The present study used an experimental design to investigate the efficacy of using short (12 words or less), prominently placed supplemental labels to increase the effectiveness of select extant labels in museum exhibits. The experimenter-developed supplemental labels were designed to leverage exogenous/bottom-up and endogenous/top-down sources of influence on selective attention. Measures of patron behavior, knowledge retention, and attitude found no significant differences between group means under control and treatment conditions. These outcomes were surprising and inconsistent with findings from similar research conducted by Hirschi and Screven. The supplemental labels in the present study might have failed to capture attention because they were not sufficiently visually stimulating, they did not sufficiently tap internal motivations, or perhaps patrons experienced innattentional blindness in regards to them.

This dissertation investigates and further develops organization health theory in the context of public organizations. This is an important line of inquiry for two reasons. First, the healthy organizations literature and healthy organization theory is inchoate and lacks overall coherence (Dejoy et al., 2010), especially in public organization theory and research. As such many organization theorists have called for expansive solutions and insist this requires consideration of the collective and systemic interactive levels of analysis (Salanova et al., 2012; Schein, 2006). Second, we notice organizations now devoting considerable resources to nurturing individual and organizational health and wellness (Dale & Burrell, 2014; Parks & Steelman, 2008). Ostensibly, this is because health has been demonstrated to enhance or compromise a myriad of organizational outcomes including satisfaction, performance, sustainability, and survival (Pfeffer, 2010; Cooper, 1994). Moreover, organizational health and individual health share a vicarious and interdependent relationship (McHugh & Brotherton, 2000). In response to this “healthy exigency” and in effort to enhance the health of our public organizations, this dissertation employs an interdisciplinary lens to investigate healthy organizations at the systemic interactive level of analysis. The overarching purpose of the study is to provide theoretical contributions and empirical evidence concerning the key factors necessary for the development of healthy public organizations. To accomplish this, I assemble a holistic organizational wellness (HOW) theoretical framework. The HOW framework supports development of a Wellness Quotient (WQ) with data from the 2017 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS). The WQ represents the dissertations main contribution, as currently no standardized measure of public organization health (or wellness) exists. Through a process of discovery and analysis which includes multiple iterations of confirmatory factor analyses and a regression analysis, it is found that the WQ has a significant impact on organization performance and satisfaction. The results also confirm this studies hypotheses the WQ may be useful as a proxy for future healthy public organizations research. In sum, the HOW framework and WQ not only contribute to theoretical and empirical development of healthy public organizations, respectively, but they both may serve as useful tools for public organizational health design and development. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2019. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

En el presente trabajo se abordan temas enfocados al estudio de la prima de riesgo de mercado considerando la siguiente estructura: En primera instancia desarrollaremos los antecedentes vinculados a la prima de Riesgo de Mercado y los modelos que utilizan esta variable para el cálculo de rendimientos futuros. En el segundo lugar, abordaremos los enfoques relacionados a la Prima de Riesgo de Mercado, donde detallaremos en orden cronológico las diferentes teorías que han ido emergiendo a lo largo del tiempo tales como el teorema de portafolios de Markowitz, el modelo CAPM de Sharpe, entre otros. Seguidamente estudiaremos los métodos aplicados para el cálculo de la Prima de Riesgo de Mercado y las variables que se utilizan. Ahondaremos en los criterios de autores que están a favor del cálculo de la prima de riesgo de mercado tales como Ibbotson y Goetzmann (2005), Gordon y Shapiro (1956), Damodaran (2015) y posteriormente analizamos la elección del aspecto de la prima de riesgo de mercado basado en mercados futuros. Asimismo, presentamos la controversia, en la cual hacemos mención al enfoque de Pablo Fernández, quien tiene una opinión distinta sobre el tema principal. Finalmente, precisamos nuestras conclusiones respecto del método que se debe utilizar para estimar la prima de riesgo de mercado. / In this paper, we will address issues focused on the study of the market risk premium considering the following structure: In the first instance, we will develop the antecedents linked to the Market Risk premium and the models that use this variable to calculate future returns. In the second we will detail the approaches related to the Market Risk Premium, where we will detail in chronological order the different theories that have been emerging over time such as the Markowitz portfolio theorem, the Sharpe CAPM model among others. Next, we will study the methods applied to calculate the Market Risk Premium and the variables that are used. We will delve into the criteria of authors who are in favor of calculating the market risk premium such as Ibbotsson, Gordon and Shapiro, Damodaran and then analyze the choice of the aspect of the market risk premium based on future markets. Likewise, we present the controversy where we mention the approach of Pablo Fernández who has a different opinion on the main topic. Finally, we need our conclusions regarding the method that should be used to estimate the market risk premium. / Trabajo de Suficiencia Profesional

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No description available.

The notion of leisure is subjective and contradictory, therefore attempts to organise, manage and measure leisure experiences may be described as paradoxical. The evaluation of recreation and leisure services has been focused on performance indicators associated with specific programmes and facilities. At a macro level, evaluation from the broader perspectives of organisational effectiveness and leisure theory is a neglected area of research. This study examines a model of organisational effectiveness criteria as a way of exploring the "leisure management paradox" in local government recreation services. The focus of the research was local government recreation services in Western Australia.This study had two major purposes. The first purpose was to identify a range of criteria that are appropriate for evaluating organisational effectiveness in local government recreation services. Secondly, the study investigated the perceptions of these criteria held by recreation staff in different local government recreation services in Western Australia.The specific research objectives focused on the issues of effectiveness in local government recreation services, namely:1. To identify criteria for organisational effectiveness relevant to local government recreation services in Westem Australia.2. To develop a conceptual model of organisational effectiveness criteria.3. To test the developed model to confirm the appropriateness of the selected criteria for assessing local government recreation services.4. To determine if there are differences in the perceptions of organisational effectiveness held by different groups of recreation workers in different types of local government settings.The findings revealed that perceptions of the importance of organisational effectiveness criteria held by recreation workers in local government in Western Australia are relatively homogeneous. ++ / Differences appeared to be associated with geographic location, availability of resources, and the perceived organisational culture of the local government authority. These findings offer a practical framework for managers of recreation services and provide a benchmark for further research in local government and recreation services generally.

My aim in this thesis is to improve understanding of the contributions of organizational climate to organizational effectiveness. Climate is defined as the shared perceptions of the work environment (Schneider & Reichers, 1983). First, I developed and empirically validated four targeted climates ??? climates for involvement; mission-alignment; consistency; and adaptability ??? reflecting a broad range of management perspectives. These climates are based on Quinn and Rohrbaugh???s Competing Values Framework (1983a), and extend the work of Patterson et al. (2005). Using secondary data from 2027 business-units from diverse industries, worldwide, these climates were, as expected, inter-related, yet distinct. Second, I explored the relationships between multiple climates and stakeholder outcomes (staff motivation, perceived customer loyalty and perceived business performance) using structural equation modeling and discriminant function analysis. Separate but matched manager and employee samples from 620 business-units were used to assess relationships linking the four climates and three effectiveness outcomes within a single model. The findings indicated that employees??? perceptions of workplace characteristics influence important organizational outcomes. Overall, key findings were: (1) a climate for mission related directly to perceived business performance; (2) climates for consistency and adaptability both related to higher business performance through their positive link with customer loyalty; (3) a climate for involvement also related to business performance, but only when the context was uncertain; (4) while climates for involvement and mission related to staff satisfaction, staff satisfaction did not uniquely predict business performance; (5) the most effective business-units, with high scores on all three outcomes, had a balance of high levels of all four climates. The thesis discusses the implications of these results for both theory and practice, as well as suggestions for future research. In particular, the comprehensiveness and empirical integrity of this multiple-climates model indicates its potential to provide new insights about the relationships between perceived organizational characteristics and outcomes. Furthermore, my research suggests that organizations can foster high levels of all four climates concurrently, and in doing so achieve better outcomes for a diversity of stakeholders. This has implications for change management: specifically that organizations should embed and integrate multiple approaches concurrently rather than move from one to the next.

Aims: The aim of this thesis was to identify the most cost effective urogynaecological treatment from a range of five standard therapies of 217 female patients, and to test the hypothesis that the conservative treatment of urinary incontinence was more cost effective than surgical or pharmacological interventions, using the cost per Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) as a common assessment. Methods: The first step in this process was to determine whether a generic cost effectiveness instrument, the York Quality of Life Questionnaire was sufficiently sensitive to allow its use in the field of urogynaecology. The York Questionnaire was compared with several other quality of life questionnaires and outcome measures that have been previously utilised in urinary incontinence, and was found to be equally sensitive in detecting change in quality of life as a result of treatment. The next step was to measure the costs required to produce this change in quality of life and to calculate the QALY's for five urogynaecological treatments in three prospective trials comprising of: a randomised trial of Nurse Continence Advisor versus Urogynaecologist conservative treatment of urinary incontinence (n=143), a prospective trial of laparoscopic versus open colposuspension (n=62), and the pharmacological treatment of detrusor instability (n=12). Costs assessed included consultation fees, investigations, theatre costs, hospital stay, patient time off work & travel expenses, and reduction in protective pad costs. Results: The cost/QALY for 5 years as a result of each of the five treatments varied from $28,009 for the Nurse Continence Advisor conservative treatment to $134,069 for the open colposuspension treatment. Conclusions: This finding suggests that the conservative treatment of urinary incontinence is the most cost effective, and should be utilised as the first form of treatment. As a consequence, financial resources would be more efficiently utilised in the conservative treatment of urinary incontinence, such as increasing the availability of services offered by Nurse Continence Advisors and physiotherapists.

Formal systems thinking methods are not readily understandable, applicable nor necessarily useful in the dealing with complex problem domains facing managers in the public sector workplace. This thesis explores the design of other practical techniques that managers, designers, business systems analysts and project staff can use in the workplace to enhance their individual and collective analytical, systemic and critical thinking skills and capabilities. The interpretive framework used in this social ecology research comprised a constructivist paradigm, a relativist ontology, a subjectivist epistemology, and a critical learning heuristic method. The research technique has been a purposeful and practical combination of critical learning heuristics, action research, project management and creative design conversations. Through the adoption of a first person narrative form and the literary motif of a journeyman’s story, the author relates aspects of his cumulative learning and research. The four major action research cycles are presented in a chronological sequence spanning the seven year period from late 1997 to end 2004. Key findings include a range of practical techniques, informed by systems and complexity theories, that managers and staff can readily understand and apply in approaching complex issues and dynamic problem domains in a large public sector organisation. / Master of Science (Hons)

Becoming a Learning Organization (LO) is widely recognized as a process through which organizations can develop characteristics that enable them to be competitive in an increasingly competitive business environment. While there is an assumption that LOs have the ability to manage change, few empirical studies are available to prove whether an organization with strong LO characteristics also has a high level of change readiness. In developing itself into an LO, an organization seems to gain possession of relevant characteristics through knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing and knowledge utilization. There is, however, a lack of clarity on what LO characteristics are developed at each of the three stages. The relationship among these stages is also confusing. The purpose of this research is to confirm whether organizations with a high level of LO characteristics also have a high level of readiness-to-change. It also attempts to verify the relationship among the LO development stages of knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing and knowledge utilization. A questionnaire has been designed following an extensive review. It incorporates "an Inventory of LO Characteristics" to measure the level of LO characteristics formed in an organization. There are also questionnaire to gauge the level readiness-to-change. The questionnaire has been distributed to employees in two leading mobile phone service companies in Thailand. The industry is selected because of its changing business environment. Thailand has been chosen for as the location for the research because few studies in LO have been conducted outside the more developed economies. The findings demonstrate two major insights. Firstly, the correlation coefficient between the six categories of LO characteristics - cultural values, leadership commitment and empowerment, communication, knowledge transfer, employee characteristics and performance upgrading - and readiness-to-change confirms that if an organization has a high level of LO characteristics, it will also have a high level of readiness-to-change. Secondly, the correlation coefficient between the three LO development stages - of knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing and knowledge utilization - and readiness-to-change, support the hypothesis that they follow a sequential order. Results of the research are analysed and discussed, providing valuable contributions to both research and practice in the area. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Adelaide Graduate School of Business, 2004.