This thesis develops the theoretical foundation of the strategic-culture paradigm. This model focuses attention upon culture and appeals to the profit requisite associated with commercial activities, and is an integrator of business / domestic cultural expectations. I describe culture as an organizational attribute integral to behavior and strategy which represents a potentially powerful resource facilitating operational effectiveness, sustained competitive advantage, and increased business social accountability. This explanation relies upon conceptualizing culture at both the national and company level, and then explicating the dependent interplay between these realms. Specifically, I submit that corporations who establish and continually adapt their culture with the aim of striving to maintain a fit with the domestic context are more inclined to realize opportunities, attract customers, and endure unanticipated business environmental pressures. Using information collected on Nucor Steel and Southwest Airlines, I provide a preliminary assessment of the virtues of the strategic-culture model as it relates to explaining these firms and their operations.

Compared to other professions, women's representation in engineering professions is considerably lower than men's, and this particular situated-ness or locality makes women experience a unique process of identity construction. Using qualitative methods - two focus group meetings, nineteen autobiographical essays, and twenty two individual interviews, this research focuses on what women learn from their experiences in engineering school, and how they respond to their perceived experiences. This study proposes to delineate (a) the dynamic interaction between women and the social structure of engineering school; (b) women's perception and conceptualization of the social structure they practice; and (c) women's strategic responses to the structure leading to identity construction. Becoming an engineer is problematic for women because the identity of "engineer" is based upon hegemonic ideas developed by previous generations of engineers - men. This research explores how women, standing in the borderline of being women and being engineers, account and construct their identities as women engineers. Sometimes women are subtly or not subtly coerced; sometimes they embrace dominant ideas; sometimes they creatively resist dominant approaches.

Salmonellae are enteric bacteria infecting animals and humans. Large animal clinics and Veterinary Teaching Hospitals are greatly affected by Salmonella outbreaks and nosocomial infection. The risk of environmental contamination and spread of infection is increased when animals are confined in close contact with each other and subjected to increased stress factors. This study was designed to compare double-enrichment culture techniques with Gel-based and Real-time PCR assays in the quest for improved diagnostic methods for detecting Salmonella in equine fecal samples. 120 fecal samples submitted to the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory of the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at Texas A&M University (CML, VMTH, TAMU) were tested for Salmonella using all three techniques. Double-enrichment bacterial culture detected 29 positive results (24%), Real-time PCR detected 33 positive results (27.5%), and Gel-based PCR detected 73 positives results (60.8%). While culture and real-time PCR methods had similar results, the gel-based PCR method detected many more positive results, indicating probable amplicon contamination. Real-time PCR can be completed as soon as the day after submission while culture techniques may take 2 to 5 days to complete. However, viable bacterial cells are needed for antimicrobial susceptibility testing and serotyping: both important for epidemiological studies. Therefore, double-enrichment bacterial culture performed concurrently with real-time PCR methods could be efficient in clinical settings where both accurate and expedient results are required.

In this dissertation, I build on contemporary theoretical perspectives to interpret characteristics of contemporary cowboy culture. Specifically, I target the image of the cowboy in relation to solidarity. I assume that contemporary cowboy culture is an illusion or simulacra of something, something maybe once authentic. Now, it is built around language games, illusion, image and many other postmodern phenomena. Even so, in this work I explore how postmodernism is useful, which many are hesitant to do. This is a new twist or at least an interesting study in contrast to the enlightenment project. I rely heavily on theoretical discussion, qualitative analysis, participant observation and interpretive interactionism to accomplish this study and engage this culture. I integrate this approach into the continuing question about progress and the relationship between postmodernism and modernism, which is characterized here by McDonaldization. I find contemporary society provides opportunities to celebrate the benefits and development of postmodern social bonding. As a result, postmodernism, characterized by chaos, contradiction, and especially illusion is found to actually create solidarity and allow for Jungian rebirth of something authentic.

While schools in America are becoming more culturally diverse, the majority of first-year teachers continue to be white females. Although mentoring has proven to be an effective means of supporting first-year teachers, little research has been done that specifically addresses the first-year, white, female teacher's perceptions of her mentoring needs in teaching students of color. This qualitative research study examined the experiences of eight, first-year, white, female teachers teaching students of color in a large culturally diverse school district in Texas. Data were gathered over a period of 12 weeks. The participants' responses were collected through individual interviews, focused group interviews, and journal responses to five open-ended sentence stems. This research is an "attempt" to examine these participants' experiences because although multiple attempts were made to engage the participants in substantial discussion about their mentoring needs specifically related to being white teachers working with students of color, the participants would not participate at depth in conversations about race or culture. They did, though, discuss some of their mentoring needs, which were consistent with the already existing literature on first-year teachers and their mentoring needs. Three themes however, emerged. They were the context of mentoring, evident mentoring needs, and critical unrecognized mentoring needs. In the context of mentoring, the participants' mentoring experiences were examined. In the second theme, the participants' recognized mentoring needs were discussed. These included the participants' need for support in basic teaching skills and in managing their many emotions during this time. The third theme highlighted the critical and unrecognized needs of these first-year teachers to have an understanding of their own racial identity and how this affects their responsiveness to the cultures of their students. Recommendations were made for policy and practice so that pre-service teachers are fully prepared to think and behave in ways that will meet the needs of a diverse population of learners. These recommendations should be considered by all teachers. Here, I specifically made recommendations that would benefit the population that was the focus of this study, that of white first-year teachers who teach in culturally diverse classrooms.

Univ., Diss. u.d.T.: Lewis, Rhodri: John Wilkins's 'Essay' (1668) and the context of seventeenth-century artificial languages in England--Oxford, 2003. / Literaturverz. S. 233 - 256.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1991. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-70). Also available via the Internet.

Texte remanié de: Doct. th.--London--King's college. / Bibliogr. p. 235-248. Index.

Dissertation--Halle-Wittenberg--Universität, 2003. / DGfE = Deutsche Gesellschaft für Erziehungswissenschaft. Bibliogr. p. 237-250.

Diss.--Universität München, 2000. / Bibliogr. p. 229-250.