Aspekte von Partnerschaften

Die vorliegende Diplomarbeit möge den Anspruch erheben, bestehende Theorien, welche ausschließlich auf heterosexuelle Partnerschaften angewendet wurden, auf Personen, welche in gleichgeschlechtlichen Paarbeziehungen leben, zu prüfen. Die empirische Studie stützte sich auf die Erkenntnisse folgender Theorien: • Trianguläre Theorie der Liebe von Sternberg (1986), • Typologie der Liebesstile nach Lee (1973, 1977), • Fünf Faktoren Persönlichkeitsmodell nach Costa und McCrae (1992), • Bindungstheorie von Bowlby (1976), • Regulatory Mode Theory (Kruglanski et al. 2000). Die in dieser Untersuchung zur Anwendung gebrachten Verfahren sind das Marburger Einstellungsinventar für Liebesstile (MEIL), der Partner¬schaftsfragebogen (PFB), die Triadische Liebesskala nach Sternberg (TLS), das NEO-Persönlichkeitsinventar (NEO-PI-R-Kurzversion), der Bindungs¬fragebogen (BinFB-verkürzte Version) und der Locomotion-Assessment–Fragebogen (L-A-F). Zuzüglich wurden weiterführende Partnerschafts¬komponenten erhoben. Es kamen folgende hypothesentestende Verfahren zur Anwendung: Univariate zweifaktorielle Varianzanalyse, Kruskal-Wallis-Rangvarianzanalyse, Produkt-Moment-Korrelation, Rangkorrelation, Wilcoxon-Vorzeichen-Rang-Test, χ2-Test und U-Test nach Mann & Whitney. Die Untersuchung erfolgte mittels einer Online-Erhebung. Es oblag den beteiligten Personen, ob sie sich selbst als Paar definierten – die Grundlage für eine solche Vorgangsweise war, dass es in Österreich keine rechtliche Grundlage wie bei den heterosexuellen Personen (z.B. Ehe) gibt. Bezüglich der Regluatory Mode Theory (Kruglanski et al. 2000) kann in der homosexuell männlichen Stichprobe ein relatives Höchstmaß in der Dimension Locomotion beobachtet werden. In Assessment unterscheidet sich die heterosexuelle Stichprobe durch eine höhere Ausprägung von den homosexuell weiblichen Personen. Erwähnenswert ist, dass sich in der Verteilung der Bindungsstile eine gewisse Abweichung in allen drei Beziehungsarten zu den üblichen Anteilen zeigt. Es kann jedoch kein Unterschied in den Anteilswerten der unterschiedlichen Bindungsstile in den drei Beziehungsformen beobachtet werden

Retention of Minority Students in a Bridge Program: Student Perceptions on Their Successes and Challenges

This study was an examination of the minority student retention rate in a year-long bridge program. The retention rate of these students is 25%. University administration was concerned about the retention rate and its impact on future enrollment. Using Jack Mezirow\u27s transformative learning as a framework of understanding, the purpose of this study was to identify successes and challenges that minority students experienced in the bridge program and how those experiences affected future decisions on retention. A qualitative case-study design was implemented and 9 of the 140 bridge students were purposefully selected for individual interviews. Data analysis was conducted using open coding procedures with iterative recategorization to identify the themes. Key findings indicated that students found peer mentoring, flexibility in lab schedules, and speakers to be successes. Challenges that students faced included efforts associated with self-regulation and self-efficacy. Based on these findings, a policy recommendation was developed for the local site that suggested developing a mentoring program and continued use of Student Support Services beyond the first year. The results of this study will help university administration make informed and strategic decisions to revise and enhance the bridge program towards a focus upon the improvement of minority student retention. Further, this study promotes social change by serving as a model for other institutions in similar situations and continues the conversation in the literature regarding minority student retention rate

Does The Leader Fit The Place? Examining Leader-Culture Fit And Its Implications For Leader Effectiveness

The present study focused on a relatively new concept, Leader-Culture Fit (L-C Fit), to help bridge the empirical gap that exists between the literatures on leadership and organizational culture. L-C Fit, a subtype of Person-Environment fit, was examined here by testing the complex relationships between perceptions of leaders, perceptions of their cultures, and how the fit between the two relates to leader effectiveness. The present study found that fit (and misfit) between a leader and their culture for perceived leader effectiveness. Specifically, fit is beneficial for perceived leader effectiveness when the leader and the culture are in alignment and are rated highly. Misfit is most beneficial when the leader is perceived to be more capable than the culture they reside in. Further, the hierarchical level of the leader was found to moderate this relationship for one of the traits examined. Implications for the literature around L-C fit and for practitioners are discussed

Loosely-Stabilizing Phase Clocks and The Adaptive Majority Problem

We present a loosely-stabilizing phase clock for population protocols. In the population model we are given a system of n identical agents which interact in a sequence of randomly chosen pairs. Our phase clock is leaderless and it requires O(log n) states. It runs forever and is, at any point of time, in a synchronous state w.h.p. When started in an arbitrary configuration, it recovers rapidly and enters a synchronous configuration within O(n log n) interactions w.h.p. Once the clock is synchronized, it stays in a synchronous configuration for at least poly(n) parallel time w.h.p. We use our clock to design a loosely-stabilizing protocol that solves the adaptive variant of the majority problem. We assume that the agents have either opinion A or B or they are undecided and agents can change their opinion at a rate of 1/n. The goal is to keep track which of the two opinions is (momentarily) the majority. We show that if the majority has a support of at least ?(log n) agents and a sufficiently large bias is present, then the protocol converges to a correct output within O(n log n) interactions and stays in a correct configuration for poly(n) interactions, w.h.p

Believing without contributing? Developing a theoretical model for the system of church financing of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany

This thesis analyses the financing system of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany (RCCiG) from both, a church membership- and financial-viewpoint. The RCCiG invites laymen with expertise in secular aspects of ecclesiastical being to contribute to an ideal system of church financing (Gemeinsame Synode, 1977, p. 213). Additionally, public interest in church financing has increased recently. Uhle (2015, pp. 5-6) explains this based on three recent incidents: (i) the debate on the Staatsleistungen, i.e. payments by the state based on historical titles, (ii) the Causa Limburg, where the Bishop of Limburg created a financial scandal while renovating his residence, and (iii) the modification of the church tax on capital gains. This study is relevant for both, ecclesiastical practice and academic theory. Practically, the problem is that church financing is embedded into an ever-changing environment that is challenged by the powers of secularisation. Hence, the continuation of church disaffiliations implies shrinking church tax revenues, which are the primary source of the income as only church members pay church taxes. This implies uncertainty about the size of the ecclesiastical budget which is necessary to secure pastoral care in 10,280 parishes for 23.6m Catholics and to remunerate 180,000 direct employees of the RCCiG (Deutsche Bischofskonferenz, 2017d, pp. 7-41). Theoretically, a financial analysis of church financing in Germany is missing, and there is an identified gap in the literature. Thereby this hermeneutic systematic research adopts academic and non-academic documents within a non-reactive data gathering method and it abstains from interviews because relevant church representatives are reluctant to engage into empirical inquiries. However, the author’s presentation of a paper based on this thesis at a conference in June 2018 encouraged this approach and revealed the interest in the outcomes of this study. Thus, by using a Husserlian understanding of phenomenological reduction the study covers the legal and socio-economic external environment of, as well as church-internal preconditions for church financing. Thereby, the thesis entails elements from autoethnography to facilitate interpretation based on (1) the researcher’s stance to the Church, i.e. being a church member and a former church employee, and (2) the researcher’s academic and professional background, i.e. finance. This position is summarised as an auto-ethnographic hermeneutic systematic investigation. The outcome of this research is a new theoretical model of the financing system of the RCCiG and it systematically captures all church financing instruments and puts them into relationships with ecclesiastical benefits

A Study of the Hierarchical Culture Gaps Within Unionized Utilities Companies

The purpose of this study was to measure the culture gaps between hierarchical subgroups within unionized utilities companies. We conducted a mixed methods study. Using archival survey data, we compared hierarchically-defined subgroups’ perceptions of performance-linked culture traits within five unionized utilities companies. We later conducted interviews and focus groups, followed by qualitative coding and analysis. As compared to non-union employees, union employees viewed their companies as substantially less involving, consistent, adaptable, and clear about purpose and direction. Our qualitative analysis highlighted two prior management decisions as illustrative of the contrast between high and low levels of union involvement and clarity. Culture scholars and practitioners have suggested that leaders must align subcultures where they exist. Our study demonstrates large culture gaps between union employees and other subgroups and suggests that management’s involvement of the workforce in strategic decisions may have unique consequences for how subgroups perceive and interpret the culture