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Increasing Profitability Of Small Scale Cocoa Farmers Through Optimizing Replacement Rate, Mahrizal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study is to empirically estimate the optimum annual replacement rate and age of replacement of cocoa trees in order to maximize the net present value of four production practices over time. The study examines the costs and returns of four common cocoa production systems in Ghana associated with changes in cocoa prices, fertilizer prices, inflation rates, and labor prices. While this study focuses on cocoa, the method is applicable to any tree crop industry. This study uses empirical yield curves and cost of production data from Ghana to determine when and what percentage of a cocoa …

Army Transformation: What Does It Mean?, David Jerome

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The way in which senior U.S. Army leaders such as the chiefs of staff define transformative change is important, especially if the meaning of that term is to be interpreted as originally intended by Army field grade officers. An Army chief of staff is responsible for creating a vision and establishing goals for the future, and field grade officers are responsible for pursuing that vision and those goals by implementing objectives that endeavor to arrive at the desired ends. By using both qualitative and quantitative methods, this research analyzes what each of the three chiefs of staff, who have served …

Jurors' Ability To Judge The Reliability Of Confessions And Denials: Effects Of Camera Perspective During Interrogation, Lindsey Nicole Sweeney

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Previous research shows that some proportion of people interrogated confess, regardless of actual guilt. It has also been shown that the camera perspective from which an interrogation is videotaped influences later judgments of voluntariness and guilt, as well as sentencing recommendations. The present research extends the understanding of this phenomenon of false confessions and the camera perspective bias. Ecologically valid videotaped true/false confessions and denials were obtained in Experiment 1. The proportions of guilt participants and participants that confessed to cheating were found to be smaller in Experiment 1 than those in previous research. Participants in Experiment 2 viewed the …

Evaluating The International Criminal Court: A Comparative Analysis Of Darfur, Sudan, And The Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Mirisa Hasfaria

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the effectiveness of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in holding individuals accountable for grave breaches of crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. I argue that if we measure effectiveness in terms of the ability to set agenda and to publicize, the ICC accomplishes much. My thesis to shows that, as a key part of the international agenda on human rights compliance, the ICC derives its effectiveness from the various naming and shaming campaigns by national governments and non-governmental actors (NGOs).

I draw on the cases of Darfur, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of …

Methodological Quality Of Quantitative Nursing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Research From 2000 To 2010, Michael Johnson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people constitute one of the largest underserved populations in any nursing setting. Despite the large LGBT populations, very little nursing research has been conducted on these populations. Nurse researchers have recommended that nursing researchers end the silence on LGBT research. To accomplish this, the methodological rigor of LGBT nursing research must be evaluated and improved upon. Currently, no literature examines the methodological quality of quantitative nursing LGBT research. Using a cross-sectional design, it was the purpose of this study to evaluate the methodological quality of quantitative nursing LGBT research from 2000 to 2010 using …

Trafficking Of Women In Nepal: An Intersectional Analysis Of Organizational Narratives, Bhavana Mahat

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In Nepal, sex trafficking is usually associated with poverty, illiteracy and gender discrimination. To better understand the discursive dimensions of sex trafficking, this research examines the organizational narratives of the Nepalese anti-trafficking workers using the analytical framework of intersectionality. This study finds that the anti-trafficking workers' organizational narratives are influenced by both personal and institutional narratives. In their personal narratives, anti-trafficking workers recognize the multiple forms of discrimination shaping the victims' experiences, but the intersectional discriminations are rarely addressed in the anti-trafficking programs or services implemented by the non-profit organizations. After having identified sex-trafficking victims as experiencing discrimination based on …

Community Participation In Post-Tsunami Redevelopment In Aceh: The Process And Community Members' Perceptions And Preferences, Ichsan Ichsan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation research is to examine the process of community participation and community members' perceptions of and preferences for the participatory approaches in Aceh post-tsunami redevelopment. The research questions are: (1) How has the process of community participation been implemented in the redevelopment of Aceh Province after the tsunami disaster? (2) What are community members' perceptions of community participation in the redevelopment efforts after the Aceh tsunami? (3) What are community members' preferences for the community participation approaches in the redevelopment efforts after the Aceh tsunami?

I employed qualitative and quantitative methods in this study. The four …

Islands And Swamps: A Comparison Of The Japanese American Internment Experience In Hawaii And Arkansas, Caleb Kenji Watanabe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Comparing the Japanese American relocation centers of Arkansas and the camp systems of Hawaii shows that internment was not U\universally detrimental to those held within its confines. Internment in Hawaii was far more severe than it was in Arkansas. This claim is supported by both primary sources, derived mainly from oral interviews, and secondary sources made up of scholarly research that has been conducted on the topic since the events of Japanese American internment occurred. The events of Japanese American Internment in Hawaii and Arkansas are important to remember because they show how far the American government can infringe on …

The Role Of Leadership In Facilitating The Performance Of Dispersed Teamwork, Jaime Beth Newell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A mature body of research on leadership has investigated the impact of a variety of leadership behaviors and styles on team performance. This corpus of work is built on an assumption that team leaders can motivate, direct, and monitor teams by way of sustained, personal contact with team members. However, this assumption is being challenged by recent advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs). Use of ICTs has altered traditional team-based structures, enabling organizations to employ teams composed of members who are dispersed across geographic boundaries, while severing the direct, personal ties leaders have to team members. Recent reviews of …

Palestinian Film: Hyperreality, Narrative, And Ideology, Sarah Frances Hudson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have developed diametrically opposed national narratives and identities that are both predicated on the concept of victimization. These narratives have developed into simulacral narratives as the result of the nature of their development. This paper deals with the Palestinian simulacral narrative which bolsters societal values, particularly the value of victimhood, that are crucial to coping with the prolonged conflict. The Western media, at any given moment during the conflict, has either accepted the concept of Palestinian's as victims of the conflict and the Palestinian simulacral narrative, or rejected it. The media then produces a …

Subcritical Water Hydrolysis Of Whey Proteins, Ashley Dawn Espinoza

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hydrolyzing food by-products is a unique approach to potentially increase by-product value and reduce waste. An abundant by-product of cheese production, whey, contains all essential amino acids and some distinctive peptides with functional and nutraceutical properties. Typically, proteins from whey are tailored for specific uses by chemical or enzymatic hydrolysis; however, subcritical water hydrolysis is a novel alternative used successfully to hydrolyze various substrates. Nevertheless, minimal research exists on: (1) the hydrolysis of whey protein; (2) the incorporation of additives; (3) the hydrolysis of whole whey; and (4) the production of volatiles when using subcritical water hydrolysis.

Therefore, whey protein …

Cognitive Agendas And Legal Epistemology, Danny Marrero

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The domain of legal epistemology is defined from two alternative perspectives: individual epistemology and Social epistemology. Since these perspectives have different objects of evaluation, their judgments privilege and exclude different sets of information. While methodological individualism is concerned with justified beliefs of individual knowers, the Social angle focuses on the institutional conditions of knowledge. I will show that the information that is respectively excluded by both the individual and the Social concepts of legal epistemology weaken their respective evaluations. With this in mind, I will explore one new option of defining legal epistemology. This alternative is more comprehensive, in the …

Factors Determining Media Coverage Of Meat And Poultry Recalls: Evidence From The Ap Newswire, Thais Fregonesi Carvalho

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Food safety is an important public health issue. Product recalls are an important part of the overall food safety system and occur when potentially unsafe products enter the marketplace. However, it is important that information about the recall ultimately reaches the public. This research assesses the publicity that recalls receive by the popular media. The focus is specifically on recalls of meat and poultry products. Publicity is measured by coverage in the AP Newswire. Data were gathered from the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and cover meat and poultry recalls from 1982 to 2009. …

Enhancing Soybean Profitability Using Portfolio Theory, Osemenkhian Cynthia Onyechere

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to estimate the effect of utilizing portfolio theory on producers' profitability in the production of soybeans in three test locations - Keiser, Marianna and Rohwer - in Arkansas. The study used empirical yield data, their variances and covariances over a nine year period (2002-2010) in selecting a portfolio of soybean varieties that maintains or increases yield while minimizing the yield risk. Furthermore, carbon emissions associated with soybean production was estimated by modeling the effect of a potential carbon tax as well as the potential benefit of carbon offset payments resulting from carbon sequestration. The …

Integrated Planning For Rural Rail Transportation, Jeffrey Cohan Gwaltney

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Population growth in rural areas has led to new interest in rail transportation. Planning a passenger rail system involves numerous difficult decisions, most representing a trade-off between customer service and cost. In this work, we attempt to integrate many of these planning decisions. We consider strategic decisions such as station location and vehicle procurement, as well as tactical issues that include vehicle scheduling. Our integrated model exploits the linear network structure that best suits many rural American communities, including Northwest Arkansas. Due to the intractability of the integrated rail planning problem, we have developed a customized heuristic approach to solve …

"Are You Talking To Me?": Evaluating Possible Cognitive Mediators On The Relation Between Narcissism And Aggressive Traits In Adolescents, Jessica Diane Pickard

Dissertations

Narcissistic personality characteristics (e.g., grandiosity, entitlement, exploitativeness, exhibitionism) are associated with various forms of problem behaviors in children or adolescents, including aggression. The aim of this study was to extend what is known about the relation between narcissism and aggression. Specifically, social-cognitive factors (i.e., hostile attributions, attitudes supporting the use of aggression) were hypothesized to mediate this relation. Two hundred nineteen (219) participants between the ages of 16 and 19 years (M = 16.83 yrs; SD = .80) were recruited for this study. Participants were of both sexes (85% male) and of Caucasian (62%), African American (37 %) and …

Determining Content Validity For The Transition Awareness And Possibilities Scale (Taps), Melynda Burck Ross

Dissertations

The Transition Awareness & Possibilities Scale (TAPS) was crafted after an extensive review of literature was conducted to find research that examined and described specific aspects of transition programming: inputs, including supports and skill instruction; processes, including parent and support provider perceptions of the transition experience; and outcomes, including quality of life and traditional, quantitatively-measured outcomes. Once developed, the TAPS will allow a teacher or transition coordinator to know what information a family is lacking about transition planning and adult service options for students with disabilities who need extensive or pervasive supports.

In this research, content validity was used as …

Following The Principles: Case Studies In Operations Other Than War, 1945-1999, Kevin Joseph Dougherty

Dissertations

In the post-World War II-era, operations other than war (OOTW) were the types of conflict most commonly faced by the United States. This term for what had previously been called by such names as small wars and low intensity conflict was incorporated in the Army’s capstone manual, Field Manual (FM) 100-5, Operations, in 1993. Field Manual 100-5 also listed objective, unity of effort, legitimacy, perseverance, restraint, and security as the six principles of OOTW. An analysis of eight OOTWs that occurred between 1945 and 1999 indicates that the balanced application of these principles is a reliable predicator of the operation’s …

The Role Of University-Industry Collaboration In Regional Economic Development, Ranjana Srevatsan

Dissertations

Innovation has played an important role in the economic development of regions. It is believed that research collaboration between university and industry has a positive influence on regional growth and development. This research explores the role of university-industry collaboration in regional economic development at the metropolitan level. The collaboration between university and industry is examined through two measures: Industrial research funding (IRF) to universities and science and engineering graduates (SEG). The research is divided into two models. The first model studied the combined effect of the metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and studied the influence of IRF and SEG on per …

Investments In Leadership And Management Succession Planning At A Department Of Defense Organization In The Southeastern United States: A Review Of Strategic Implications, Richard Allen Jeffries

Dissertations

With the impending aging workforce retirement tidal wave, targeted investments are needed in leadership and management skills for new leader growth. Some organizations currently invest in leadership and management skill development. However, the impacts of the investments remain unknown in the organizations. A Department of Defense Organization in the Southeast United States (DODSE) serves as a scientific knowledge generating organization that supports the Department of Defense. At the DODSE, investments in leadership and management skills training began in 2007 with little understanding of how an increased investment in leadership and management training would be utilized within the organization. To create …

Continuity Of Operations Planning Preparedness Of Ncaa Division I Athletic Departments, Brandon Lane Allen

Dissertations

Collegiate athletic departments face the same threats of private and public businesses. Multiple disruptive events have caused havoc at various athletic events causing change of venues, loss of revenue, injuries, and deaths. Natural disasters and terrorism continue to pose serious threats on all types of organizations; therefore, athletic departments must become proactive in preparing for the unexpected (Wheatman, 2001).

The purpose of this study was to assess NCAA division 1 athletic departments’ continuity of operations planning preparedness. The population for this study was limited to athletic directors or facility directors responsible for continuity of operations planning (N=344). A total of …

Understanding Captive-Takers Motivations, Methods And Targets, Jean Garner Larned

Dissertations

Understanding Captive-Takers Motivations, Methods and Targets is the ultimate goal in order to help those who train, manage and prevent hostage taking events which include police officers, negotiators, recovery personnel, academics and psychologists. The overall lack of literature relating to the topic of captive-taker motivations is another impetus for this dissertation. There is a dearth of scholarly material in any of the main areas of understanding kidnapping/captive-taking/hostage-taking from the perspective of the perpetrator within law enforcement, psychology, private sector or academia. It is anticipated that this research study and the data garnered from it will assist academics, psychologists, private corporations, …

First Mover: Otto Struve And The Use Of Scientific Capital In Astrophysics, 1921–1950, Erik Paul Norquest

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Otto Struve (1897-1963) came to the United States in 1921 and became one of the dominant personalities in the field of astrophysics. Struve’s career made him, in the words of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, a “first mover” in a scientific field that was firmly engaged in the process of what Thomas Kuhn called “normal science.” Struve pulled astrophysics further away from its empirical roots in categorization and made it more like physics in its unification of theory and observation. The primary way that he accomplished this was through his administration of Yerkes and McDonald observatories, where he brought in theorists to …

An Analysis Of The Dynamic Properties Of The American Depositary Receipt Cross Market Premium, Jorge Vidal

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The American Depositary Receipt (ADR) cross-market premium is studied over a 20 year period. The dynamic properties of the cross-market premium are studied for the first time in a nonlinear smooth error correction framework using a smooth transition error correction model (STECM) and compared against a linear model and two other nonlinear model specifications. The results indicate the ADR cross-market premium is more appropriately estimated when the nonlinearity, smooth transition, and cointegration properties present in the premium are estimated simultaneously with a STECM. The estimates of the STECM indicate arbitrage opportunities in the ADR market are rare and dissipate quickly. …

The Use Of Debit Cards In Promoting On-Time Payment Behavior In A Daycare Center In The Rio Grande Valley Region Of Texas, Ruben James Nieto

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The study investigates the inappropriate payment behavior of consumers at a local daycare in the Rio Grande Valley. An AB, baseline and intervention, single subject design was used to increase the on-time payment behavior of consumers paying on time at the daycare. Baseline data was taken for 14 weeks before the intervention was implemented. The intervention consisted of an alternative payment method, accepting credit and debit cards, [as an antecedent, to the consumer in order to receive payments on time]. This alternative payment method showed that on-time payment behavior increased compared to pre-intervention.

The Long-Term Impact Of A Loyalty Program: An Evaluation From A Las Vegas Casino Hotel, Myongjee Yoo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Loyalty programs are popular marketing strategies intended to attract, maintain, and enhance customer relationships. Despite the widespread usage of loyalty programs across various businesses, its effectiveness has not been well validated. Few empirical studies attempted to evaluate the value of loyalty programs but the findings have been conflicting with each other. Given the competitive climate of such a highly saturated competitive market of the hospitality industry, it is meaningful for hospitality marketers to evaluate the effectiveness of loyalty programs to increase customer retention and profitability. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a hospitality …

Use Of Preventative Health Care Services In Hispanic Workers In Manufacturing Sector In South Texas, Pooja Chopra

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study analyses the factors that determine the intensity of use of preventive health care services for a sample of Hispanic manufacturing workers in South Texas (RGV). Logistic regression is used to estimate the effect of health insurance, age, income level and education on the use of preventive health care of Hispanic workers in the manufacturing sector in South Texas (RGV). The outcome variables are vaccinations, tests and screening for women and men. The sample includes 228 manufacturing workers from the RGV. People with health insurance were more likely to use preventive care services such as vaccination for flu, hepatitis, …

A Study Of Six South Texas Mexican Descent Former Students: Elementary School Experiences And Their Influence On The Students' Decision On High School Completion, Lazaro Ramirez

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The purpose of this study was to explore the interactions between elementary school students and school personnel, family members, and community members to identify factors that contributed to South Texas Mexican descent students dropping out of school. A second purpose was to gain a deeper understanding of Mexican descent former high school dropouts’ middle childhood life experiences. A qualitative methodology was utilized for this study. A three-interview series structure was utilized in conducting three one-on-one semi-structured interviews of six South Texas Mexican descent study participants. The findings of the study indicate that student discipline procedures in South Texas schools attended …

Does Faith Matter? A Comparison Of Faith-Based And Secular International Nongovernmental Organizations Engaged In Humanitarian Assistance, Jill Mcleigh

All Dissertations

Over the past three decades, there has been a significant increase in international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) participating in humanitarian assistance, and thus, an increase in the study of these organizations. In part because of former President George W. Bush's faith-based initiative, interest in a particular subset of INGOs - religious INGOs (ROs) - has been on the rise. Among the gaps in this literature is a quantitative approach to understanding the types of activities and funding opportunities INGOs pursue based on whether they are religious and what makes an organization religious. To address these omissions, this dissertation examines the religious …

Bridging The Chasm: Emerging Model Of Leadership In Intercollegiate Athletics Governance, John C. Chandler Iii

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation examined how the executive leadership model influenced the leadership and governance of intercollegiate athletics. The focus centered on understanding the role of Athletic Directors who concurrently serve as institutional Vice Presidents using the Social Constructivist framework. Qualitative analysis was utilized to achieve the kind of examination necessary to uncover the rich and in-depth perspectives of the participants. At the time of the study, there were 119 institutions housing NCAA Division IA athletic departments. Of the 119 distinct athletic departments, there were 17 athletic departments that employed an athletic director that had been appointed to the post of university …