Knowledge is the critical success factor for organizations to compete in the contemporary business world. Organizations that can make full use of their collective expertise and knowledge are likely to be more innovative, efficient and effective in the marketplace. With the development of advanced information and communication technology, organizations are undertaking various knowledge management initiatives to augment traditional ways of knowledge transfer. This dissertation intended to understand how various factors influence knowledge workers' knowledge sourcing behavior in the multimodal knowledge network. More specifically, our research question is: How do task characteristics, knowledge characteristics and individual characteristics influence knowledge workers' channel preferences during their knowledge sourcing activities?We built a knowledge sourcing preference model which predicts knowledge workers' preferences among various knowledge channels. We identified eight important antecedents from a wide spectrum of task characteristics, knowledge characteristics, and individual characteristics. We also identified three representative knowledge sourcing channels: face-to-face communication with colleagues, knowledge repositories, and discussion forums. We developed eight hypotheses on how each of the antecedent influence channel preferences.We tested our hypotheses through a survey we conducted in an international information technology company. Out of the eight hypotheses, the hypotheses on the influences from knowledge codifiability, knowledge volatility, extroversion/introversion dimension of the personality, and reciprocation wariness are supported. The hypotheses on the influences from task interdependency and task urgency are partially supported. The hypotheses on the influences from task routineness and expertise are not supported.This study furthers our understanding of knowledge workers' knowledge sourcing behavior in a multimodal knowledge network. The results of this study help organizations understand the advantages and disadvantages of various sourcing channels under certain circumstance of tasks, knowledge, and individuals. With this understanding, organizations will be able to have reasonable expectations on the utilization of knowledge transfer approaches, and to improve the effectiveness of the knowledge transfer initiatives. This will enable the organizations to cultivate environments or design systems to develop the types of channels to accommodate the preferences of knowledge workers with various combinations of tasks, knowledge and individual characteristics.

In this thesis I estimate a monetary value of the risk attached to living near a hazardous waste site in the town of Teckomatorp. This site is the result of hundreds of rusty leaking barrels of toxins being buried in the ground by the company BT Kemi in the 1970’s. Ever since then the site has been remediated in several steps and is still contaminated today. For estimating the perceived risk of living near this site I use a hedonic price model (HP) which is a form of a revealed preference approach. In a HP model the price of a market good is a function of different utility-bearing characteristics and the estimated parameters can be used to calculate the implicit prices of these characteristics. In this case I use a data set from the National Swedish Institute for Building Research (IBF) and regress property price on a number of housing characteristics. I compare an estimated town-effect for Teckomatorp with the estimates for two control towns: Billeberga and Anderslöv. I can confirm my hypothesis that, after controlling for housing characteristics, there is a negative effect on prices of property in Teckomatorp. I find that property prices are on average 46878 SEK lower in Teckomatorp than in the two control towns.

Today, in a world of consumption where almost everything is branded, every consumer has a brand that they love, a so called lovemarks. Nowadays, it takes more than just a commercial to make consumers stay committed to a brand. Consumers need to relate on a more personal level. There lies a deep rooted love, consistent over long periods of time, making the luxury brand consumer’s one the most loyal consumers in the world. Consequently, it is the consumers that decide what a lovemarks is, and why they go back to repurchasing that brand again, a kind of on-going romance between consumer-brand.   The purpose of this dissertation is to explore why consumers develop emotional attachment and loyalty towards brands, leading to a long-lasting, devoted relationship between the consumer and the brand. The aim is to find out elements that are needed to love a brand consistently. The outcome of this study will provide a better look into the consumer’s attitude towards lovemark brands.   A qualitative study has been performed on consumer attitudes towards their lovemarks brand, and the language they use when describing their motive to stay loyal to their brand of preference. Furthermore, the view of what elements are needed for them develop emotional attachment towards that brand is explored.   The conclusion of this dissertation is that in order for consumers to develop loyalty and emotional attachment to brands, they need the elements of emotion, quality, trust, image, timeless fashion, and tradition. These elements combined, make the ultimate consumer that many brands want to have.

A logo lies central in an organisation's visual identity system and it is a way of communicating fundamental aspects about the organisation, such as the organisation personality or the organisation's mission and vision. The logo, or corporate visual identity, could be seen as the organisation's visual shorthand that summarises these fundamental aspects. A design element such as colour can be an expressive tool in terms of visual identity. The use of a particular colour in the logo of an organisation conveys a specific message about that company's identity and personality through the meaning and symbolism that is attached to the colour. The corporate colour scheme of an organisation can also aid in communication without being displayed in context of the visual identity. The combination of both verbal communication such as text, and visual communication such as images, through a design element like colour, could provide an effective method of conveying information. The nature of this study is descriptive. It examined the role played by colour in an organisation's visual identity as a communication tool. The study followed a qualitative approach, making use of a literature study and a case study approach. In the literature study, the role of the graphic designer, the visual identity and a design element like colour in the context of corporate communication were examined. The sources of evidence used for the case study approach, were questionnaires, as well as a colour analysis of the corporate colour schemes of each of the selected case organisations as utilised in their visual identities. The research project attempted to determine the role of colour as communication, as well as the motivation behind the use of a particular colour, should such a motivation exist, and the communication intended behind each colour. The project also attempted to determine the target markets at which the communication is aimed; the research done by each of the case organisations regarding colour symbolism and the suitability of the colour regarding the target markets; and the importance attached to colour as a communication tool. These questions were investigated through the use of the questionnaires. The colour analysis was done to function as a control mechanism to, for example, determine whether the intended message behind colour correlated to the perceived message as determined by the colour analysis. The results from the questionnaires and colour analysis used in the study showed that colour does play an important role in the selected case organisation's visual identities. The results of the study also found, however, that regardless of how important colour was viewed as a method of communication by the respondents, certain factors exist which influence the effectiveness of colour as a communication tool. / Thesis (M.A. (Communication Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

The role of brain dominance in the maintenance of learner discipline Recent research in especially Education Law has shown that maintaining discipline in South African schools constitutes a problem for many educators. Research over the last few decades has also indicated a strong link between brain dominance and behaviour. The aim of this research was to establish to what extent the brain dominance of learners and educators influence their attitude towards and perceptions of the implementation of schools' codes of conduct and their resulting behaviour in class. Educators' response to indiscipline was studied against the backdrop of the Constitution, and more specifically the Bill of Rights, as well as other legislation pertaining to learner discipline. The findings revealed a strong link between brain dominance and the behaviour and attitudes of learners and. educators regarding school discipline. It is therefore suggested that the code of conduct should be developed with input from learners and educators from all four quadrants of the brain. Where possible, a measure of flexibility should be included in these documents in the form of incentives for good behaviour and by using discretion when implementing the code of conduct. The insight of educators and learners into the implications of brain dominance was also found to be crucial. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

This thesis uses zonal travel cost method (ZTCM) to estimate consumer surplus of Peace & Love festival in Borlänge, Sweden. The study defines counties as zones of origin of the visitors. Visiting rates from each zone are estimated based on survey data. The study is novel due to the fact that mostly TCM has been applied in the environmental and recreational sector, not for short term events, like P&L festival. The analysis shows that travel cost has a significantly negative effect on visiting rate as expected. Even though income has previously shown to be significant in similar studies, it turns out to be insignificant in this study. A point estimate for the total consumer surplus of P&L festival is 35.6 million Swedish kronor. However, this point estimate is associated with high uncertainty since a 95 % confidence interval for it is (17.9, 53.2). It is also important to note that the estimated value only represents one part of the total economic value, the other values of the festival's totaleconomic value have not been estimated in this thesis.

Restoration landscape theories propound the observation that landscape mitigates human emotion, mental functioning, and behaviour. Those environments that positively affect these spheres are called "restorative". In recent years, many attempts have been made to quantify restorative landscapes, so that landscape architects and others can replicate them in the manipulated environment. An understanding of how certain combinations of landscape attributes affect humans is important in knowing the ramifications of certain designs. A major finding in recent years is that preferred landscapes—or those high in scenic beauty—are generally more restorative than less-attractive environments. One realm of the environment not dealt with, however, is the sacred landscape. One reason for this is the relative difficulty in narrowing down the term “sacred” to something measurable. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the nature of sacred landscapes, and then to test sacred landscapes against preferred landscapes to measure their restorative potential. This testing involved subjecting participants to a psychological stressor, and then exposing them to slides rated highly in either sacredness or preference. A control group was also tested, but viewed a blank screen rather than images. Implications of this research impact both researchers and practitioners in the fields of landscape architecture, environmental psychology, public land management, and visual resource management. This study found that sacred landscapes are very restorative, although not quite as restorative as environments that rate highly in scenic beauty. This confirms previous research efforts, and opens the study of restorative environments to other landscape typologies as well.

Speciation is an important process that is responsible for the generation of biodiversity on Earth. The importance of gene flow during speciation is hotly debated; however, it can be investigated by studying the process of intraspecific population differentiation. Here, I investigate the mechanisms that influence population differentiation and gene flow in brown (Sula leucogaster) and red-footed boobies (S. sula). These species are congeneric, broadly sympatric, and ecologically similar; however, they differ in their marine habitat preference (inshore vs. pelagic). I hypothesized that: (i) gene flow is restricted by major physical barriers in both species, and (ii) gene flow in the absence of physical barriers is more prevalent in red-footed boobies due to their pelagic marine habitat preference. First, I characterized the structure and function of the booby mitochondrial genome. Using extensive DNA sequencing and phylogenetic methods, I found that boobies have tandemly duplicated mitochondrial control regions that evolve in concert. I suggest that concerted evolution of duplicated control region may be common in seabirds. To quantify matrilineal population genetic structure and gene flow, I sequenced one control region in 513 brown and red-footed boobies. Both species exhibited strong population genetic structure that was attributable to continental barriers to gene flow such as the Isthmus of Panama. In the absence of physical barriers, gene flow was more prevalent in red-footed boobies. I also used microsatellite and nuclear intron loci to perform multilocus phylogeographic analyses of brown and red-footed boobies. Individuals of both species could be grouped into four genetic populations that corresponded to oceanographic regions. In red-footed boobies, gene flow following secondary contact of previously isolated lineages was common, perhaps due to a pelagic habitat preference. In brown boobies, major genetic populations apparently diverged in the absence of gene flow. Despite this, Isla San Benedicto in the Eastern Pacific is a site of secondary contact between brown booby lineages that diverged approximately one million years ago, and hybrids are apparently fertile. These findings suggest that gene flow following secondary contact may be an important, but overlooked, component of speciation. / Thesis (Ph.D, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2012-04-28 17:28:53.302

Anthropogenic influences and climate change are warming rivers in New Brunswick and threatening the cold water habitats of native salmonids. When ambient river temperatures in summer exceed the tolerance level of Atlantic salmon and brook trout, individuals behaviourally thermoregulate by seeking out cold water refugia. These critical thermal habitats are often created by tributaries and concentrated groundwater discharge. Thermal infrared imagery was used to map cold water anomalies along a 53 km reach of the Cains River on 23 July 2008. Although efficient and useful for mapping surface temperature of a continuous stream reach, the fish did not use all identified thermal anomalies as refugia. Overall, 100 % of observed large brook trout >35 cm in length were found in 30 % of the TIR-mapped cold water anomalies. Ninety eight percent of observed small brook trout 8 – 30 cm in length were found in 80 % of the mapped cold water anomalies and their densities within anomalies were significantly higher than densities outside of anomalies. Fifty nine percent of observed salmon parr were found in 65 % of the mapped anomalies; however, they were dispersed within study sites and their densities were not significantly different within anomalies compared to outside of the anomalies. No brook trout were observed at the seven noncold water study sites that were investigated. Preference curves for various habitat variables including velocity, temperature, depth, substrate, and deep water availability near cold water anomalies were developed based on field investigations during high temperature events (ambient river temperature >21 oC). Combined with thermal imagery, managers can use the physical descriptions of thermal refugia developed here as a tool to help conserve and restore critical thermal refugia for Atlantic salmon and brook trout on the Cains River, and potentially similar river systems.

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