Univ., Habil.-Schr.--Kiel, 2003.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, August 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 206-214).

In the last few years have farmers' markets in the Czech Republic still greater success. By farmers' markets we are trying to promote local and regional food to get into a deeper level of awareness, and to become more popular. The range is very varied but referring to the range of many legislative regulation, laws, norms and announcements. Farmers' markets are subject to the same legislation as any other food sales. In the dissertation were performed structured interviews with vendors at farmers markets and held a questionnaire survey among customers of farmers' markets and wider community from all over the Czech Republic. In the questionnaire surveys got involved 187 respondents and thanks to this survey were evaluated by the fixed hypothesis. Three out of four.

This research investigates the relationship between the leadership, internal quality, and customer satisfaction levels in the dealerships of a South African motor vehicle organisation. The Service Profit Chain provides the background theory to this relationship, by suggesting that various factors within the service delivery system of an organisation affect the level of customer satisfaction. From the Service Profit Chain, it is established that two of the prevalent factors affecting customer satisfaction, are leadership and internal quality. The Full Range Leadership Development Theory provides the backdrop for analysing the leadership style of each dealership by using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. The Competence Process forms the theoretical construct against which the internal quality of these dealerships is assessed using the Organisation Competence Analysis Questionnaire. Information was gathered, using these two instruments, from a sample of 85 motor vehicle dealerships within South Africa. The customer satisfaction levels at each of these dealerships, is measured by the motor vehicle organisation’s own instrument, known as the Customer Satisfaction Index. Data obtained from each instrument, for the respective dealerships, was then statistically analysed. However, due to the low reliability of the instruments used in this research, the results of this study indicate that there is no relationship between the leadership, internal quality, and customer satisfaction levels within a South African motor vehicle organisation. Therefore we can conclude that the null hypotheses can not be rejected.

No description available.

The purpose of this study is to examine three factors relating to drug arrests using secondary data analysis. First, ethnic characteristics of a dealer were analyzed according to the location from where they sold their product. Next, possible factors associated with a police officer using force at the time of a drug arrest were also analyzed. Finally, factors associated with a gun being present at the time of a drug arrest were also analyzed.

This thesis aims to document and discuss the role and legacy of the Italian antiquario Alessandro Contini Bonacossi (1878-1955) in the international secondary art market for Old Master paintings during the first half of the twentieth century. Grounded in the discovery of primary archival evidence and set against the major historical events that unfolded during his lifetime, this work presents its findings by following a research process adopted to answer the following research questions: who was Contini Bonacossi, what was his business network (where was he buying paintings, at what prices, and who were his clients), what was his modus operandi for selling and marketing his work, and what is his legacy. To answer these questions, I made extensive use of primary sources, the vast majority of which are unpublished or have never been used before in this context, framed by a contextualized analysis of their historical background. The archival investigation has brought to light, for the first time, documentary evidence of Contini Bonacossi's transactions and business ties with other European dealers such as Duveen Brothers, Heinemann Galleries, Colin Agnew, Colnaghi, Böhler, Steinmeyer, and Kleinberger Galleries; with scholars such as Wilhelm von Bode, Roberto Longhi, and Bernard Berenson; as well as previously unknown connections Contini Bonacossi had with members of the Harvard museum community and the Boston cultural elite such as Paul Sachs (1878-1965), Edward W. Forbes (1873-1969) Denmann Ross (1853-1935); and offers new details regarding his relationship with the Kress Brothers, their gifts of artworks to the new National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, and the Kress Foundation's Regional Program that endowed museums across the US. Ultimately, this work adds to our knowledge important sources for the study of the history of private and public collecting during its crucial years in the formation of American museums. More broadly, in documenting Contini Bonacossi's case, this study strives to rethink the role of art dealers, to look at them not solely as market professionals engaged in the dynamics of supply, demand and profit, but first and foremost as bearers and sellers of culture, whose activities were fully embedded in the socio-political environment of their time and so to acknowledge and extend knowledge about their active role in the international dissemination and interpretation of cultural heritage.

O setor de telefonia vem passando por transformações em seus canais de vendas nos últimos anos, o que tem afetado a forma como as competências organizacionais e funcionais são transmitidas para toda a rede de canais de distribuição das operadoras. A presente pesquisa visa a identificar e descrever quais são as principais lacunas existentes no desdobramento das competências organizacionais e funcionais de agentes autorizados que apresentam contrato de representantes comerciais junto a uma operadora de telefonia móvel do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Para tanto, a pesquisa envolveu a percepção tanto de proprietários quanto de funcionários da operadora, a fim de comparar tais visões e, assim, identificar pontos de convergência e divergência que pudessem se caracterizar em lacunas no desdobramento das competências. Foram entrevistadas 11 pessoas, sendo seis proprietários de agentes autorizados e cinco funcionários da operadora. A partir das entrevistas, foram identificadas 13 variáveis significativas quanto ao desdobramento das competências, que foram posteriormente reagrupadas em seis categorias de análise, realizando-se a identificação e descrição das percepções de cada um dos grupos de forma individualizada (em um primeiro momento), para posteriormente se proceder à comparação de tais visões. A partir desta comparação frente às seis categorias é que foi possível identificar as 22 lacunas que delas emergiram e que formam os principais fatores a serem desenvolvidos pela operadora para que haja o desdobramento das competências. / Over the last few years, the telephony industry has been experiencing transformations in its sales channels. Such adjustments have caused an impact on the way functional and organizational competences are transferred to the operator’s distribution channel networks. The present research intends to identify and delineate the main gaps that arise in the unfolding of functional and organizational competences with the authorized dealers who hold a business representative contract with a mobile telephony operator company in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In order to identify the converging and diverging aspects that could constitute gaps in the unfolding of competences, this research confronted both the perceptions of the authorized dealer’s and the operator company employee’s. A total of 11 people were interviewed, 6 of whom were authorized dealers and 5 were employees of the operator company. From this interview’s, 13 important variables were initially identified and later regrouped into 6 categories for analysis. Individualized identification and description of the perceptions of each group was performed at first and comparison of the different points of view followed. From such comparison, it was possible to identify 22 points of divergence which comprise the main parameters to be improved by the operator so that the unfolding of competences can happen in a satisfactory manner.

Commodities futures trading went through unparalleled structural transformation during the first decade of the 2000s, which ultimately resulted in long lasting impacts on the volume and open interest levels as well as on the access to these markets and inclusion of new participants. Benefiting from the new sets of high frequency data made available due to these transformations, this dissertation is composed of three papers that investigate different market microstructure aspects of the commodities futures markets at BM&F-Bovespa. The first paper analyzes the modelling and forecasting of realized volatility in the corn and live cattle markets. For this purpose, the heterogeneous autoregressive model (HAR-RV) proposed by Corsi (2009) was used, as well as its extensions adapted to include jump components (Andersen et al., 2007) and leverage components (Corsi and Reno, 2012). Using measurements to compare both analysis, results show that modelling in-sample realized volatility is best performed if jumps and leverage components are included in the model. Out-of-sample forecasts results for the live cattle market show that there was no statistically significant difference between the models. For the corn markets, difference in the models\' forecast performance was found at the daily horizon only. The second paper delves into the relationship between volatility, volume and bid-ask spread in the corn and live cattle markets. Considering that these are emerging agricultural markets, concentration measures were also included. A three-equation structural model was used to capture the relationship between volatility, volume and bid-ask spread and the estimation was performed using the IV-GMM approach. Findings show that bid-ask spread levels are higher for live cattle markets than it is for corn markets. In addition, bid-ask spread is negatively related to volume and positively related to volatility. The significance and magnitude of the responses depend on the level of liquidity in each market. Further, results point out that concentration impacts corn and live cattle differently. The third paper examines the dynamic relationship between dealers activity and market structure in the live cattle inter-dealer market at BM&F-Bovespa. First, a descriptive analysis of the live cattle inter-dealer market structure is carried out and then follows an investigation of the dynamic of dealers\' activity and its determinants. Results indicate that the live cattle inter-dealer market is not competitive and that dealers\' activity is positively related to market concentration, quoted bid-ask spread, number of active dealers and the dealer\'s traded quantity. / Negociações nos mercados futuros de commodities passaram por transformações estruturais significativas durante a primeira década dos anos 2000, resultando em uma elevação dos níveis de volume e open interest, e também em uma maior facilidade de acesso a esses mercados e inclusão de novos participantes. Beneficiando-se da divulgação de dados de alta frequência possibilitada por estas transformações, esta tese, composta por três artigos, tem por objetivo investigar diferentes aspectos da microestrutura dos mercados de commodities da BM&F-Bovespa. O primeiro artigo analisa a modelagem e previsão de volatilidade realizada nos mercados futuros de milho e boi gordo. Para este fim, utilizou-se o modelo heterogêneo auto regressivo proposto por Corsi (2009), bem como suas extensões adaptadas para a inclusão dos componentes de saltos (jumps) (Andersen et al., 2007) e alavancagem (Corsi e Reno, 2012). Utilizando diferentes métricas de comparação, os resultados encontrados mostram que os modelos que incluem os componentes de saltos e os de alavancagem tem melhor desempenho que os demais em análises in-sample (modelagem). Por outro lado, a análise das previsões out-of-sample mostra que, para o mercado de boi gordo, não há diferença entre os modelos empregados, enquanto que para o mercado de milho verificou-se uma diferenciação preditiva no horizonte diário, porém para os horizontes semanal e mensal, os quatro modelos tiveram performance indistinta. O segundo artigo explora a relação entre volatilidade, volume e bid-ask spread nos mercados de milho e boi gordo. Levando em conta que se trata de mercados emergentes, métricas de concentração de mercado foram incluídas na análise. Para capturar a relação entre volatilidade, volume e bid-ask spread, um modelo estrutural de três equações simultâneas foi utilizado e a estimação foi feita através do modelo GMM com variáveis instrumentais. Os resultados indicam que os níveis de bid-ask spread encontrados para o mercado de boi gordo são maiores que os encontrados para o mercado de milho. Além disso, o bid-ask spread é negativamente relacionado ao volume e positivamente relacionado à volatilidade. Entretanto, a intensidade e magnitude da relação entre as variáveis depende dos níveis de liquidez dos mercados analisados. A concentração impacta o mercado de milho e boi gordo de forma diferente. O terceiro artigo investiga a dinâmica da relação entre a atividade dos dealers e estrutura do mercado de boi gordo na BM&F-Bovespa. Primeiramente, faz-se uma análise descritiva deste mercado e posteriormente estuda-se o comportamento dos dealers e seus determinantes. Os resultados indicam que os dealers no mercado de boi gordo não operam em uma estrutura competitiva e que a atividade destes é positivamente relacionada à concentração de mercado, ao bid-ask spread, ao número de dealers ativos e à quantidade de contratos transacionada pelos dealers.

The move from hazardous waste management to pollution prevention is viewed as a paradigm shift in American industry. Pollution prevention involves source reduction to reduce the amount of hazardous waste that is generated, and recycling of those wastes that cannot be prevented within the production process. The first piece of federal pollution prevention legislation was enacted in 1990. Subsequently, six states have passed similar laws that require industries producing hazardous waste to shift to less polluting practices. The Oregon Toxics Use Reduction and Hazardous Waste Reduction Act of 1989 requires businesses to develop and implement a hazardous waste reduction plan that reduces not only the amount of hazardous waste generated, but also the type and amount of materials classified as "toxic". Within the geographical region of Oregon, California, Washington, Alaska, and Idaho, only four studies exist that have researched waste reduction opportunities in the automobile industry. The purpose of this study was: 1) to determine the number of Small Quantity Hazardous Waste Generators within the Oregon automobile dealership industry, 2) to determine the amount of used radiator coolant and used crankcase oil that is generated by Oregon dealerships (two waste streams that are not being tracked by the regulatory community), 3) to compare the waste disposal practices of urban and rural facilities, and 4) to develop a "Model" Toxics Use Reduction and Hazardous Waste Reduction Plan to be used in regional training sessions. Based on a 74% rate of return (160 out of 215 dealerships), the results indicated that the gross quantities of the materials investigated (solvents, used oil, and used antifreeze) were greater in urban dealerships. These differences were not significant when quantities of material were standardized to the number of repair orders written. Urban dealerships generate 0.462 gallons of used oil per repair order written and rural dealerships generate 0.481 gallons. Urban dealerships also generate 0.209 pounds of hazardous waste for each repair order while rural dealerships generate 0.412 pounds. The data were used to develop a "Model" Toxics Use Reduction and Hazardous Waste Reduction Plan for this industry. The plan, which was published by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), provides dealerships and the entire automobile repair industry with a step by step guideline to comply with Oregon law in reducing the amount of toxic materials used and hazardous waste generated. / Graduation date: 1994