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Extending And Measuring The Quality Of Fresh-Cut Fruit And Vegetables: A Review, Ana Belen Martin-Diana, Daniel Rico, Gary Henehan, Jesus Maria Frias, J. Barat

Articles

The market sales of ready - to - use vegetables have grown rapidly in recent decades as a result of changes in consumer attitudes especially consumption of fresh-cut lettuce and carrot due to their use in prepared salads. Chlorine solutions have been widely used to sanitise fruit and vegetables in the fresh-cut industry. However, the association of chlorine with the possible formation of carcinogenic chlorinated compounds in water has called into question the use of chlorine in food processing. There is a real need to find alternatives for preservation of fresh-cut fruit and vegetables in order to improve the efficacy …

Employee Engagement As A Mediator Of The Relationship Between Management Support And Job Performance And Turnover, Liliya Akbulatova

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

"Employee Engagement", a new motivational construct, has become popular in recent years. Most of the definitions of engagement formulated in different time periods share the understanding of engagement as a three dimension construct consisting of vigor, dedication, and absorption. Motivation is an important determinant of employee performance. Through the study contained in this paper, I aim to find out whether employee engagement mediates a relationship between management support (as one of the specific antecedents of employee engagement) and employee performance and turnover, as specific consequences of employee engagement. It appears that there is a full mediation between an antecedent variable …

A Cross-Cultural Community: An Evaluative Study Of The Global Health Corps Training Program At The University Of Northern Iowa, Kalani Kee Brown

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Despite the current increase in the globalization of companies and the increase in the number of international assignees there has been very little research showing the significance of cross-cultural training in reducing international assignee failure rates. The current study was completed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Global Health Corps (GHC) organization as a training program for improving cross-cultural adjustment. An analysis was conducted on data obtained from 108 GHC students for the purpose of understanding the influence of cross-cultural experience and its effect on the cross-cultural adjustment of a successful person in this environment. Results indicated that students immersed …

Irish Gay Men And Tourism: Behaviours And Motivations, Bruce Carolan

Other resources

This paper is an exploratory study of the holiday practices of an increasingly important segment of the Irish tourism market: gay men. Studies show that gay men are, in many respects, desirable tourists: they tend to be more highly educated, have greater disposable incomes and a higher propensity to travel than non-gay people. Yet there has been relatively little research – and virtually none in an Irish context – concerning gay male holiday motivations, destination choice and behaviours. After reviewing the existing literature on gay men and tourism, this paper employs qualitative research methods – primarily focus groups, semi-structured interviews …

An Overview Of Youth And Adolescence In Ireland, Kevin Lalor, Áine De Róiste, Maurice Devlin

Books/Book chapters

No abstract provided.

The Practitioner, The Priest, And The Professor: Perspectives On Self-Initiation In The American Neopagan Community, Marty Laubach, Louis Martinie’, Roselinda Clemons

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Research

Initiation is a religious practice that is generally understood as involving socialization and acceptance into a religious community, but American Neopaganism, with its emphasis on individualism and autonomy, has evolved a meaning that challenges that simple understanding. American Neopagan communities are marketplaces of ideas that are comprised of groups and solo practitioners, all in interaction in which they might conduct main holidays together, but not necessarily work together in what they would consider more “serious” practices in which they receive the spirit communications with which they develop the ideas. Among groups, these practices include initiations through which candidates are trained …

Building Bridges: The Transition From Preschool To Primary School For Children In Ireland, Mary O'Kane

Doctoral

The overarching aim of this study was to provide an information base on the transition from preschool to formal schooling in Ireland, and to improve understanding about how best to support children’s learning during this time. The theoretical framework for the project was based on the ecological systems model of development proposed by Bronfenbrenner. As there was no previous Irish research in this area, the study took an exploratory approach, and drew on a variety of sources to present the perspectives of preschool practitioners, primary school teachers, parents and children themselves. Phase 1 involved a questionnaire being completed by a …

Towards A Personal Automatic Music Playlist Generation Alogorithm: The Need For Contextual Information, Gordon Reynolds, Dan Barry, Ted Burke, Eugene Coyle

Conference papers

Large music collections afford the listener flexibility in the form of choice, which enables the listener to choose the appropriate piece of music to enhance or complement their listening scenario on-demand. However, bundled with such a large music collection is the daunting task of manually searching through each entry in the collection to find the appropriate song required by the listener. This often leaves the listener frustrated when trying to select songs from a large music collection. In this paper, an overview of existing methods for automatically generating a playlist is discussed. This discussion outlines advantages and disadvantages associated with …

Exploring The Fate Of No Longer Relevant Spatial Information Using A Modified Sternberg Task, Kirsten Burghardt

School of Psychology Theses

Forgetting, the breakdown of memory, is often associated with inconveniences in everyday life when the car key has been left on the kitchen table or when a phone number will simply not come to mind. However, forgetting has its justified and valued place in cognition. Forgetting allows us to remember the place where we parked our car today, rather than two weeks ago, it enables us to update previously incorrect information in our memory, and It gives us the opportunity to move on from unpleasant past experiences.

The Social And Psychological Effects Of Sms Text Messaging, Donna Reid

School of Psychology Theses

This thesis reports an exploration of the phenomenon of mobile phone SMS text messaging and examines the applicability of two key theories of computer-mediated communication that forecast contrasting outcomes of this medium for personal relationship development and maintenance. It explores how SMS texting is being used, the impact it can have on the formation and maintenance of interpersonal relationships, and its attraction to particular groups of users. The importance of individual differences in moderating the use and outcomes of text messaging is emphasised throughout the studies reported. The investigation was split into two phases. An exploratory phase analysed samples of …

The Role Of Spirituality In Women's Leadership At Community Colleges, Carol L. Hedberg

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This qualitative research study examined the role of women's leadership in Iowa community colleges. Administrative leaders from community college settings, recommended by their presidents, wrote narratives about effective leadership traits and from these narratives, four women leaders were selected and later interviewed. Key thematic categories were developed from the written and verbal narratives. The resulting data set was then analyzed by a comparative case study approach. Emerging thematic categories were interpreted through the lens of four primary research questions addressing the relationship between gender, spirituality, and authentic leadership.

A plethora of issues surfaced from the data. Issues of gender and …

Pieces To The Puzzle, Ann L. Cracco

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Because low-income, first-generation, and disabled individuals have limited access to postsecondary education, Congress established TRIO, a series of programs designed to provide access to college for this targeted population. One initiative suggested to aid in retention and graduation for these TRIO students was mentoring. This study examined the perceived benefits of faculty mentoring for first-generation TRIO students to facilitate retention and graduation rates at a Midwestern Community College. Three faculty members and three TRIO students were interviewed to determine their perception of the benefits of faculty mentoring. The results were consistent with the literature that students who have access to …

Approaches To Studying And Study Tactics Of Baccalaureate Nursing Students, Lisa D. Brodersen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This research was designed to describe study approaches and study tactics used by baccalaureate nursing students. Previous inquiry indicates that students will take a Deep, Strategic, or Surface approach to studying and will use specific study tactics to meet the demands of their learning contexts.

The Approaches to Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) was administered to 174 students in Anatomy and Physiology, Pathophysiology, and Nursing Care of the Adult Client. Failing students were less likely to participate. The ASSIST bad acceptable internal consistency reliability and construct validity. A majority (55%) of students took a Strategic approach to studying; smaller …

Mediating The Cultivation Of Fear Through Media Literacy Education, Catherine N. Collins, Kristine L. Slank

Modern Psychological Studies

College students (N = 110) received a media literacy intervention based on critical thinking or they received no intervention. Students were also classified as low or high television viewers based on responses to a Television Use Survey. Fear was measured with a Safety Survey and analyzed with a 2 Intervention x 2 Television Viewing ANOVA. Fear was expected to be lower in the intervention and low television viewing groups than in the no intervention and high television viewing groups. However, no results were significant.

Play Behaviors On Outdoor Play Structures, Angela Dawn Rodriquez

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to assess children's free play preferences on outdoor play structures. Many contemporary children are not merely deprived of play but are essentially deprived of the healthiest and richest forms of play. The richest forms are described by children as the most fun, the most exciting, the most interesting, and by theorists and writers are described as "deep play". Deep play is defined as nonliteral behavior, and a transformation of reality Mannell, & Klieber, 1997. This study focused on children's social, cognitive and non-play behaviors that they participated in on play structures.

These deep play …

Laboratory Schools Annual Report, 2006-2007, Laboratory Schools, Illinois State University

Annual Reports – Laboratory Schools

Illinois State University Laboratory Schools annual report

An Experimental Analysis Of Activist Message Strategy Effect On Receiver Variables, Andrea Schuch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing communication and activist organization perspectives, this empirical study examined activist message strategies and how they influence variables related to the receiver of activist communication. Specifically, J.E. Grunig's (1997) situational theory of publics and Fishbein and Ajzen's (1975) theory of reasoned action were used to explain the communication effects of the seven activist message strategies developed from Hazleton and Long's (1988) public relations process model. The findings of this study support the premise of situational theory of publics and contribute to the extension of the theory through the inclusion of goal compatibility as a predictor of information seeking behavior and …

Enduring Changes In Reward Mechanisms After Developmental Exposure To Cocaine: The Role Of The D2 Receptor, Kirstie H. Stansfield

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

During adolescent brain maturation, there are likely sensitive periods where environmental conditions, including drug exposure, may influence development by modifying neuronal connections. Altering neuronal function may produce different phenotypes than expected under normal conditions that may influence subsequent responding to drugs of abuse after the brain is fully mature. Experiment one investigated the relationship between novelty preference and cocaine place preference in adolescent and adult rats. High responding adolescent rats displaying greater free choice novelty exploration (but not forced novelty locomotion) expressed decreased cocaine place conditioning compared to low responding rats. No relationship was found in adult rats. Experiment two …

Teachers’ Use Of Sensory Activities In Primary Literacy Lessons: A Study Of Teachers Trained In Accelerated Literacy Learning, Margaret E. Stockdale

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated Accelerated Literacy Learning (ALL) trained teachers' implementation of sensory activities into their classroom instructional practice. There were 38 participants in Phase One that completed questionnaires using a 5-point response scale to indicate their frequency of use for each of 30 sensory activities. All but one participant reported a high use of sensory activities in their literacy lessons, although the grade level did influence the variety and frequency of their reported use. Most primary level teachers reported a high use on many of the activities. Seven teachers of the participants from Phase One participated in interviews for Phase …

Technology And Older Faculty: A Descriptive Study Of Older Florida Community College Faculty, Christopher D. Van Der Kaay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Institutions of higher learning across the United States are experiencing an aging faculty population. A significant proportion of college and university faculty are over 55, a growth expected to continue in future years. Parallel to this growth and change has been an expanding use of technology in higher education. Despite this trend and potential implications, few studies have provided in-depth insight into older faculty and technology. The study used a quantitative descriptive design to provide a comprehensive look at older community college faculty and various aspects of technology. Areas examined included older faculty's perceptions of technology, their attitudes toward institutional …

What The Spirit Knows: Charles Williams And Kenneth Burke, Grace Veach

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

What the Spirit Knows: Charles Williams and Kenneth Burke examines the Arthurian poetry of Charles Williams using a methodology derived from Kenneth Burke. This is an experiment in literary criticism of a Christian poet using a methodology that is not specifically Christian. Key critical ideas found in Burke are utilized in reading poems from Taliessin Through Logres and Region of the Summer Stars. Burke's work on form and symbol (primarily from Counter-Statement) is addressed first. Form in an individual poem (using "Taliessin's Song of the Unicorn) and in an entire cycle is examined. Burke lists several uses for symbol in …

Effect Of A Preoperative Warming Intervention On The Acute Phase Response Of Surgical Stress, Vanda Doreen Wagner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When a patient is exposed surgical stress, the endocrine system secretes hormones in response to that stress. These hormones further activate the immune system to release cytokines and other acute phase reactions. These processes are supposed to protect the body by upregulating the innate immune system and producing an inflammatory response that acts to protect and heal. However, uncontrolled surgical stress may cause a weaker immune response that may lead to delayed wound healing. The phenomenon of unplanned perioperative hypothermia is known to expose patients to additional surgical stress. The purpose of this preliminary experimental study was to determine the …

Narratives Of Lesbian Transformation: Coming-Out Stories Of Women Who Transition From Heterosexual Marriage To Lesbian Identity, Clare F. Walsh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Women who have transitioned to a lesbian identity from a previously heterosexual one lack a voice in the academic literature. Identity formation in this subset of women, those who chose a heterosexual marriage, had children, and later in life self identify as lesbian, has not been fully investigated. For this project, eight women were asked to answer this question: How have you negotiated the path from heterosexuality to lesbianism? Four main themes were found dealing with heteronormativity and accountability, relationship with children, transition, and acceptance by the lesbian community. Additionally, I introduce a new term---gender-normativity---to describe these women who only …

Subtyping Psychopathy: Exploring The Roles Of Degree Of Punishment, Cognitive Dissonance And Optimism, John M. Weir

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For over half of a century, social and behavioral scientists have been investigating the construct of psychopathy. Even so, psychopathy is still a highly misunderstood personality construct. Even though it has been estimated that psychopaths make up only about 1% of the general population, they are believed to consist of 15-25% of the prison population (Hare, 1996). However, not all psychopaths are in prison. Psychopaths can also be found in such fields as the legal profession, the business world and in politics (Babiak, 1995). In terms of criminal behaviors, psychopaths are arrested at earlier ages, have a higher rate of …

Effect Of Personal And Practice Contexts On Occupational Therapists' Assessment Practices In Geriatric Rehabilitation, Mirtha Montejo Whaley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite considerable debate surrounding an age associated cognitive decline in non-demented elders, recent studies indicate that changes attributable to normal aging affect cognitive processes and fluid abilities. Additionally, studies indicate that factors such as physical illness, depression, neurological damage, medication side effects, drug interactions, and the effects of surgery and anesthesia may also cause varying degrees of cognitive impairment. Impairment of cognitive function is known to affect treatment and rehabilitation outcomes for older persons, and increase their likelihood of institutionalization. Although proper screening and identification of cognitive deficits in geriatric patients are crucial in developing treatment plans, there is evidence …

The Influence Of Masculinity Ideology On High-Risk Sexual Behavior Among Men Who Have Sex With Men, Christopher Wheldon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Epidemiologic evidence shows that the incidence of HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) is on the rise. high-risk sexual behaviors are the primary mode of transmission and are responsible for increased rates of infection. a growing body of evidence suggests that endorsement of normative beliefs and values regarding manhood and masculinity, or masculinity ideology, may help to explain certain high-risk sexual behaviors. this study investigated the associations between a measure of masculinity ideology and sexual risk taking among a sample of MSM. in addition, indirect pathways in which masculinity ideology may lead to sexual risk taking were …

Caregivers’ Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of The Helping Our Toddlers, Developing Our Children’S Skills Parent Training Program: A Pilot Study, Jillian Leigh Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to evaluate a parent training curriculum: Helping Our Toddlers Developing Our Children's Skills (HOT DOCS© ) using archival data collected between August 2006 and April 2007. The evaluation studied the impact of specific components of the parent training program on both participants' knowledge and attitudes and their perceptions of targeted children's behavior. One-hundred-forty-six caregivers of children between the ages of 14 months and ten years of age participated in the parent training program and were included in the analyses. Measures included a pre/post knowledge test, rating scales of child problem behavior, weekly progress monitoring forms for …

Honor – A Double Edged Sword: An Examination Of The South’S “Culture Of Honor” Wounding Of Two Races, Vernetta K. Williams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work expands the understanding of the "culture of honor" that social psychologists maintain exists in the American South. Social psychologists attribute the higher incidence of violent crimes, especially murder committed by white men in the South as compared to Northern white men, to this "culture of honor." While social psychologists have restricted their work to white men, this work explores how this distinct culture has impacted the Southern black community while uncovering deeper ways in which the culture has affected the Southern white community. Using historically-based literature and film by African Americans, the work provides a more comprehensive look …

It Takes More Than Sun, Sea And Sand: The Case Of Tourism In The Tampa Bay Region, Circa 1970-2000, Joshua Wolf

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Coastal counties in the United States have placed a new emphasis on tourism related employment. The shift away from normal maritime work, such as fishing and import/export shipping has ushered in an era of service-oriented economies and communities scattered along the US coast lines. This trend which is associated with the transition from Fordism to post-Fordism can be seen most prevalently in Florida's Tampa Bay region. The counties that make up Tampa Bay include Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota.The lure of sandy beaches and blue seas are the obvious tourist draws to any tropical locale, including the …

Why Has Violence Come To Dominate Images Of Png Elections? The 2002 Elections In The Highlands Region, Krisztina Matefy

Theses : Honours

This thesis examines the problem of election-related violence through a number of meta-theories, which have recently emerged in the social sciences to explain intrastate conflicts. By using the case study of the 2002 elections in the Highlands region of Papua New Guinea (PNG), this thesis examines the applicability and usefulness of primordialism, modernization theory and weak state theory in explaining election-related violence in PNG. Critically examining the theories, the thesis analyses a wide range of information about the historical, cultural, social and political factors that played a significant role in the surfacing of election-related violence in the PNG Highlands. By …