. This qualitative work identified Absorptive Capacity, and notably Zahra and George’s (2002) interpretation, as the key underlying theory to this investigation. Furthermore, it identified three major dyads that govern the acquisition of knowledge: affective vs. competence-based trust; costs of searching vs. motivations for sharing; and individual attributes vs. firm culture. This conceptual framework was then empirically tested with a sample of 200 respondents. To analyse the quantitative data, the variance-based structural equation modelling approach of Partial Least Squares (PLS) was used in conjunction with three advanced techniques: higher-order formative measurement analysis, interaction analysis, and multigroup analysis. The resulting contributions to knowledge are five-fold. Firstly and arguably the largest contribution, the research identifies and empirically verifies the “social integration mechanisms”, the factors that convert potential absorptive capacity (PAC) to realised absorptive capacity (RAC) in Zahra and George’s (2002) conceptualisation of Absorptive Capacity. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is one of the first empirical studies to do this and thus makes a significant contribution to this theory. Secondly, it empirically demonstrates the existence of three dimensions to our knowledge stocks: individually-held knowledge, network-based knowledge from strong ties, and network-based knowledge from weak ties. In doing so, it empirically illustrates the strength of weak ties hypothesis by Granovetter (1973) in addition to providing insight into the antecedents of Absorptive Capacity. Thirdly, following the trend towards the more micro- foundation view, this research contributes to the discourse on the individual-level view of Absorptive Capacity (iCAP). Fourthly, it extends the knowledge-based view of process improvement by beginning to fill the dearth of literature on the exploratory and socially embedded aspects of knowledge acquisition. In addition, it endorses Absorptive Capacity as a useful theoretical lens by which to view this perspective. Finally, the outcomes of process improvement, and thus the outcomes of knowledge acquisition, are contextualised as cognitive and behavioural changes, which are in high contrast to the more traditional tangible outcomes such as number of new products, or physical improvements in products such as quality or cost

A knowledge-based view of process improvement: a mixed methods study into the role of social networks and knowledge acquisition

The goal of this dissertation is to motivate a Knowledge-Based View of Process Improvement. In doing so, it advocates that acquiring and exploiting knowledge is the key to achieving and sustaining competitive advantage. The heightened competitive landscape firms now operate in, is not only driving the need for process improvement in order for firms to stay competitive, but also the need to acquire knowledge from external sources as firms may no longer have the luxury of developing solely from internally generated ideas. With the understanding that knowledge resides in and is created by individuals, and in line with broader trends towards more micro-views of the firm, the research looks at process improvement and knowledge acquisition at the individual level. Based on a mixed methods design, founded on a comprehensive review of the knowledge-based view, process improvement, and social network literatures, eight case interviews were first employed. This qualitative work identified Absorptive Capacity, and notably Zahra and George’s (2002) interpretation, as the key underlying theory to this investigation. Furthermore, it identified three major dyads that govern the acquisition of knowledge: affective vs. competence-based trust; costs of searching vs. motivations for sharing; and individual attributes vs. firm culture. This conceptual framework was then empirically tested with a sample of 200 respondents. To analyse the quantitative data, the variance-based structural equation modelling approach of Partial Least Squares (PLS) was used in conjunction with three advanced techniques: higher-order formative measurement analysis, interaction analysis, and multigroup analysis. The resulting contributions to knowledge are five-fold. Firstly and arguably the largest contribution, the research identifies and empirically verifies the “social integration mechanisms”, the factors that convert potential absorptive capacity (PAC) to realised absorptive capacity (RAC) in Zahra and George’s (2002) conceptualisation of Absorptive Capacity. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is one of the first empirical studies to do this and thus makes a significant contribution to this theory. Secondly, it empirically demonstrates the existence of three dimensions to our knowledge stocks: individually-held knowledge, network-based knowledge from strong ties, and network-based knowledge from weak ties. In doing so, it empirically illustrates the strength of weak ties hypothesis by Granovetter (1973) in addition to providing insight into the antecedents of Absorptive Capacity. Thirdly, following the trend towards the more micro- foundation view, this research contributes to the discourse on the individual-level view of Absorptive Capacity (iCAP). Fourthly, it extends the knowledge-based view of process improvement by beginning to fill the dearth of literature on the exploratory and socially embedded aspects of knowledge acquisition. In addition, it endorses Absorptive Capacity as a useful theoretical lens by which to view this perspective. Finally, the outcomes of process improvement, and thus the outcomes of knowledge acquisition, are contextualised as cognitive and behavioural changes, which are in high contrast to the more traditional tangible outcomes such as number of new products, or physical improvements in products such as quality or cost