The preoperational stage of a new venture is characterized by concept definition, idea enhancement, and strategy formulation. Entrepreneurs consult advisors in knowledge sharing activities. Trust is dominant in these entrepreneur-advisor relationships as entrepreneurs rely on an advisor's judgment to keep venture ideas away from competitors. However, the relationships between trust, knowledge sharing, and knowledge security during the preoperational stage of a new high-tech venture are not directly examined in many research studies. Concerning types of trust, McAllister (1995) defines two types of interpersonal trust: affective trust, which develops from emotional bonds between individuals, and calculative trust, which is based on an individual's level of competence and reliability. The present study applies McAllister's (1995) theory of types of trust to Kale, Singh, and Perlmutter (2000) findings to examine how trust relationships between entrepreneurs and advisors affect knowledge sharing and an entrepreneur's use of NDAs. This dissertation's research primary question is, "How does trust between an entrepreneur and advisors affect knowledge sharing and choices of knowledge security mechanisms during the preoperational stage of a new high-tech venture?" I used de Koning and Muzyka's (1999) classification of the entrepreneur's social context to define three advisor types: Close Friends, Business Associates, and Licensed Professionals. Linking these types with literature on trust and knowledge, I hypothesize seven relationships dealing with trust, knowledge sharing, and knowledge security. I used structured and non-structured interview formats to collect data on 143 entrepreneur/advisor relationships in South Florida. / The results confirmed that relationship length significantly contributed to affective trust and entrepreneurs were more likely to share knowledge with Business Associates than with Close Friends or Licen found t o be the dominant form of trust driving knowledge sharing but affective trust was not significantly found to impact the use of NDAs. Entrepreneurs expected all advisor types to be competent, experienced, and skilled, reporting nonsignificant differences in calculative trust across advisor types. I did not find the use of NDAs to be associated with any particular advisor type. Rather, NDAs were seldom used during the preoperational stage for reasons such as the entrepreneurs' desires to maintain positive relationships with advisors, along with their reliance on a strong institutional background. / by Abiola Omoyeni Fanimokun. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Following the events of September 11th, 2001, national attention has been captivated by terrorism and terrorism prevention. Parallel to this time of increased focus on terrorism prevention, adequate funding to support new departments or increased terrorism prevention efforts in existing departments was unattainable. Consequently, a strong need for prevention strategies that are affordable and highly applicable at the local level has resulted. Thus, it is the purpose of this study to examine methods of risk assessment and test the accuracy of such methodologies in order to assist local organizations in effectively applying limited resources for opportunity reduction at vulnerable locations based on calculated risks. The primary goal of this thesis is to test the validity of the EVIL DONE vulnerability assessment and evaluate its ability to predict the number of fatalities and injured persons resulting from a terrorist attack. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.

Catastrophic event emergency planning has emerged as one of the most important operations management areas. Much of the successes of a response plan rely on the ability to maintain an operating transportation infrastructure. In recent years urban areas have become susceptible to biological terrorist attacks due to their size and demographics. To mitigate the devastating effects of an attack, a comprehensive catastrophic event response plan is devised. The characteristics of the disease (dormant periods, signs/symptoms), daily traffic operations and trip distributions, patient-choice hospital modeling and emergency center corridor optimization are all elements of an effective response plan. Simulation and optimization modeling of this plan becomes a faster-than-real-time tool in replicating urban area degradation. Therefore, allowing planners to identify "worst case scenarios" within the network and implement Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA) techniques and a non-linear departure time slot allocation mathematical model ensuring infected populations receive treatment and/or vaccinations efficiently. / by William C. Degnan. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Wetlands in the United States have been decreasing in number from the time European settlers began draining them for agricultural purposes to the present. Wetlands serve many important ecological functions such as waterfowl habitat.The purpose of this project was to investigate wetland creation literature in order to develop a process which could be applied to a particular site to attract waterfowl. The topics reviewed for this project were goal setting, for wetland creations, wetland creation methodologies and waterfowl habitat criteria. The major portion of the project was devoted to the construction process of the wetland. The criteria used to direct the wetland construction were hydrology, topographic contour design, revegetation, and protective buffers. Trail development to provide public access for educational purposes was also an important component of the wetland design. Waterfowl habitat criteria was also researched and applied to the project in order it insure that waterfowl would be attracted to the wetland.The process developed from the research was applied to Jim Haberek's property located in Anderson, Indiana. The product was a masterplan which included a site analysis, a water level management plan, a contour design, a revegetation plan, protective buffers and a trail design for the public. / Department of Landscape Architecture

Presently there are four generational cohorts in the workplace. Born from 1977 to 1997, the youngest cohort group, referred to as Generation Y (or Gen Y) in this study, has 81 million members, of whom over 29 million are already in the workplace. The importance of leader-subordinate relationships in the workplace has been confirmed; in recognizing this, leaders must identify and adapt to the changing era-shaped needs of employees, who cannot fully participate in organizational life if their most urgent needs are not being met. Because Gen Y employees are only now entering the workforce, little is actually known about the workplace needs of this cohort group. This study attempted to determine leadership needs of a Gen Y cohort as a means to enhance workplace relationships in the 21st century organization. A sequential, mixed methods study was employed to explore leadership preferences of a Gen Y cohort. Initially, focus group interviews were used to generate leadership themes. Based on these themes, an instrument was designed, and Gen Y business students from three higher education institutions were surveyed. Confirmatory factor analysis using LISREL software was used to test the themes. The driving force behind this research design was to build a foundation of understanding through inductive research (qualitative) and to test and enrich the foundation through deductive means (quantitative).

This study employed a qualitative case study method to evaluate the efforts of one university to conduct hazard mitigation and disaster preparedness planning activities and used the Federal Emergency Management Agency framework and selected writings of sociologist and disaster researcher E.L. Quarantelli as models for evaluating the institution's approach. The institution studied was assigned a fictitious name and the identities of the study participants withheld in order to protect the integrity of the institution's planning efforts and its personnel. The study utilized a 92-item questionnaire, field interviews, and review and analysis of documentary materials provided by the institution for data collection purposes. Pattern-matching techniques were applied to identify themes and trends that emerged through the course of data collection. The results indicate the institution has developed an organizational culture that is broadly responsive to and engaged in disaster preparedness planning at multiple levels in a manner generally consistent with principles identified in select writings of Quarantelli. Results further indicate the institution has engaged in identifying hazard mitigation priorities but not in a manner consistent with that advocated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in its publication entitled Building a Disaster-Resistant University.

This study deals with the cultural differences between conducting business in Eruope particularly in France compared to conducting business in the United States.

The objective of this paper was to determine how much of the Total Quality Management (TQM) principles have been adopted by the U.S. carmakers up to now which is about fifteen to twenty years after the "race to quality" started, how the position of women in that industry has evolved over the same period of time, and if more female presence at top executive positions would better promote TQM principles.

Purpose. Although performance appraisal is an important factor in the successful operation of organizations, it is often a difficult and threatening task. Traditional approaches to evaluation have proved to be neither effective nor in legal compliance. This problem affects postsecondary institutions, where customary subjective appraisal contributes to undesirable employment discrimination. This study provides postsecondary administrators with an effective and legally defensible model of performance appraisal. Research addressed these questions: (1) What does statutory law mandate in appraisal? (2) What issues, patterns, and decisions concerning appraisal have been identified through the judicial process, and what degree of consistency has been shown in decisions? (3) What standards are suggested by performance appraisal law and practices? (4) What should constitute an appraisal program for postsecondary education that synthesizes appraisal practices and emerging legal standards? Federal statutes and court records governing employment practices were examined to identify data. Data were analyzed according to principles of grounded theory development proposed by Glaser and Strauss, and complemented by legal research methodologies recommended by Alton. Appraisal law was summarized, followed by review of current practices identified in appraisal literature. A performance appraisal model for postsecondary education synthesizing legal standards and current practices was presented. Although statutes governing appraisal apply to all employers, the courts demand less stringent compliance by postsecondary institutions. The judiciary acknowledges prejudice in employment decisions in academia, but implores educators to regulate their own behavior to preserve academic freedom. In non-academic employment, periodic appraisals should be based on written, objective standards known to employees, that are valid, reliable, and fair; and administered and scored under standardized conditions by trained evaluators. Records must be confidential. The courts do not require strict compliance by postsecondary institutions; they urge, but do not mandate, that academic employees be treated without bias. Guidelines are needed to define a non-discriminatory evaluation process for postsecondary employees. This research model presents a first step toward this goal.

Agency directors, program administrators and planners as well as U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service regional federal aid supervisors provided input that defined 22 factors considered most important in determining management effectiveness of state fish and wildlife agencies. I grouped the factors into the following six categories: public support and awareness, conflict resolution, politics, planning and funding, agency management and personnel. State agency directors, commissioners and legislators ranked the factors. In cooperation with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Organization of Wildlife Planners, I conducted case studies of nine state fish and wildlife agencies widely recognized by their peers as being particularly effective relative to the identified factors. Questionnaires and interviews with 845 agency members and constituents revealed effective fish and wildlife agencies had much in common with the excellent companies described by Peters and Waterman (1982) in In Search of Excellence. Effective agencies were proactive in dealing with issues and frequently among the nation's leading agencies in dealing with issues of national scope. Effective agencies used a variety of techniques to understand public desires and involve the public in making important decisions. Effective agencies grant their employees much freedom to make decisions and try new ideas without fear of punishment for making mistakes. They are committed to the personal development of employees. Effective agencies are good planners, with well defined missions and goals. Personal missions of employees are highly congruent with agency missions, resulting ina missionary-like zeal for their work. Effective agencies have a strong biological basis for their decisions and maintain credibility by balancing biological factors with public opinion. Effective agencies have stable political environments and experienced, enlightened resource management professionals as their leaders. Leaders emphasize participative decision making and teamwork. Finally, effective agencies have strong public support and are effective in mobilizing that support when important policy decisions are made. Many specific examples that illustrate the characteristics of effective agencies are discussed. / Ph. D.