Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 102-111)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

This thesis will examine the organisational culture and work context at Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (BIITE) as it relates to diversity management and cultural safety/identity. This research will have wider relevance as a means to understanding organisational cultures in a globalising world where cross cultural collaboration is becoming commonplace. The philosophical underpinnings of this project are critical and deconstructionist with a framework based on the principles of Participatory Action Research while simultaneously incorporating an autoethnographic component. The key concepts considered in this research include Industrial relations, organisational structure, relevant policies, affirmative action, both-ways and diversity management including cultural safety and cross-culture/cross-paradigm communication. The term cultural safety is considered from the point of view of the literature and the participants. The types of situations the participants identified as culturally challenging are listed and the participants’ reactions to these cultural challenges are divided into two main categories: Isolationism and complementarism which is further divided into incommensurability and (in)commensurability. Parallels are drawn between isolationism and solipsism and between (in)commensurability and Intersubjectivity before examining the participants’ own recommendations for improving the management of diversity within BIITE. The effects my own interaction with the literature and the participants had on my thought process during this time are also explored. Recommendations for BIITE in relation to diversity are made. These recommendations incorporate the philosophy of both ways which underpins BIITE’s current strategic plan and are based on the implementation of a more participatory management style utilising Flood and Romm’s (1996) triple loop learning model. Recommendations are also aimed at educators teaching content which may be threatening to their students’ cultural safety/identity.

<p>Abstract</p><p>Brand management will play a more significant role in future marketing competition, so research on the brand management is likely to become more meaningful and interesting.</p><p>This thesis focuses on brand management. The research question here is if brand management can add value to firms, as well as how to connect brand management with value. When researching this question, it is necessary to research further on the division of brand management which is internal and external brand management. Because a company’s add value is from cooperation - connection of internal and external brand management. Only when internal and external brand management work together, closely, may brand management add more value to a firm.</p><p>This study builds on the Aaker David (2000 p89)’s theory on brand management. In methodology, I use a qualitative research method, which is company interviews, in order to research IKEA’s internal/external brand management experience. This case study helps me to analyze how brand management is connected to a firm’s value.</p><p>Through IKEA’s case, it is illustrated that internal and external brand management must combine in order to add value to a firm. Brand management can really create value like increasing more adaptability, uniqueness, recognition etc... All in all, brand management is significant and can add value to firms.</p>

No description available.

Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), a high elevation foundation species, is experiencing population declines throughout the northern part of its range. The introduced fungal pathogen, Cronartium ribicola (white pine blister rust), infects whitebark pine and kills cone-bearing branches and trees. Blister rust has spread nearly rangewide and damage and mortality are highest in the northwest US and southwest Canada. Mortality caused by mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) population upsurges, and successional replacement and loss of regeneration opportunities from fire suppression, are also impacting some whitebark pine populations. Within this dissertation, I present three manuscripts that address the impact of whitebark pine's decline on species interactions and ecological processes within subalpine forests. Research was conducted in three ecosystems in the Rocky Mountains USA that are distinct in whitebark pine health conditions (rust infection and mortality) and abundance. In the first manuscript, I explore how the relationship between whitebark pine and Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana), its primary seed disperser, is being affected by whitebark's decline. Nutcrackers were less likely to use and disperse seeds from forests where cone production is below a threshold. In the second manuscript, I describe habitat use of whitebark pine forests by red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus). Squirrel residency and impact of cone predation increased with decreasing whitebark pine abundance. The third manuscript focuses on the tree-level ecological process, predispersal cone survival, as a function of coarse scale whitebark pine abundance. Surviving trees in high mortality forests were found to have a lower rate and higher variability of cone survival, suggesting that the putative levels of rust-resistance in surviving trees of high mortality forests may not be passed on to future generations. At the ecosystem level, the Northern Divide had the highest levels of rust infection and tree mortality and lowest nutcracker interaction and regeneration levels; the Greater Yellowstone had the lowest infection and mortality levels and nutcrackers were present and dispersing seeds at all research sites in all years, while the Bitterroot Mountains were intermediate in these comparisons. These findings provide important components for developing a long-term strategy to conserve and restore whitebark pine ecosystems in the Rocky Mountains.

This thesis is composed of two potential professional papers written to be independent of each other. Both papers were written to explore changes in late summer discharge patterns across the Northern Rockies (NR). Water in the interior western United States is a vital resource and the demand for this resource has increased. Watersheds in the NR are mainly snowmelt dominated in that they depend on the seasonal flux of snow-melt during dry periods. During the summer months August is a critical time for aquatic ecosystems due to typical low discharge and warm air temperatures. During this period water temperatures can become elevated stressing aquatic biota. The first chapter addresses historic August discharge trends across the NR and examines the frequency of low discharge over time. Using historic discharge data from United States Geologic Surveys national water information system web interface, we analyzed data for trends of 40-59 years. Combining these records with aerial photos (<10m resolution) and water rights records we selected gaging sites based on the length and continuity of discharge records and categorized each site based on the amount of diversion and location of water storage devices. Local significance was examined using the Mann-Kendall non-parametric test and regional significance was obtained using a bootstrap procedure in combination with the Mann-Kendall test. Our analyses indicate that watersheds throughout the NR are experiencing substantial declines in stream discharge and we have found that 75% of all stations exhibit a declining slope. Bootstrap analysis indicates that the NR is experiencing a significant (á = 0.10) decline in discharge from 1951-2008. The second chapter takes a subset of the original 153 sites, deemed pristine sites, and examined the relationship of August discharge to climatic parameters for each watershed. By using stations with no identifiable diversion and minimal land use change we were able to analyze precipitation and air temperature records for correlations with discharge trends. Bootstrap methods were used to determine field significance of the region. Long term discharge analyses demonstrate that eight of the fifteen watersheds throughout the NR are experiencing significant declines in stream discharge over the last half century and all stations have a negative slope. Additionally, the region as a whole appears to have a significant decrease in discharge over the period 1951-2008. Correlations results show a weak to moderate negative relationship between air temperatures and discharge and these results coupled with increasing air temperature trends pose serious concern for aquatic ecosystems in NR.

The purpose of this research is to propose a Target Costing principles-based frame work for publically funded Green Buildings. Target Costing, a concept from manufacturing, includes a variety of principles and techniques, all of which have the same ultimate goal: to control costs and to increase value to bring the most satisfaction to the end users. This study investigates the current practice when programming and designing the Hunt Library, a LEED-Silver certified and publically funded building at North Carolina State University (NCSU), and proposes some improvements to this practice based upon the fundamentals of Target Costing. The feasibility of the proposed framework was examined in this research through interviews with key project participants, e.g., owner representatives, user groups, design team, and construction manager. The results from this research were gathered to create a Green Building specific Target Costing application framework which includes a flow chart, and a list of barriers and solutions.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 1973. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Receiving false and nuisance alarms is a well known problem in industrial alarm systems. The main cause of this problem is poor alarm design which is the result of huge number of configured alarms and lack of automatic and analytical design methods. This study targets deriving analytical methods for designing alarm parameters such as alarm limits, alarm deadbands and delay timers. The relation between false and missed alarm rates along with chattering is investigated with alarm limits and deadbands. There are two equations presented to estimate the optimal alarm limit with respect to deadbands and statistical characteristics of the process data. Since reduction of alarm chattering is a primary goal in redesigning the alarm parameters, the analytical relation between chattering with alarm parameters and process data is also investigated. The alarm chattering index is derived as a mathematical function of alarm limits, deadbands, time delays and statistical characteristics of the process data. / Control Systems