Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2004. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ99167

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This study applies the act paradigm to identify, explain, and compare persuasiveness of sex among generation-Y in China and generation-Y in Poland, to provide insights for communication practitioners, and to enhance future scientific research. In the conceptual part of the thesis, persuasion, sex, and culture were reconceptualized under the act paradigm. Sex was defined as a form of interpersonal involvement. It was measured in reference to its four stages: attraction, courtship, arousal, and allegiance. Culture was defined as a form of group involvement. It was measured in reference to the country’s ideology (parents and teachers) and religion. Persuasion was defined as a form of communication aiming at involvement. It was measured in reference to sex ideas at generation-Y and culture levels. The ideas were examined and selected as persuasive based on their strength and pressive relations with other ideas. For the purpose of collecting data, a structured interviewing protocol was designed and pilot-tested. Analytical methodology using in-depth interviews was conducted. Thirty-four generation-Y males and females, 17 from China, 17 from Poland, were interviewed during November and December 2013. In addition to culture, intimacy was also found to shape individuals’ sexual conduct. This new finding required further extension of the conceptual framework. Along with it, intimacy was defined as a form of conceptual involvement between two people that primarily occurred through verbal disclosure. Sex was further defined as a form of biological involvement between two people that primarily occurred through interactional touch. It was found that in China, ideology (parents and teachers) primarily shaped sexual conduct of young people. In Poland, the role was in the hands of religion (the Roman Catholic Church). In both countries, ideas about sex and intimacy were expressed through the same actions and artifacts; intimacy dominated over sex, which was attributed to cultural influence. While intimacy was stronger in China than in Poland, sex was stronger in Poland than in China. Conflict between the Church and generation-Y was identified in Poland. The only issues identified in China were the results of past tensions. The dissertation introduced and applied a new paradigm for social sciences— Langerian act-theory. In addition, the study initiated the building of previously nonexistent knowledge of Poland, and enriched the already growing knowledge of China. As a result, the application of its findings was provided for various communicators and academic disciplines. Keywords: Persuasion, sex, sex appeal, intimacy, culture, religion, ideology, China, Poland, generation-Y, Langer, act theory, act paradigm

In this thesis, I aimed to explore vocal attractiveness from an evolutionary perspective: how listener's preferences for vocal qualities of potential partners could increase mating success and reproductive success. Chapters 1-4 outline the background to the thesis, reviews acoustics, sexual selection theory, and human mate-choice. In chapter 5, I correlated attributions made to voices to the acoustic properties of the voices. In men's voices, pitch negatively predicted vocal attractiveness. Attributions of masculinity, size, age, health and vocal attractiveness were all positively correlated. In women's voices, pitch, formant dispersion and perceived health positively predicted vocal attractiveness. Masculinity, size and age negatively predicted vocal attractiveness. In chapter 6, I measured the effect of manipulating fundamental and/or formant frequencies (apparent vocal-tract length) on vocal attributions. Women found men's voices with lowered voice pitch and decreased formant dispersion more attractive, masculine, large, older and healthier. Women's size predicted preference for male vocal- tract length. In chapter 7, I explored attitudes to voices speaking vowels and whole sentences using a correlation design and acoustic manipulations. Women's self-rated attractiveness positively predicted vocal masculinity preferences. Most of the remaining studies focus on how hormones relate to vocal production and perception. Women with less oestrogen showed the biggest menstrual cycle shifts in vocal masculinity preferences, preferring masculinity most in the fertile phase (chapter 8). Men's testosterone levels predicted the size of changes in attributions of dominance to men's voices (chapter 9). Women's voice pitch correlated with facial-metric masculinity and facial attractiveness (chapter 10). Men preferred women's voices with raised pitch to lowered pitch at multiple levels of starting pitch (chapter 11). These findings indicate men preferred femininity to averageness. In chapter 12, I relate the work in this thesis to other work and the broader evolutionary perspective.

Despite the recent recession, organizations continue to search for the "right" employees. Such circumstances highlight the importance of further understanding how individuals make employment decisions and assess fit. By surveying 140 applicants who had recently finished the interview process at a large Midwestern hospital, the current study assessed the multidimensionality and predictive power of person-environment fit (person-vocation fit, person-job fit, person-person fit, and person-organization fit). Results suggested that person-environment fit is multi-faceted; fit dimensions simultaneously work together during the pre-hire phase. Specifically, person-person fit, person-organization fit, and person-vocation fit were significant predictors of organizational attraction. Person-person fit and person-job fit significantly predicted intentions to accept an employment offer. In addition, organizational attraction was identified as a partial mediator between overall person-environment fit and job offer acceptance intentions. Such findings contribute to the organization fit literature and provide practitioners with key insights on how applicants assess fit during the pre-employment stage.

abstract: According to the CDC in 2010, there were 2.8 million emergency room visits costing $7.9 billion dollars for treatment of nonfatal falling injuries in emergency departments across the country. Falls are a recognized risk factor for unintentional injuries among older adults, accounting for a large proportion of fractures, emergency department visits, and urgent hospitalizations. The objective of this research was to identify and learn more about what factors affect balance using analysis techniques from nonlinear dynamics. Human balance and gait research traditionally uses linear or qualitative tests to assess and describe human motion; however, it is growing more apparent that human motion is neither a simple nor a linear task. In the 1990s Collins, first started applying stochastic processes to analyze human postural control system. Recently, Zakynthinaki et al. modeled human balance using the idea that humans will remain erect when perturbed until some boundary, or physical limit, is passed. This boundary is similar to the notion of basins of attraction in nonlinear dynamics and is referred to as the basin of stability. Human balance data was collected using dual force plates and Vicon marker position data for leans using only ankle movements and leans that were unrestricted. With this dataset, Zakynthinaki’s work was extended by comparing different algorithms used to create the critical curve (basin of stability boundary) that encloses the experimental data points as well as comparing the differences between the two leaning conditions. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Bioengineering 2016

The increase in wind energy production has been relatively rapid and is expected to continue at a global scale. However, numbers of bat carcasses found at wind turbines in North America in the early 21st century raised concern about the plight of this taxon with the growth in wind-energy generation. This led to carcass searches for bats becoming commonplace at wind farms globally. However, few large scale systematic studies have assessed the effects of wind turbines on bats, especially for species considered potentially at higher risk in Europe. In this thesis the number and species of bats killed from wind farms were estimated across Britain, and the important predictors (i.e. activity, turbine characteristics and habitat) of fatality were determined. Insect abundance, biomass and bat activity was also quantified at turbine and control locations, to assess if insects and hence bats were attracted to turbines. In addition, assessments were made of the effects of increasing temporal and spatial replication of acoustic monitoring on estimates of species composition and bat activity. This was assessed for activity monitored at ground and at the centre of the rotor sweep area (the nacelle). Carcass searches were conducted using trained search dogs and concurrently bats were surveyed acoustically at three randomly selected turbines at ground and from the nacelle at 48 wind farms throughout Britain. Bats were also monitored acoustically at paired controls (with a randomly selected turbine) at 20 of the wind farms sites. In addition, nocturnal Diptera were sampled at 18 of the sites using a paired turbine and control design. Across 139 wind turbines, 188,335 bat passes were recorded and 2,973 carcass searches performed. Edge and open aerial foraging species, in particular Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus were most at risk of fatality 4 at wind farms in Britain. The number of Pipistrellus pipistrellus killed annually in Britain between mid-July and mid-October was estimated at 2,373 95% CI 513 to 4,233 and the number of P. pygmaeus at 3,082 95% CI 1,270 to 4,894. When compared to population estimates, the number of Pipistrellus pygmaeus killed was 57% higher than the number of P. pipistrellus killed (0.19% of the population versus 0.43%, respectively). This may be due to Pipistrellus pygmaeus flying more often within the rotor sweep area compared to P. pipistrellus. Activity measured at the nacelle, which is generally assumed to be a better predictor of fatalities, was not a significant predictor of the probability of a fatality for all species combined, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, or P. pygmaeus. Pipistrellus pipistrellus activity and P. pygmaeus activity, measured at ground level were not good predictors of their respective fatalities. Whilst there was some evidence that Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus activity monitored at ground level, was a significant predictor of the probability of their respective fatalities occurring, across wide ranging turbine types, fatality estimates were large. This is presumably due to the importance of turbine characterises (the wind speed that turbines become operational (cut-in speeds) turbine and the distance between the ground and blade tip at the bottom of the rotor sweep area) both being important negative predictors of fatalities for Pipistrellus pipistrellus. Predicting from models, if the cut-in speed is increased from 3.5 to 5 m s-1 the number of Pipistrellus pipistrellus fatalities would be reduced by 76% (0.23 fatalities per turbine per month to 0.06). These findings have important implications for guidance, since activity is the ubiquitous measure used to assess fatality risk for all species. Since, Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus were detected at 98% and 92% of sites respectively; it could be 5 assumed that these species would be detected at the majority of wind farms within their range. Therefore, in a British context, curtailing wind turbines below 5 m s-1 could be an effective mitigation strategy without the costly requirement to monitor activity. Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus activity was 46% (6.3 ± 1.3 SE mean passes per night c.f. 3.4 ± 1.3 SE) and 34% (4.0 ± 1.4 SE c.f. 2.7 ± 1.4 SE) higher at turbines compared to controls, respectively. Given that habitat and elevation were consistent between paired turbines and controls and monitoring was conducted on the same nights, higher activity at turbines compared to controls provides evidence that these two species are attracted to wind turbines. Furthermore, since the biomass of nocturnal Diptera, the main insect prey for Pipistrellus spp., was higher at controls compared to turbines, and bat foraging at turbines was not predicted by insect abundance or biomass, attraction is unlikely to be due to insects. Evidence presented here shows that bats are attracted to turbines, and therefore measuring activity at pre-construction sites for environmental impact assessments is unlikely to be effective. In conclusion, these results provide further evidence that common species are killed but generally in relatively low numbers, they also support the view that monitoring activity for assessing fatality risk at wind farms is ineffective. It is imperative that wind energy is developed using an evidence based approach. However, it also important that wind energy continues to contribute to an increasing renewable energy sector. In conclusion, results presented here, support that wind turbines are likely to be having a small impact on bat populations in Britain.

La recherche sur l’humour au travail fait l’objet d’un intérêt limité depuis de nombreuses années. Pourtant, ce sujet est étudié dans plusieurs autres domaines, notamment en médecine, où ses bienfaits sont documentés. Plusieurs gestionnaires croient que l’humour est un aspect essentiel du monde organisationnel et qu’il devrait être davantage présent. Un des bienfaits attribués à l’humour est son impact sur le fonctionnement des équipes de travail. Suivant cette logique, la cohésion d’équipe, un concept y étant directement lié, devrait être favorablement influencée par la présence d’humour. De plus, l’humour semble corrélé à plusieurs variables positives au travail, notamment la rétention du personnel, la créativité, la satisfaction au travail et l’engagement. Cependant, le peu d’études ayant mis en relation l’humour et les fonctionnements d’équipes obtiennent des résultats mitigés et plus nuancés qu’initialement anticipé. Une seule des études recensées se penche directement sur le lien entre humour et cohésion d’équipe à l’aide d’un devis quantitatif. Afin de remédier à cette lacune de la documentation, un devis de recherche quantitatif est proposé, visant à déterminer la nature du lien existant entre l’humour (en fonction de l’humour positif, de l’humour négatif, de l’humour envers l’exogroupe et du soutien du gestionnaire envers l’humour) et la cohésion d’équipe (en fonction de la cohésion de tâche, de la cohésion sociale et de l’attraction envers le groupe). Pour ce faire, un échantillon de 281 travailleurs issus de trois établissements faisant partie d’un même centre hospitalier universitaire ont rempli des questionnaires auto-complétés mesurant la cohésion d’équipe, les climats d’humour et le soutien du gestionnaire envers l’humour. Les données ont notamment été analysées par l’intermédiaire d’analyses de régression linéaire multiples et hiérarchiques. Parmi les résultats les plus pertinents, on dénote le fait que l’humour de type positif est associé positivement à toutes les composantes de la cohésion d’équipe, tandis que l’humour de type négatif et l’humour envers l’exogroupe (exercé au détriment de la haute-direction et des politiques organisationnelles) sont négativement liés à la cohésion de tâche. Ces résultats indiquent que le fait de mesurer l’humour est approprié pour appréhender la cohésion d’équipe et alimentent un courant de recherche qui demeure peu exploré à ce jour. Ils permettent également d’affirmer que l’humour n’est pas en contradiction avec les objectifs et les tâches à accomplir et, en ce sens, pistent les gestionnaires et psychologues organisationnels sur les comportements à adopter face au phénomène. Finalement, l’inclusion de types d’humour non positifs dans la présente recherche vient nuancer les propos des défenseurs de l’humour au travail, en jetant de la lumière sur les liens nuisibles que l’humour négatif ou l’humour envers l’exogroupe entretiennent avec la cohésion d’équipe.

The National Zoological Gardens of South Africa is an animal-based tourist attraction that needs to offer a competitive product in order to remain relevant and to meet its various mandates. Functioning within the experience economy it strives to stage experiences that satisfy the motivations and expectations of its visitors. The study aimed at determining who visits the zoo, what motivates them to visit the zoo as well as what their expectations are and whether the zoo meets their needs in this regard. It also aimed at determining whether or not different demographic groups had different needs and whether their specific needs were being met. The study employed two self-administered questionnaires, using convenience sampling, whereby visitors entering and leaving the zoo where requested to complete the questionnaires. The data was analysed using SAS 9.2 programme and a further G-Test for goodness of fit was performed to determined dependency between race demographic and response. A total of 572 entry questionnaires and 293 exit questionnaires were completed. The two largest demographic groups that visit the zoo are white and black visitors who responded as a relatively homogeneous group. It was concluded that there were not responses in these two groups that indicated dependency between race and response. For the smaller demographic groups some of responses indicated a dependency between race and response but these form a small component of the zoo’s visitors. A high revisit and referral intention are good indicators of visitor satisfaction with 279 indicating their intention to revisit and 277 to recommend the zoo to family and friends. This study emphasises the importance of understanding the motivations, expectations and satisfaction of demographic groups as part of effective experience management. / Dissertation (MPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Tourism Management / unrestricted

Artificial light is an important and necessary part of our urban environment, but has become a threat to biodiversity. It can have substantial direct and indirect effects on populations of all kinds of organisms. While light attraction in bats and moths has been well studied other organisms such as Trichoptera have been largely neglected, despite Trichoptera being one of the most abundant insect orders in freshwater systems. The light attraction of Trichoptera was studied through seasonal data from three different locations in Sweden. The data was examined through meta- and regression analyses to compare catches in light traps and passive traps. The use of relative abundances excluded bias from the species with large populations, and the difference in individuals caught between passive traps and light traps. The results indicated that artificial light could affect Trichoptera populations. Unlike moths, female Trichoptera were more attracted to light than males and attraction to light varied between species. In both cases, size dimorphism could explain the variation. Day-, evening- and night-active species were all attracted to light, but the latter more so. Research has shown that a false flight activity can occur in day-active Trichoptera when a lamp is lit during night, which could explain the capture of day- and evening-active species in a light trap. In all, artificial light could alter Trichoptera populations, changing sex ratios and species composition. This impact should be considered when erecting light sources near waterways.