Japanese nationalism - A foreign view

The purpose of this paper was to increase understanding of how foreign professionals within the diplomatic sector, working with foreign relations to Japan, feel, perceive and relate to Japanese nationalism. The concept of banal nationalism and semiology was used as a theoretical base for the study, as well as theories of Japanese cultural or racial uniqueness (Nihonjinron). A phenomenological method was used, allowing the informant's own interpretation to be discovered. Interviews were made with foreign relations professionals in Tokyo. The results showed that the informants interpreted the word ?nationalism? to represent the form of behaviour and ideas associated with right-wing groups. The informants views on Japanese society and culture (cultural nationalism) showed them viewing Japan as a hierarchical society with honest individuals; very much influenced by an ?island country mentality?. The informants did not see their decision-making influenced by Japanese nationalism. However, it was uncovered that to some influence were excreted over the informant's decisions via cultural nationalism

Kvinnorna i IS och Al-Qaida: skillnader och likheter

Kvinnans roll har varit och är fortfarande betydande för organisationernas utveckling och framgång, vilket framgår i det resultat vi kommit fram till. Kvinnors roll i IS och Al-Qaida är på många sätt relativt lika eftersom de båda har en traditionell syn på kvinnors roll i samhället. Majoriteten av kvinnorna är därför verksamma inom rekrytering eller som supportrar. IS syn på kvinnor är strikt och håller sig till traditionella könsroller om kvinnan som liten och hjälplös och mannen som beskyddande och macho. Inom Al-Qaida så varierar kvinnors roll beroende på vilken förgrening de tillhör, i Irak och Saudiarabien är det nämligen vanligare med kvinnliga självmordsbombare medan de i Al-Qaidas ledning är tveksamma till att kvinnor deltar aktivt i strider. Genom att titta på vilka huvudargument som använts vid tidigare forskning så har vi gjort en komparativ studie mellan IS och Al-Qaida för att ta reda på vilken roll kvinnan har

Attitudes and Performance: An Analysis of Russian Workers

This paper investigates the relationship between locus of control and performance among Russian employees, using survey data collected at 28 workplaces in 2002 in Taganrog and at 47 workplaces in 2003 in Ekaterinburg. We develop a measure that allows us to categorize the Russian employees participating in our survey as exhibiting an internal or external locus of control. We then assess the extent to which there are significant differences between “internals” and “externals” in work-related attitudes that may affect performance. In particular, we focus on (1) attitudes about outcomes associated with hard work, (2) level of job satisfaction, (3) expectation of receiving a desired reward, and (4) loyalty to and involvement with one’s organization. In each case we identify where gender and generational differences emerge. Our main objective is to determine whether Russian employees who exhibit an internal locus of control perform better than employees with an external locus of control. Our performance measures include earnings, expected promotions, and assessments of the quantity and quality of work in comparison to others at the same organization doing a similar job. Controlling for a variety of worker characteristics, we find that (1) individuals who exhibit an internal locus of control perform better, but this result is not always statistically significant; (2) even among “internals,” women earn significantly less than men and have a much lower expectation of promotion; (3) even among “internals,” experience with unemployment has a negative influence on performance.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40144/3/wp758.pd

How university’s activities support the development of students’ entrepreneurial abilities: case of Slovenia and Croatia

The paper reports how the offered university activities support the development of students’ entrepreneurship abilities. Data were collected from 306 students from Slovenian and 609 students from Croatian universities. The study reduces the gap between theoretical researches about the academic entrepreneurship education and individual empirical studies about the student’s estimation of the offered academic activities for development of their entrepreneurial abilities. The empirical research revealed differences in Slovenian and Croatian students’ perception about (a) needed academic activities and (b) significance of the offered university activities, for the development of their entrepreneurial abilities. Additionally, the results reveal that the impact of students’ gender and study level on their perception about the importance of the offered academic activities is not significant for most of the considered activities. The main practical implication is focused on further improvement of universities’ entrepreneurship education programs through selection and utilization of activities which can fill in the recognized gaps between the students’ needed and the offered academic activities for the development of students’ entrepreneurial abilities

Customer satisfaction and competitiveness in the Chinese E-retailing: structural equation modeling (SEM) approach to identify the role of quality factors

This paper attempts to study the impact of customer satisfaction and the Chinese electronic retailers (E-retailers) competitiveness using quality factors. Two conceptual models based on asset-process-performance (APP) competitive theoretical framework have been proposed. The proposed models include E-retailers strategic factors such as logistics, quality and customer satisfaction equivalent to asset, process and performance entities of the APP framework. Using an empirical survey from a young population, this study, with the support of structural equation modeling (SEM) identifies reliability in service quality and purchasing experience in e-service quality as dominant customer satisfaction factors. This study uses both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and suggests that to be competitive Chinese E-retailers have to focus more on the delivery of products (logistics) compared to other intangible service quality factors. On theoretical front, this study is a novel attempt to validate the APP framework for E-retailers’ competitiveness. On the practical front, the outcome of the study would be highly beneficial to the Chinese E-retailers to fine tune their strategy to satisfy the growing demand. Furthermore, this study can supplement government policy makers to regulate the growing volatile market

Impact of Urban Conditions of Firm Performance of Migrant Entrepreneurs: A Comparative Dutch - US Study

Recent studies on ethnic entrepreneurship have pointed at an increasing share of migrants in urban small- and medium-sized entrepreneurial businesses. These migrant activities are crucial to the urban economy in many countries, as they employ a significant part of the workforce. The main objective of our study is to identify success conditions of ethnic entrepreneurship by using concepts from social capital and human capital from the literature on empirical factors that are responsible for successful ethnic entrepreneurship. The empirical part of the paper is based on a survey questionnaire among migrant entrepreneurs in the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and in Fairfax, County in the state of Virginia in the US. We present an overview of cultural, ethno-psychological and motivational aspects that contribute to the understanding of similarities and differences between ethnic entrepreneurs in both locations. The analysis is structured around several dimensions of social and human capital including personal and business characteristics, and network participation for improving business performance. The findings of the two studies are compared to explore a possible correspondence in business performance patterns. The research tool used to assess performance is Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a technique for comparative efficiency analysis in various types of corporate organizations. Finally, concluding remarks are presented and possible extensions of the analysis are suggested. © Springer-Verlag 2009

Student support a study about dyslexia, help to students with dyslexia and their experience of the help

The aim of this thesis was to describe the services offered to students with dyslexia, and from a service- and quality perspective describe how the consumers of these services experienced the supplied services. Dyslexia refers to certain problems with the written language. With the demand for students in higher education to accumulate much knowledge through reading, this becomes a question of vital importance. A qualitative descriptive approach was used, and a case study was conducted. The case study covered 'Student support' at the University of Borås and how dyslectic students at the university experienced the help from 'Student support'. Interviews with dyslectic students, as well as the coordinator of 'Student support', were carried out. As a theoretical foundation a model for experienced service quality was used. The models main components was related to: people, process and physical quality. The informants of the study experienced a sense of release when diagnosed, as it made earlier school problems understandable, indicating the importance of early diagnosis. The informants experienced their dyslexia to be an obstacle in their studies. Time to read literature was one significant problem. The result indicates the importance of different kind of help for dyslectic students. Help from classmates and family proved to be essential. 'Student support' was seen as vital to be successful in the studies, especially with providing talking books. All informants was not familiar with the help 'Student support' could offer, indicating the importance of information about help offering. The result also indicates the importance of librarians attitude to service and understanding for dyslectic students needs.Uppsatsnivå:

Managers’ handling of the phenomenon of job hopping : A qualitative study on how managers handle job hopping and ensuring the organization’s competence

Bakgrund: Arbetsmarknaden har förändrats och majoriteten av den personalomsättning som sker idag är så kallad frivillig omsättning. Dessa frekventa och frivilliga jobbyten har blivit känt som begreppet job hopping, vilket leder till att chefer måste hantera konsekvenserna av en hög personalomsättning. En hög personalomsättning leder vidare till ämnet kompetensförsörjning, vilket blir en avgörande del för organisationens fortsatta funktion. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur chefer hanterar fenomenet job hopping. Studien kommer att fokusera på att organisationen kan säkerställa att rätt kompetens finns och är konkurrenskraftig. Metod: Studien har tillämpats med en kvalitativ metod där semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts för att besvara frågeställningen. Uppsatsen är byggd utifrån en tematisk analysmetod där citat från respondenterna valdes som koder för att identifiera teman. Genom intervjuerna har sedan empirin sammanställts. Empiri: I empirin presenteras respondenternas svar utifrån de gjorda intervjuerna, där de sammanställs av författarna i form av citat och kortare sammanfattningar. I den avslutande delen av empirin sammanställs en kortare summering av empiriavsnittet. Analys, diskussion och Slutsats: Empirin har sedan bearbetats i uppsatsens analysdikussion där den ställs emot den teoretiska referensramen. Slutsatsen belyser hur cheferna hanterar job hopping samt hur de påverkas eller ej, och leder sedan fram till att besvara frågeställningen. Vidare ges förslag till fortsatt forskning för att ytterligare studera ämnet.Background: The labor market has changed and the majority of personnel turnover that occurs today is so-called voluntary turnover. These frequent and voluntary job changes have become known as the concept of job hopping, resulting in managers having to deal with the consequences of high staff turnover. A high staff turnover leads further to the subject of competence supply, which becomes a decisive part for the continued functioning of the organization. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate how managers handle the phenomenon of job hopping. The study will focus on the organization being able to ensure that the right competence exists and is competitive. Method: The study has been applied with a qualitative method where semi-structured interviews were conducted to answer the question. The essay is based on a thematic analysis method where quotes from the respondents were chosen as codes to identify themes. The empirical evidence has then been compiled through the interviews. Empirics: In the empirics, the respondents' answers are presented based on the interviews conducted, where they are compiled by the authors in the form of quotes and shorter summaries. In the concluding part of the empirical work, a shorter summary of the empirical section is compiled. Analysis discussion and Conclusion: The empirical evidence has then been processed in the essay's analysis discussion, where it is set against the theoretical frame of reference. The conclusion highlights how managers handle job hopping and how they are affected or not, and then leads to answering the question. Furthermore, suggestions are given for further research to further study the subject

Student support a study about dyslexia, help to students with dyslexia and their experience of the help

The aim of this thesis was to describe the services offered to students with dyslexia, and from a service- and quality perspective describe how the consumers of these services experienced the supplied services. Dyslexia refers to certain problems with the written language. With the demand for students in higher education to accumulate much knowledge through reading, this becomes a question of vital importance. A qualitative descriptive approach was used, and a case study was conducted. The case study covered 'Student support' at the University of Borås and how dyslectic students at the university experienced the help from 'Student support'. Interviews with dyslectic students, as well as the coordinator of 'Student support', were carried out. As a theoretical foundation a model for experienced service quality was used. The models main components was related to: people, process and physical quality. The informants of the study experienced a sense of release when diagnosed, as it made earlier school problems understandable, indicating the importance of early diagnosis. The informants experienced their dyslexia to be an obstacle in their studies. Time to read literature was one significant problem. The result indicates the importance of different kind of help for dyslectic students. Help from classmates and family proved to be essential. 'Student support' was seen as vital to be successful in the studies, especially with providing talking books. All informants was not familiar with the help 'Student support' could offer, indicating the importance of information about help offering. The result also indicates the importance of librarians attitude to service and understanding for dyslectic students needs.Uppsatsnivå:

Managers’ handling of the phenomenon of job hopping : A qualitative study on how managers handle job hopping and ensuring the organization’s competence

Bakgrund: Arbetsmarknaden har förändrats och majoriteten av den personalomsättning som sker idag är så kallad frivillig omsättning. Dessa frekventa och frivilliga jobbyten har blivit känt som begreppet job hopping, vilket leder till att chefer måste hantera konsekvenserna av en hög personalomsättning. En hög personalomsättning leder vidare till ämnet kompetensförsörjning, vilket blir en avgörande del för organisationens fortsatta funktion. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur chefer hanterar fenomenet job hopping. Studien kommer att fokusera på att organisationen kan säkerställa att rätt kompetens finns och är konkurrenskraftig. Metod: Studien har tillämpats med en kvalitativ metod där semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts för att besvara frågeställningen. Uppsatsen är byggd utifrån en tematisk analysmetod där citat från respondenterna valdes som koder för att identifiera teman. Genom intervjuerna har sedan empirin sammanställts. Empiri: I empirin presenteras respondenternas svar utifrån de gjorda intervjuerna, där de sammanställs av författarna i form av citat och kortare sammanfattningar. I den avslutande delen av empirin sammanställs en kortare summering av empiriavsnittet. Analys, diskussion och Slutsats: Empirin har sedan bearbetats i uppsatsens analysdikussion där den ställs emot den teoretiska referensramen. Slutsatsen belyser hur cheferna hanterar job hopping samt hur de påverkas eller ej, och leder sedan fram till att besvara frågeställningen. Vidare ges förslag till fortsatt forskning för att ytterligare studera ämnet.Background: The labor market has changed and the majority of personnel turnover that occurs today is so-called voluntary turnover. These frequent and voluntary job changes have become known as the concept of job hopping, resulting in managers having to deal with the consequences of high staff turnover. A high staff turnover leads further to the subject of competence supply, which becomes a decisive part for the continued functioning of the organization. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate how managers handle the phenomenon of job hopping. The study will focus on the organization being able to ensure that the right competence exists and is competitive. Method: The study has been applied with a qualitative method where semi-structured interviews were conducted to answer the question. The essay is based on a thematic analysis method where quotes from the respondents were chosen as codes to identify themes. The empirical evidence has then been compiled through the interviews. Empirics: In the empirics, the respondents' answers are presented based on the interviews conducted, where they are compiled by the authors in the form of quotes and shorter summaries. In the concluding part of the empirical work, a shorter summary of the empirical section is compiled. Analysis discussion and Conclusion: The empirical evidence has then been processed in the essay's analysis discussion, where it is set against the theoretical frame of reference. The conclusion highlights how managers handle job hopping and how they are affected or not, and then leads to answering the question. Furthermore, suggestions are given for further research to further study the subject