Management, structuur en cultuur : over het gebruik van organisatietheorieën in Breda

This book deals with organizational change in two different ways. One way is the historical description of several attempts to implement organizational change in one particular organization. That organization is the local civil service of Breda, a city in the southern part of the Netherlands with a history that goes back to the thirteenth century. This book covers the period of about thirty years from 1965 until 1996. In this period Breda had between 120.000 and 130.000 inhabitants and the civil service varied between 1200 and 1800 employees. The historical description focuses not only on the changes as such but also on the situation that existed when the attempts to change were undertaken (the environmental conditions). Main goal in this part of the study is to create a basis for an answer to the question: What factors or conditions were decisive for the claimed success of the changes that took place in 1992, where similar attempts at earlier dates seemed to have failed?The other way to treat organizational change in this study is induced by the question: Which organization theory or theories were used in the reorganizations described in the historical part? In order to obtain an answer to this question it was necessary to go into the character of organizations theory - which is thought to be a body of knowledge - and into the relevancy of organizations theory for practical use - which is thought to be small. A theoretical model for research is proposed in part 2. This model is based upon three major assumptions.guidelines and directions derived from organizations theory are insufficient to support organizational change in practice. This causes "changers" (those who initiate the desired change) to develop their own, "private" organization theory. An important part of this study is concerned with the reconstruction of those private theories.the private theories of changers are expressed one way or another in the documents used to realise the desired organizational change. In the addendum to this study quotes from the documents used are translated into "central concepts" of the changers. These central concepts are considered to be the framework of the private organization theories.organizational change is realised on one or more of three organizational dimensions: management, structure and culture. These dimensions are influenced strongly by environmental factors. Technologic possibilities available, the actual economic situation, prevailing social values and political and governmental conditions are considered to be the most important environmental conditions.The last section of part 2 (chapter 6) gives a short analysis of the specific character of Dutch local government and public service. In the local civil service the position of the town clerk in most cities has evolved to that of city manager in the period considered.The historical account in part 3 is subdivided into 5 chapters, the first being a short and global sketch of the history of the Netherlands since World War II in order to give a general background for the developments in Breda. Each of the other four give a description of one of the successive attempts to reorganize the civil service of Breda. In these chapters attention is also given to several problems of local policy that filled, for the most part, the political agenda.In part 4, the model developed in part 2 is applied on documents used to realise the desired changes described in part 3. The private theories for each period are reconstructed and compared to the general organization theory existing at the time. An important aspect of this analysis is that private and general organization theory and the desired and realised organization are described in terms of the three dimensions (management, structure and culture) of the proposed referential model in part 2. Each chapter of part 4 closes with a summary of conclusions with respect to that period.General conclusions derived from the whole study and a few suggestions for further research are gathered in part 5. The most important conclusions can be presented in the following statements.Writers on organizations agree to a large extent on the fact that environmental conditions have a bearing on the structure and functioning of organizations. Many of them even agree on the fact that organizations theories are influenced by the economic and social forces of their time. Nevertheless proposed organization theories hardly ever try to specify the situation in which they are developed.An explanation for this lack of attention may be found in the emphasis on comparative analysis of organizational research. In comparing organizations in a specific historical period, technological economic, social and political conditions can be viewed as the same for all organizations at the time. In that case those environmental conditions have no bearing on the results of the research and need not be made explicit.Organizational change can be considered as change on the three dimensions: management, structure and culture. In the case observed in this study the same set of rather simple rules was used for creating change in each of the four successive periods on the dimensions management: (replace sitting managers) and structure (enhance line-staff relations, put together what belongs together; though criteria to do this differ from period to period; and decrease span of control).The most important motive to introduce large scale changes in the case observed, therefore, seems to be the need to change organizational culture. In the case considered, the organization started with a power oriented culture. The first attempt on change tried to implement a role oriented culture but failed for the most part as a result of the existing power structure.The second attempt was accompanied by the wave of democratization of the late sixties and early seventies which undermined the power structure in the organization. The rather low pressure on reinforcing role relations, except for those belonging to project management, caused a major shift towards a task culture in which hardly anybody seemed to have authority. In this situation project management played a major role.In the third attempt, under pressure of the economic recession, legitimate authority, the political power of mayor and aldermen, reinforced a strong role culture. As a result of this change the existing structural elements of project management were practically eliminated. The position of the chief executive level (the town clerk) was weak.In the fourth attempt power shifted from the political to the chief executive level. This shift was enabled by the weak political position of mayor and aldermen and the authority bestowed on the town clerk.</p

Detection of visual field defects using Eye Movement Pediatric Perimetry in children with intracranial lesions:feasibility and applicability

The study aimed at evaluating the feasibility of Eye Movement Pediatric Perimetry (EMPP) among children in detecting Visual Field Defects (VFDs) associated with Intracranial Lesions (IL). Healthy controls (n = 35) and patients diagnosed with IL (n = 19) underwent a comprehensive clinical evaluation followed by a Goldmann Visual Field (GVF) and a customised EMPP protocol. During EMPP, all the participants were encouraged to fixate on a central target and initiate Saccadic Eye Movement (SEM) responses towards randomly appearing peripheral stimuli. The SEM responses were recorded using an eye-tracking device and further inspected to calculate Performance Scores (PS), Saccadic Reaction Times (SRTs), and an EMPP Index (EMPI). The mean age (years) of the controls and cases were 7.3 (SD: 1.5) and 9.4 (SD: 2.4) respectively. Among the controls, the older children (≥7 years) showed statistically significantly faster SRTs (p = 0.008) compared to the younger group. The binocular EMPP measurements compared between the controls and the cases revealed no statistically significant differences in PS (p = 0.34) and SRT (p = 0.51). EMPP failed in 4 children because of data loss or unacceptably poor PS whereas GVF failed in 7 children due to unreliable subjective responses. Of the 16 reports, with regard to the central 30-degree VF, 63% of the outputs obtained from both methods were comparable. EMPP is a reliable method to estimate and characterise the central 30-degree VF in greater detail in children with IL. EMPP can supplement the conventional methods, especially in those children who fail to complete a long duration GVF test

The impact of computer use on myopia development in childhood

Environmental factors are important in the development of myopia. There is still limited evidence as to whether computer use is a risk factor. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between computer use and myopia in the context of other near work activities. Within the birth cohort study Generation R, we studied 5074 children born in Rotterdam between 2002 and 2006. Refractive error and axial length was measured at ages 6 and 9. Information on computer use and outdoor exposure was obtained at age 3, 6 and 9 years using a questionnaire, and reading time and reading distance were assessed at age 9 years. Myopia prevalence (spherical equivalent ≤–0.5 dioptre) was 11.5% at 9 years. Mean computer use was associated with myopia at age 9 (OR = 1.005, 95% CI = 1.001–1.009), as was reading time and reading distance (OR = 1.031; 95% CI = 1.007–1.055 (5–10 h/wk); OR = 1.113; 95% CI = 1.073–1.155 (>10 h/wk) and OR = 1.072; 95% CI = 1.048–1.097 respectively). The combined effect of near work (computer use, reading time and reading distance) showed an increased odds ratio for myopia at age 9 (OR = 1.072; 95% CI = 1.047–1.098), while outdoor exposure showed a decreased odds ratio (OR = 0.996; 95% CI = 0.994–0.999) and the interaction term was significant (P = 0.036). From our results, we can conclude that within our sample of children, increased computer use is associated with myopia development. The effect of combined near work was decreased by outdoor exposure. The risks of digital devices on myopia and the protection by outdoor exposure should become widely known. Public campaigns are warranted

A Tentative Modeling Study of the Effect of Wall Reactions on Oxidation Phenomena

This paper gives details of a tentative modeling study that investigates the inhibiting effect of internal reactor walls treated with acid..

Eye Size and Shape in Relation to Refractive Error in Children:A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the association between eye shape and volume measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and optical biometry and with spherical equivalent (SE) in children. Methods: For this study, there were 3637 10-year-old children from a population-based birth-cohort study that underwent optical biometry (IOL-master 500) and T2-weighted MRI scanning (height, width, and volume). Cycloplegic refractive error was determined by automated refraction. The MRI images of the eyes were segmented using an automated algorithm combining atlas registration with voxel classification. Associations among optical biometry, anthropometry, MRI measurements, and RE were tested using Pearson correlation. Differences between refractive error groups were tested using ANOVA. Results: The mean volume of the posterior segment was 6350 (±680) mm3. Myopic eyes (SE ≤ -0.5 diopters [D]) had 470 mm3 (P &lt; 0.001) and 970 mm3 (P &lt; 0.001) larger posterior segment volume than emmetropic and hyperopic eyes (SE ≥ +2.0D), respectively. The majority of eyes (77.1%) had an oblate shape, but 47.4% of myopic eyes had a prolate shape versus 3.9% of hyperopic eyes. The correlation between SE and MRI-derived posterior segment length (r -0.51, P &lt; 0.001) was stronger than the correlation with height (r -0.30, P &lt; 0.001) or width of the eye (r -0.10, P &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: In this study, eye shape at 10 years of age was predominantly oblate, even in eyes with myopia. Of all MRI measurements, posterior segment length was most prominently associated with SE. Whether eye shape predicts future myopia development or progression should be investigated in longitudinal studies.</p

Eye Size and Shape in Relation to Refractive Error in Children:A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the association between eye shape and volume measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and optical biometry and with spherical equivalent (SE) in children. Methods: For this study, there were 3637 10-year-old children from a population-based birth-cohort study that underwent optical biometry (IOL-master 500) and T2-weighted MRI scanning (height, width, and volume). Cycloplegic refractive error was determined by automated refraction. The MRI images of the eyes were segmented using an automated algorithm combining atlas registration with voxel classification. Associations among optical biometry, anthropometry, MRI measurements, and RE were tested using Pearson correlation. Differences between refractive error groups were tested using ANOVA. Results: The mean volume of the posterior segment was 6350 (±680) mm3. Myopic eyes (SE ≤ -0.5 diopters [D]) had 470 mm3 (P &lt; 0.001) and 970 mm3 (P &lt; 0.001) larger posterior segment volume than emmetropic and hyperopic eyes (SE ≥ +2.0D), respectively. The majority of eyes (77.1%) had an oblate shape, but 47.4% of myopic eyes had a prolate shape versus 3.9% of hyperopic eyes. The correlation between SE and MRI-derived posterior segment length (r -0.51, P &lt; 0.001) was stronger than the correlation with height (r -0.30, P &lt; 0.001) or width of the eye (r -0.10, P &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: In this study, eye shape at 10 years of age was predominantly oblate, even in eyes with myopia. Of all MRI measurements, posterior segment length was most prominently associated with SE. Whether eye shape predicts future myopia development or progression should be investigated in longitudinal studies.</p

Axial length growth and the risk of developing myopia in European children

PURPOSE: To generate percentile curves of axial length (AL) for European children, which can be used to estimate the risk of myopia in adulthood. METHODS: A total of 12 386 participants from the population-based studies Generation R (Dutch children measured at both 6 and 9 years of age; N = 6934), the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) (British children 15 years of age; N = 2495) and the Rotterdam Study III (RS-III) (Dutch adults 57 years of age; N = 2957) contributed to this study. Axial length (AL) and corneal curvature data were available for all participants; objective cycloplegic refractive error was available only for the Dutch participants. We calculated a percentile score for each Dutch child at 6 and 9 years of age. RESULTS: Mean (SD) AL was 22.36 (0.75) mm at 6 years, 23.10 (0.84) mm at 9 years, 23.41 (0.86) mm at 15 years and 23.67 (1.26) at adulthood. Axial length (AL) differences after the age of 15 occurred only in the upper 50%, with the highest difference within the 95th percentile and above. A total of 354 children showed accelerated axial growth and increased by more than 10 percentiles from age 6 to 9 years; 162 of these children (45.8%) were myopic at 9 years of age, compared to 4.8% (85/1781) for the children whose AL did not increase by more than 10 percentiles. CONCLUSION: This study provides normative values for AL that can be used to monitor eye growth in European children. These results can help clinicians detect excessive eye growth at an early age, thereby facilitating decision-making with respect to interventions for preventing and/or controlling myopia

IMI-Onset and Progression of Myopia in Young Adults

Myopia typically starts and progresses during childhood, but onset and progression can occur during adulthood. The goals of this review are to summarize published data on myopia onset and progression in young adults, aged 18 to 40 years, to characterize myopia in this age group, to assess what is currently known, and to highlight the gaps in the current understanding. Specifically, the peer-reviewed literature was reviewed to: characterize the timeline and age of stabilization of juvenile-onset myopia; estimate the frequency of adult-onset myopia; evaluate the rate of myopia progression in adults, regardless of age of onset, both during the college years and later; describe the rate of axial elongation in myopic adults; identify risk factors for adult onset and progression; report myopia progression and axial elongation in adults who have undergone refractive surgery; and discuss myopia management and research study design. Adult-onset myopia is common, representing a third or more of all myopia in western populations, but less in East Asia, where onset during childhood is high. Clinically meaningful myopia progression continues in early adulthood and may average 1.00 diopters (D) between 20 and 30 years. Higher levels of myopia are associated with greater absolute risk of myopia-related ocular disease and visual impairment, and thus myopia in this age group requires ongoing management. Modalities established for myopia control in children would be options for adults, but it is difficult to predict their efficacy. The feasibility of studies of myopia control in adults is limited by the long duration required.</p