In this dissertation, I examine the effects of regulatory changes that affect the auditor's loss function on investors' perceptions of audit effectiveness. Specifically, I examine two changes intended (1) to improve audit efficiency and (2) to reduce auditor liability exposure. The first regulatory change, which was recently enacted, is the replacement of Auditing Standard 2 (AS2) with Auditing Standard 5 (AS5). The second regulatory change, which is currently a hypothetical change, is the passage of litigation reform aimed at limiting the auditor's liability exposure following an alleged audit failure. I examine perceived audit effectiveness rather than actual effectiveness because actual audit effectiveness is unobservable by investors. In an experiment using 101 MBA students as proxies for individual investors, I find that both changes are perceived by investors as reducing the amount of testing performed by the auditor when performing the internal control audit. I also find that both regulatory changes negatively affect investors' perceptions of audit effectiveness. Following the change in the auditing standard, experienced and inexperienced investors predict opposite stock price movement and, as a result, make different investment allocation decisions. In performing supplemental analyses, I find significant gender differences in predicted future stock prices, but not in perceptions of audit effectiveness or in perceptions of internal control quality.

Due to a variety of reasons, one of the most common types of training found at companies is safety and health training. As part of a comprehensive health and safety training program there is usually an ergonomics training course. These courses are used to empower the employees to identify hazards and set up their workstations with the goal of injury prevention and increasing employee efficiency. Even with their usage, little data exist on the effectiveness of ergonomics training. In addition, no published research is available on the effectiveness of office ergonomics delivered via the web. This research project investigated the effectiveness of office ergonomics training delivered by both an instructor and a web-based program. Using a methodology popularized by Kirkpatrick, this investigation focused on the effects of both training delivery methods for knowledge, behavior, and reaction to training. As a method for comparing results, data was collected for both the knowledge and the behavior prior to and post-training delivery. Data for reaction to training was collected post training. This investigation used multiple methods of comparisons between base pre and post-training data and between the two training delivery methods. These methods include intra-group, inter-group, gain-score, and normalized-scores comparisons. The result form these comparisons showed that for both delivery methods there was a significant increase for knowledge and behavioral changes. Additionally, the group that received web-based training had a significantly greater increase for both behaviors and knowledge. However, there was no difference between the two training methods for reaction to training. For the study population assessed, this investigation shows evidence that both instructor and web-based office ergonomics training is effective at generating behavior change and knowledge gain. However, this study shows that web-based training was more effective at generating a greater change than the instructor delivered course. Additionally, this study provides evidence that the common method of assessing participate reaction to training is not effective at determining the true effectiveness of the training.

Despite a rising interest in studying the effects and the antecedents of teacher efficacy, a review of literature indicated that an important individual variable has been left out of these studies. This is the cognitive component which Bandura (1977) suggests is central to the process of efficacy formulation. Specifically Bandura (1977) argues that for performance to be instructive for efficacy formulation, a type of cognitive appraisal needs to be present. To date, this cognitive appraisal has not been identified in teacher efficacy studies. The purpose of this thesis is to search for a way to represent this cognitive component and to examine its role in teaching performance and efficacy formulation. Two variables are selected as possible representations of this cognitive component. They are wisdom and wisdom in teaching. The two research questions developed for this study are: (1) What is the relative contribution of wisdom, wisdom in teaching, personal teaching efficacy, and general teaching efficacy to teaching performance? And (2) What is the relative contribution of wisdom, wisdom in teaching, and teaching performance to the formulation of personal teaching efficacy and general teaching efficacy? Eighty-nine final year student teachers were asked to respond to three instruments that measured their level of wisdom, wisdom in teaching, and teacher efficacy. These instruments were: (1) Life planning dilemma "Jack" (Smith & Baltes, 1987), (2) Teaching dilemma "Perimeter" (Arlin, 1987), and (3) The teacher efficacy scale (Gibson & Dembo, 1984). The participants were also asked to submit their teaching practicum marks. This mark represents their teaching performance. Teaching performance was best explained by the combined effects of wisdom in teaching and personal teaching efficacy than by either of them alone. Jointly these two variables accounted for 54% of variance in teaching performance. Wisdom in teaching and teaching performance provided a better explanation for the formulation of personal teaching efficacy than each taken in turn. The joint effects of wisdom, wisdom in teaching, and teaching performance accounted for 7% of variance in the formulation of both personal teaching efficacy and general teaching efficacy. An important finding from this study is that wisdom in teaching has the greatest impact on teaching performance. An implication of this finding is that teacher educators should develop and provide programmes which can help facilitate the growth of wisdom in teaching.

Pristatoma ryšių su visuomene svarba, taip pat analizuojamas švietimo akcijų populiarinimas visuomenei. Pristatoma Lietuvos švietimo sistema. Žvelgiama į skirtingus požiūrius, kaip reikia pateikti visuomenei informaciją apie vis didėjančias problemas. Siekiant parodyti, kokį poveikį visuomenei apie aktualias problemas ir klausimus gali daryti žiniasklaida, darbe aptariami žiniasklaidos darbo procesai, žiniasklaidos naudojami teoriniai mechanizmai ir modeliai, kuriais žiniasklaida vadovaujasi lemdama ir formuodama visuomenės nuomonę ir kaip žinios yra suvokiamos ir įvertinamos žiniasklaidos vartotojų. Taip pat nagrinėjama, ar žiniasklaida tinkamai atlieka savo funkcijas, kokie svarbiausi žiniasklaidoje vykstantys procesai, kokių pasekmių gali turėti švietimo sferai žiniasklaidos formuojamas įvaizdis. / The objective of the paper is to analyze the effectiveness of Lithuanian educational actions as well as to identify the problems and solutions to them in the course of those actions. The object of the paper is the educational actions organized in Lithuania as well as the point of view of teachers and pupils from Salcininkai region, and Vilnius city to educational actions, their causes and evaluation of them. The paper comprises the opinion of officials from The Ministry Of Education and Science.

This thesis demonstrates that optimal hedge ratios using futures contracts for Ontario and Alberta feedlot operators were low for live cattle and feeder cattle, and shows that the risk reduction from using US based live and feeder cattle futures was lower than 30% in most cases. Abstracting from the mean variance theoretical framework, constant optimal hedge ratios were estimated using OLS and SUR models. Time-varying optimal hedge ratios were estimated by GARCH models and the rolling window technique. Hedging effectiveness was measured by the variance reduction of hedged portfolios compared with a no-hedging position. Results suggested that hedging in the CME futures market reduced corn price variation by more than 50%. However, the optimal hedge ratios for cattle and barley in general were found to be low. Results also indicated that time-varying hedge ratios eliminated more risk than constant hedge ratios at the cost of frequently adjusting hedging positions. Higher optimal hedge ratios were obtained in the pre-BSE period than in the post-BSE period in both the commodity market and the currency market for joint hedging live cattle and the exchange rate. Both time-varying hedging and joint hedging strategies may generate additional transaction costs, which have negative impacts on the benefit from the potential higher risk reduction. / Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) Canadian Agricultural Trade Policy Research Network (CATPRN)

Environmental NGOs work to address a deficit in environmental protection and improvement. In order to achieve positive environmental outcomes, it is critical that these groups are as effective as possible. Studying how nonprofits construct their assessments of organizational effectiveness can reveal important insights into a sector's strategic vision and performance. This research explores how the leadership of large Canadian nonprofit environmental groups and their funders assess the effectiveness of environmental organizations. The analysis of interview data reveals key findings, including: that effectiveness assessments within this subsector are multidimensional with an emphasis on mission and goal attainment; there exists a reluctance to include resource efficiency in assessments despite research participants identifying resource deficiency as a major sector weakness; and that generally positive organizational self-assessments do not equate to a positive assessment of sector performance.

Following a meso-contingency approach (Rousseau & House, 1994), this study examined the relationship between efficacy beliefs and effectiveness outcomes in a team context. Specifically, the interaction effects of self-efficacy and group efficacy as well as their direct effects on effectiveness outcomes at the individual level and at the group level were examined. Forty-two work teams (174 members and 42 supervisors) from several industries within Western Canada completed a survey assessing their efficacy beliefs, their attitudes at work, and their performance. The cross-level hypotheses revealed that self-efficacy positively related to individual effectiveness and to team attitudes but not to team performance. Group efficacy positively correlated with team effectiveness but not with individual effectiveness. Moreover, group efficacy as a shared belief and as a perception of individual team members was hypothesized to moderate the relationship between self-efficacy and team members’ effectiveness. However, these moderation hypotheses were not supported. / ix, 105 leaves ; 29 cm

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