Superintending an enterprise in an adverse environment can be a daunting task. If that environment is fraught with economic vagaries such as once found in the hyperinflationary Zimbabwe it can be catastrophic. Yet, some businesses survived when others collapsed. Suffice to infer that most insurance companies in Zimbabwe, buoyed by the need to confront the vagaries of the hyperinflation such as stunted growth, at the very least and enterprise collapse at the very worst had to resort to entrepreneurial intensity for survival. The research therefore sought to explore the extent of entrepreneurial intensity in such an adverse environment. Background to the research contextualised this study to the Zimbabwean scenario. The research problem was also dissected. Research objectives and questions were subsequently advanced to guide the direction of this study. Hypotheses were also proffered. From the outset, the study sought to project entrepreneurial intensity as collaborated and corroborated by other key concepts such as corporate entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial orientation. The research also explored various definitions of entrepreneurial intensity. It was noted that entrepreneurial intensity is synonymous with intensified entrepreneurial performance. Critical drivers for entrepreneurial intensity were analysed and essential determinants and antecedents of entrepreneurship were accorded space and importance. Various conceptual frameworks were also articulated to buttress the emerging arguments in the complex field of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intensity. The models advanced then served as a beacon in navigating the complex phenomenon of entrepreneurial intensity throughout this discourse. The study also argued that entrepreneurship can be measured to gauge its intensification levels at any given point in time. Consequently, a few models were advanced to explain entrepreneurial outcomes. Therefore, data gathered on 307 respondents were subjected to various tests in an effort to discover if entrepreneurial intensity was responsible for keeping most insurance companies afloat during the hyperinflation. Ultimately, the results confirmed the presence of entrepreneurship – its nature and form in the insurance industry in hyperinflationary Zimbabwe, particularly in the years 2007-2010. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Business Management / PhD / Unrestricted

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / In traffic engineering, the assessment of capacity in basic segment of freeway is a critical factor for planning, design and operational analysis of the freeway facilities. Thereby, the Highway Capacity Manual - HCM is the main guide used in many countries of the world including Perú that contain the methodology to estimate freeway capacity in traffic studies. Nevertheless, the information of vehicular traffic used for the construction of the models proposed by the HCM, reflect the characteristics of North American features. Therefore, its application in other traffic conditions, must be backed by studies of the local conditions and calibrations of the models proposed, hereby, adjusting to each city. The objetive of this research, is calibrate and compare of the HCM 2010 and HCM 2016 models, starting off the traffic engineering study in Panamericana Sur freeway located in Lima, Perú. The report will recommended the application of a calibrated model that best represents the local Peruvian conditions. The results of this study suggest that the model of calibrated capacity HCM2016, is the best representation, with a reliability of 97%, the local behavior of the basic freeway segments in function of the speed and the flow intensity. After applying the calibrated model into basic freeway segments concessioned by Rutas de Lima SAC, it was reflected that the use of the HCM2000, employed by this Company, show flow intensities within a level of service - LOS D, while, the calibrated HCM2016 shows us that those values are found, in reality, within a level of service - LOS E.

This study examines the relationship between gully erosion in channels, sidewalls, and interfluves, and precipitation parameters (duration, total accumulation, average intensity, and maximum intensity) annually and seasonally to determine seasonal drivers for precipitation-related erosion. Ordinary Least Square regression models of erosion using precipitation and antecedent precipitation at weekly lags of up to twelve weeks were developed for three erosion variables for each of three geomorphic areas: channels, interfluves, and sidewalls (nine models in total). Erosion was most pronounced in winter months, followed by spring, indicating the influence of high-intensity precipitation from frontal systems and repeated freeze-thaw cycles in winter; erosion in summer was driven by high-intensity precipitation from convectional storms. Annually, duration was the most important driver for erosion, however, during winter and summer months, precipitation intensity was dominant. Seasonal models retained average and maximum precipitation as drivers for erosion in winter months (dominated by frontal systems), and retained maximum precipitation intensity as a driver for erosion in summer months (dominated by convectional storms). In channels, precipitation duration was the dominant driver for erosion due to runoff-related erosion, while in sidewalls and interfluves intensity parameters were equally important as duration, likely related to rain splash erosion. These results show that the character of precipitation, which varies seasonally, is an important driver for gully erosion and that studies of precipitation-driven erosion should consider partitioning data by season to identify these drivers.

This study examines the impact of the real estate broker on the effectiveness of buyer search by focusing on the linkages between search intensity and the duration of search. How long a buyer searches depends on how sensitive the buyer is to within-period search costs and across-period, sequential search costs. High-income individuals and other homebuyers with high within-period search costs tend to search longer and less intensively. Buyers with high across-period search costs, such as out-of-town buyers, tend to search more intensively. Brokers, by reducing the opportunity costs of within-period search, increase buyer search intensity, which in turn reduces actual search time.

The purpose of this study was to identify the perception and relationships between corporate entrepreneurship (CE) practices and management performance. The use of Morris and Kuratko's (2002) Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument (CEAI) was used as the survey instrument for this study. A sample size of 1,200 unit managers, middle managers, and top management teams (TMTs) within nine casual dining restaurant organizations were surveyed with a response of 522 subjects at a rate of 44%. Responses of the CEAI results were studied using regression analysis and conclusions were drawn to support four out of the six hypothesis originally proposed in determining CE activity and management reinforcement. A post test analysis was also conducted in order to reinforce the previous results of the original study. This study concluded with the determination through an empirical analysis that forms of CE activity and enforcement are currently present within the casual dining restaurant segment. / Ph. D.

Linear loading, the two-for-two rule, percent of one repetition maximum (1RM), RM zones, rate of perceived exertion (RPE), repetitions in reserve, set-repetition best, autoregulatory progressive resistance exercise (APRE), and velocity-based training (VBT) are all methods of adjusting resistance training intensity. Each method has advantages and disadvantages that strength and conditioning practitioners should be aware of when measuring and monitoring strength characteristics. The linear loading and 2-for-2 methods may be beneficial for novice athletes; however, they may be limited in their capacity to provide athletes with variation and detrimental if used exclusively for long periods of time. The percent of 1RM and RM zone methods may provide athletes with more variation and greater potential for strength–power adaptations; however, they fail to account for daily changes in athlete’s performance capabilities. An athlete’s daily readiness can be addressed to various extents by both subjective (e.g., RPE, repetitions in reserve, set-repetition best, and APRE) and objective (e.g., VBT) load adjustment methods. Future resistance training monitoring may aim to include a combination of measures that quantify outcome (e.g., velocity, load, time, etc.) with process (e.g., variability, coordination, efficiency, etc.) relevant to the stage of learning or the task being performed. Load adjustment and monitoring methods should be used to supplement and guide the practitioner, quantify what the practitioner ‘sees’, and provide longitudinal data to assist in reviewing athlete development and providing baselines for the rate of expected development in resistance training when an athlete returns to sport from injury or large training load reductions.

In growing alfalfa it is important to obtain a good initial stand. However, it is difficult to predict the exact amount of seed necessary to insure a good stand.

Rehabilitation of deteriorated and abused range lands is being accomplished with greater success each year by the aid of better methods of seeding which include seedbed preparation, intensities of seeding, implements for planting and improvised methods of eliminating competition. Much more information is needed however in order to recommend suitable methods and species for seeding various vegetation types and genes with reasonable reliability. Throughout the arid and semi-arid range lands, moisture is the principal factor limiting satisfactory seedling establishment. Special attention should therefore be given to more efficient utilization of the moisture supply. Closely related species of species with similar growth characteristics are said to compete for more water, for space and for nutrients; therefore, studies dealing with the effect of spacing and intensity of seeding upon seedling establishment are of paramount importance.

The purpose of this study was to answer questions about affect intensity and self-perceived arousal differences in aberrant self-promoters (ASPs) and in individuals high and low in affect intensity (AI). Participants in the study completed a task asking them to respond as quickly and accurately as possible to letter strings presented for 200ms on a computer screen. They completed the task once with letter strings that formed words with an emotional valance and a second time with neutral-valence words. After each task, participants made self-reports of Energy and Tense dimensions of arousal as measured by the Activation-Deactivation Adjective Checklist. As first formulated, the study examined 4 groups of n̲ = 30 (ASPs, non-ASP controls, high-AIs, and low-AIs). Results showed that, as hypothesized, ASPs scored significantly lower than high-AIs on the Affect Intensity Measure (AIM). Other hypotheses were not supported by analyses of the original four groups. However, because about 1/3 of the ASPs exhibited high AIM scores, ASPs were divided into primary and secondary types: (a) those who scored low and (b) those who scored high on the AIM. Subsequent post hoc analyses, based on the hypotheses that had not been supported initially, were conducted on five groups of n̲ = 7. The study found that low-AI ASPs reported significantly lower arousability levels than high-AIs. Results also showed that controls, high-AIs, and low-AIs all reacted significantly more slowly to emotional words than to neutral words. Low-AI ASPs failed to demonstrate this response-time slowing, indicating that, like psychopaths, ASPs may process positive, negative, and neutral stimuli similarly. Additional results indicated that low-AI ASPs decreased both energetic and tension arousal levels after the emotional word task, compared to the neutral word task, whereas high-AIs reported corresponding increases in these types of arousal. These findings support Larsen and Diener's (1987) theory regarding arousal differences in high- and low-AIs. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of a weak Behavioral Inhibition System (Gray, 1987). / Ph. D.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19, i.e., C-19) pandemic promulgated psychological distress among employees across the United States, necessitating the examination of its consequential negative impact. By drawing upon conservation of resource and scarcity theory, this research develops a theoretical model that demonstrates how employees’ psychological distress triggered by the C-19 pandemic (C-19PD) sways their task performance, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and work withdrawal via work engagement. As first-stage moderators, I propose core self-evaluations (CSE), servant leadership, and perceived organizational support (POS) as moderators of the link between C-19PD and work engagement. As second-stage moderators, I propose task interdependence, constraints, and telecommuting intensity as moderators of the link between work engagement and task performance, OCB, and work withdrawal. An individual-level survey study was designed to gather a data set of 275 currently employed workers from four public universities in the U.S., and the mediation hypotheses were supported. However, the moderating effects of CSE, servant leadership, and POS (i.e., first stage moderators) and task interdependence, constraints, and telecommuting intensity (i.e., second stage moderators) were not supported. Implications for theory, limitations, future research directions, and practical applications are discussed.