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This pilot study sought to describe the patterns of health risk factors and objective physical findings in well rural Appalachian women. A retrospective chart review was conducted of the records of 50 women who received a health history, physical examination, and appropriate laboratory testing as part of a rural community wellness project. The most prevalent risk factors found were past or present smoking, history of lung disease, physical inactivity, obesity, and hypercholesterolemia. Higher numbers of risk factors per person were correlated with lower levels of education. The most prevalent physical findings were systolic blood pressure greater than 140 and diastolic greater than 90, diastolic blood pressure greater than 90 with normal systolic, total cholesterol greater than 240, low-density lipoprotein levels greater than 130, and greater than 20% over ideal weight. This sample reveals a high prevalence of risk factors for the leading causes of mortality in middle-aged women, partially accounted for by low formal education levels, poverty, and limited access to health care.

Magister Theologiae - MTh / The Bible, a treasure of all Christian churches, contains the irreplaceable primary documents of the Christian faith. The Bible is also a collection of ancient documents, written in strange and even exotic languages of other ages and cultures. Much in the Bible is foreign to urbanized Western civilization and requires exploration. The Bible is also the major source of information about the history of Israel in pre-Christian times and the origins of the Christian faith and the Christian Church. Under all these aspects the Bible has been the source of information and doctrine, of faith and hope. lts interpretation has also been a battleground, for men's (sic.) hopes and most deeply held convictions are buttressed from the Bible, differences as to what the Bible says or how to read it provoke violent debate (Krentz 1975: 1).

Orientation: For decades, organisations have implemented performance management systems in order to promote an environment focused on performance enhancement and employee development. Performance appraisals have consistently been at the centre of performance management systems. However, they are often perceived as being ineffective or unsatisfactory, resulting in dissatisfaction and contributing to financial and time losses. Performance Appraisal Satisfaction (PAS) amongst employees is, therefore, vital if organisations want to achieve desired outcomes. Limited research was found that explained or described methods which organisations can utilise to increase PAS amongst employees. Research rationale and objectives: As organisations become more global, innovative and employee-focused, the need to cater to individual needs and desires has significantly increased. This study aimed to investigate ways in which PAS can be increased through the individualisation of three performance appraisal aspects namely; number of raters; method of feedback and frequency of feedback. In terms of the individualisation factors, this study has focused on; level of perceived self-efficacy and the Big Five personality dimensions. Research approach: Given the limited pre-existing literature on this topic, the present study used an exploratory research approach to engage with the results in an in-depth manner. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected from employees and Human Resource practitioners in order to establish performance appraisal preferences and the viability of implementing individualised performance appraisals. Composite questionnaires consisting of Likert-type questions, choice-based conjoint tasks and open-ended questions, were distributed utilising a convenient and snowball methodology. Completed questionnaires were analysed by means of descriptive and inferential and statistics, conjoint analysis, as well as by means of a thematic analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Human Resource practitioners and analysed using a thematic analysis. Main findings: Results from the descriptive and inferential statistics indicate that the level of self-efficacy and personality-type are significant in predicting certain performance appraisal preferences. For example, respondents with increased levels of perceived self-efficacy significantly preferred face-to-face feedback from a manager (p < .05) while respondents with low levels of perceived self-efficacy significantly preferred impersonal feedback (p < .05). Results from the composite questionnaire’s open-ended items indicated that employees prefer performance appraisals which considered their personality type and level of self-efficacy. However, the thematic analysis conducted on the HR practitioner interviews revealed that HR practitioners are hesitant to implement a novel performance appraisal system for reasons including; gaining top-management support and the additional time and administrative burden it would likely impose on the HR practitioners themselves.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education of the Faculty of Education at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2013. / Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) is an appraisal system of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education. The appraisal system intended to develop educators on an on-going basis. The primary aim of this investigation was to establish the effect that IQMS has on educator efficacy. As an introduction to the study, the requirements for educator efficacy were reviewed. In so doing, the various characteristics for effective teaching-learning situation and of an “ideal” educator were highlighted. The didactical behaviour of successful educators was also in focus. The requirements for educator efficacy and the effects of IQMS on educator efficacy were investigated using a literature and empirical study. The study revealed that IQMS has a positive effect on educator performances. For the purposes of the empirical investigation, a structured questionnaire was used. Four hundred and six (406) questionnaires were completed by educators from the primary and secondary schools from the Pinetown District in the Ethekwini Region of KZN and these questionnaires were analysed. The data was processed and interpreted using descriptive and inferential statistics. / University of Zululand

Information on Water Conservancy Districts in Utah was collected by mail and personal visits to district offices. There are a total of 12 districts in Utah, but only five were selling water in 1965. The water development projects of the remaining seven were not finished. Some of the districts are small and consolidation would bring them many advantages of large scale operation. The success of the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District was evaluated from the point of view of economic efficiency . Insistence on long term contract, adherence to water duty requirements set by the Bureau of Reclamation, inability to sell water on land acreages larger than 160 acres, pricing based on costs of producing and distributing water, and disallowing resale or transfer of water rights were hindrances to the efficient allocation of water. High projections of demand, high prices, and salt content in the water were impediments to the District in sel ling all water available.

This dissertation investigates the question: are mission critical occupations more favored than other occupations in performance appraisals in pay pools? While many types of bias in performance appraisals occur, such as gender or race, occupational bias--favoring or showing preference for one occupation over another in performance appraisals and subsequent ratings-- has not been fully examined. There is a lack of empirical evidence that addresses occupational bias in performance appraisal and ratings in the Federal civil service sector, and more specifically the Department of Defense. The importance of occupational bias in performance appraisals is seen in the cost to organization and taxpayer, the degradation to fairness and trust in the workplace, and the erosion of organizational values. The methodology used to address this dissertation's hypothesis is a quantitative-qualitative inquiry that investigates performance ratings of the engineering occupational series within three Department of Defense (DOD) engineering agencies. The methodology is comprised of three parts: quantitative analysis of pay pool rating data and qualitative analysis of archived documents and expert interviews. Each part of the methodology is intended to be mutually supportive. The quantitative analysis yields a null finding of the hypothesis based on two findings. First, indicators of occupational bias were not found using differences of average occupational performance ratings between engineers and other occupations in three DOD engineering organizations. Second, Fiscal Year 2008 engineer occupational series performance ratings in three Department of Defense engineering agencies did not show statistically significant differences when compared to occupations such as personnel management specialists and accountants. This may be due to privacy act limitations in the data set used. Anecdotal evidence of preferences for mission critical occupations in performance appraisals and ratings was found to support the hypothesis. / Ph. D.

The principal objective of the research is to diagnose the causes and symptoms of company failure and to investigate whether a pattern of failure could be determined to enable management and other interested parties to identify the risks threatening the survival of the company. The current research divides into three main areas 1. Development of a Data Bank and a study of the age structure of failed companies. 2. An application of reliability management techniques to the analysis of company failure data. 3. Identification of causes and symptoms of company failure based on risk management methodology. Data were collected and analysed for approximately 2000 manufacturing companies which had undergone either compulsory or creditors' voluntary liquidation during the period 1970 to 1977. A Data Bank was established with classified information for 16 different groups of companies making up the manufacturing industry. The classification was based on the Standard Industrial Classification. A study of the age structure of each group was carried out and compared with previous studies. Reliability methodology was applied to the analysis of company failure data for the identification of the failure pattern. Best distributions describing failure behaviour of companies were also determined and the validity and application of various statistical distributions were examined. A detailed examination of the histories of some large companies which failed during the period 1970-1977 was carried out. Risks, weaknesses and possible causes and symptoms of failure were investigated and discussed. A list of the causes of failure emerged from the analysis is drawn and the non-financial symptoms are highlighted in a tabular form. Illustrative models for the appraisal of change and identification of causes and symptoms are developed and critical factors discussed. Finally, general conclusions arising out of the research are-presented, along with recommendations for further research and study.

<p> The book of Judges fairly bristles with 'heroes' of ambivalent moral character, and acts of dubious propriety, such as Gideon's use of signs to determine YHWH's will, Jael's murder of Sisera, and the sacrifice of Jephthah's daughter. The terse narrative and the reticent narrator frequently leave the ethical character of these actions in doubt. My goal in this dissertation is to identify evidence available in the text, both literary and linguistic, in order to evaluate the characters and actions of various participants in the narratives of the "major" judges. On the basis of this evidence I will not only draw evaluative conclusions about the characters of the judges and the Israelite people themselves, but also about their varying perceptions of YHWH that these characters hold.</p> <p> In order to facilitate these goals, I will take an interdisciplinary approach. I will employ the concept of narrative perspective from literary criticism and consider the evaluative stance of the implied author, the narrator, and the various characters in the narrative. I will also draw heavily on the Appraisal Theory of J. R. Martin and P.R.R. White, which in turn derives from Systemic Functional Linguistics. By merging these two approaches I will develop a new model which I call Narrative Appraisal which will then be applied to the Hebrew text of Judges. The Narrative Appraisal Model can clarify individual evaluative instances as well as patterns of linguistic features at the level of discourse that elucidate the implied author's stance.</p> <p> The lexicogrammatical and ideational evidence produced by this methodology reveals contrasts and trajectories within and across the narratives which, when analyzed, give insight into the characters of the Israelites, the character of YHWH, and the relationship between the Israelite people and their God. It also helps to identify the unifying ideological stance of the book. In simplified terms, this ideology affirms the holiness, justice, mercy, and faithfulness of YHWH, the need for the Israelites to maintain absolute loyalty and obedience to him, the legitimacy of discipline, the engrained tendency of humanity to defy their God and follow their own ways, the ultimate failure of human leadership in the form of judges, and the essential need for YHWH to intervene with a new model of leadership.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)