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<p>The current quantitative correlational study used statistical analysis to determine if a significant relationship existed between accountability and commitment (predictor variables) and flight crew performance (criterion variable). A random sample of 205 flight crew personnel were selected from the targeted population of 371 personnel. Descriptive statistics were conducted on the sample and variables of interest. Cronbach?s alpha reliability statistics were also presented for the scales. Multiple linear regression tests were conducted to address the research questions. Accountability composite scores ranged from 3.25 to 5.00. Composite scores for commitment ranged from 2.63 to 4.43, and composite scores for team performance ranged from 3.72 to 4.28. Simple linear regression tests were used in the study to test two hypotheses that involved the influence of accountability and commitment on flight crew teams? performance. Findings for the study indicated that the assumptions were met and that a significant relationship existed between the influence of accountability and commitment on airline flight crew teams? performance. In addition, results from the linear regression tests determined that there were significant positive correlations between accountability and commitment (independent) and flight crews? team performance (dependent) variables.

The primary intent of this degree paper is to analyze the fiscal impact of nonresidential development on annexed territory in the City of East Point, Georgia. The analysis projects the direct, current, public costs and revenues associated with nonresidential development on one hundred fifty (150) acres of annexed land. The analysis considers the current costs and revenues of the development as if it were completed and operating today. The Proportional Valuation Method (PVM), developed by Robert W. Burchell and David Listokin (1980) was used to conduct the analysis. PVM is an average costing approach used to project the impact of nonresidential development on local costs and revenues. The method assigns costs attributable to the share of the real property value that nonresidential use adds to a city's real property tax base. The method employs a two step process to assign a share of municipal costs to the new development. First, a share of the city's total operating expenditures is given to all local nonresidential uses. Second, a portion of these nonresidential costs is allocated to the incoming nonresidential facility. The purpose of this study is to determine the costs and revenues associated with the development of an office industrial park complex on 150 acres of nonresidential land acquired by the City of East Point, Georgia. This study is significant because of the fact that the analysis provides useful information which the officials of the City of East Point can use to determine whether the annexation will impact positively on the revenue base of the city. The findings indicate that there is the possibility that the city's goal of increasing its revenue base can be realized. The estimated costs that the city will incur from the development totaled $365,775 while estimated revenues to be generated totaled $12,381,452.36. A net surplus of $12,015,677.36 will therefore come to the city as a result of this acquisition.

The purpose of this study is to isolate some of the major managerial problems prevalent in the City of Muskegon Heights, Michigan, to elaborate on some of the contributing factors leading to these problems, and to make some recommendations on the fiscal future of this city in view of these problems. No effort is made to deal with the political situation of the City. The writer recognizes that the political problems are indeed serious and that they do impact on the managerial problems. However, the identification and magnification of the political problems require an independent effort altogether. It is virtually impossible to identify and illuminate of magnify each managerial problem as it effects service delivery. But the major ones are discussed to a considerable extent thus allowing the reader a broad view of this city's municipal operation.

This study dealt with a personnel problem which emanates from the ineffectiveness of the Career Ladder program for probation services within the Georgia Department of Offender Rehabilitation. Emphasis was upon the impact of the problem on the probation staff's provision of supervision and services for effective rehabilitation of offenders. Probation staff included positions of probation/parole aide, probation/parole officer I, probation/parole officer II, probation/ parole officer III and unit coordinator. Insufficient advancement Opportunities and an inadequate position/classification system were contributing factors to the ineffectiveness of the Career Ladder. Research and analysis were used to indicate that the ineffectiveness of the Career Ladder program was due to the agency's inability to attract and retain the most competent staff. An additional adverse effect of the Career Ladder program was the ineffective rehabilitation of offenders. To resolve this personnel problem, the implementation of a staff development program is recommended. The program should be designed to attract and retain the kind of staff needed to provide quality services to offenders.

The diversity visa (DV) lottery was created as part of a larger immigration bill in 1990 in order to diversify an immigrant pool that has favored Asian and Hispanic immigrants since the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. Traditional research on the national security ramifications of immigration policy has focused on highly publicized issues, such as illegal immigration and asylum and amnesty programs, to the exclusion of the risks of fraud and terrorism inherent in the DV lottery. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the national security vulnerabilities of the DV lottery. Open-ended interviews were conducted with a snowball sample of 10 foreign service officers who adjudicate lottery visas for U.S. immigration from nations designated as state sponsors of terror. Guided by the framework of systems theory and the theory of constraints, content analysis was employed to reveal patterns and themes in the data. The findings were consonant with the framework, revealing the barriers and vulnerabilities of the DV lottery. Other findings showed both that the DV lottery has a negative impact on U.S. national security and fraud remains a serious concern, and yet there was no consensus on the scope and origin of potential terrorist threats. Recommendations include increasing collaboration and integration among agencies implementing the DV lottery, developing information-sharing agreements with other countries, and taking measures to eliminate fraud. The implications for social change include informing the public, immigration agencies, academics, and policy makers about the vulnerability of the DV lottery to fraud and misrepresentation; enhancing the debate about balancing immigration policies and national security; and possibly ending the DV lottery.

<p> The craft beer industry has experienced significant growth over the past several years, especially in the Commonwealth of Virginia. While the effects of winery operation on the tourism industry have been widely researched, a dearth of similar knowledge exists for the craft brewery. Moreover, there lacks an understanding of who these visitors to craft breweries aree, how similar they are to their winery counterparts, and if the same individuals are visitors to both. </p><p> This study of Virginia wineries and breweries sought to begin the process of satisfying this need for information through an exploratory study using a questionnaire through intercept interviews. Respondent demographics, cursory visitation patterns, and general expenditure patterns comprise the three main components of research undertaken. The information discovered is of particular value to brewery and winery marketers, advertisers, festival coordinators, policy makers, DMOs, DMCs, and any industry that serves in the tourism industry. </p><p> Through analysis of the survey results, conclusions on who brewery and winery visitors are and whether or not they are the same, as well as recommendations to continue the growth of beverage tourism in the Commonwealth of Virginia are explored. Lastly, areas of future research are delineated to foster future research in this tourism niche.</p>

A major goal of information systems management is to improve the efficiency of the software development process. However, the history of software development is filled with failures, late deliveries, cost overruns, and user dissatisfaction. Ongoing efforts are being made to enhance the processes and techniques used in the management of software projects, but despite the gains that have been made in the past decade, we still lack an understanding of the modern software development process, especially in the area of management and control of environmental resource dependence. The objective of this research has been to study and model the general management strategies, processes, and techniques used in managing software projects from a resource dependence perspective. A survey of the literature and a survey of computer professionals were conducted to gain insight into the problems and opportunities in managing software development projects. Based on the literature and the survey findings, an integrated model for software project management was developed. This model was tested against data collected from a large software development project at a major corporation. Software project management trends were further explored by reviewing the latest development in software project management tools. From the findings of the model test and the review of software tools, a set of opportunities for future research in software project management were suggested.

Contemporary businesses compete in a highly reactive marketplace that demands a new breed of sophisticated knowledge workers. Managing these valuable people requires understanding the effects of their work environment on productivity. Frequent interruptions are an integral part of the knowledge worker's day. In this laboratory study, two attributes of interruption, frequency and length, are examined in conjunction with two levels of task complexity. A 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design with a control group for each level of task complexity resulted in ten unique treatments. Using personal computers, 122 student subjects from undergraduate courses in production management, took a practice, multiple-choice examination (the primary task) over course material. All subjects were allowed exactly 45 minutes to work on the primary task. Interruption episodes of trivia questions were generated at random intervals. Subjects were interrupted either two or six times with interruption lengths of either 30 seconds or 120 seconds. Performance on the primary task is measured using a point scoring system. A post experiment questionnaire was used to validate experiment manipulations. Using a multiple regression approach to analysis of covariance, approximately 70% of variance in performance is explained. Final models include a covariate for prior classroom performance. Four significant conclusions emerged from the analysis: (1) In the high complexity version of the primary task, short interruptions result in an average performance reduction of 44% relative to control subjects. (2) For the low complexity task, long interruptions result in an 11% average performance improvement over control subjects. (3) Performance in long interruption treatments is significantly better than performance under short interruption treatments for both levels of task complexity. (4) No consistent effects for frequency of interruption occur at the levels used in the study.

The need for personal financial planning has increased in the past few years because of deregulation of the financial industries. Expert system development has begun to emerge as a tool for many industries to increase their access and manipulation of information and data. This research looks at the domains of personal financial planning and expert systems technology by combining them with the systems development methodology. The qualitative and quantitative sides of financial planning have not been previously combined in an expert system for financial planning. Experts from the five main areas of financial planning and one hundred and ninety-one financial planning companies were included in the study. The expert system developed was evaluated in a 2 by 2 factorial design with the presence of the expert system on one axis and the presence of the expert planner during the process on the other axis. Eighty-five of the companies had the system installed at their site for two months of everyday use on the job and measurements were taken during the last two weeks. Fifteen hundred and sixty-seven plans were developed and analyzed. Data was collected from the files and the plans generated by the expert system or by the existing system. It was also collected from questionnaires filled out by both the planners and the clients before and after their use of one of the systems. The data were analyzed with respect to twenty-one hypotheses using statistical analysis, primarily ANOVA. The results indicate that the expert system can significantly increase the information processing capacity of financial planning companies. The process used for financial planning by the expert system was more comprehensive than existing systems which tend to focus on only one area of financial planning. The organizational structure was changed as a result of introducing the expert system into the financial planning process as witnessed by the increase of expertise for both the expert planners and the non-expert clerks.