No description available.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Michael R. Langemeier / The wheat industry has experienced significant changes in recent years due to extreme market volatility in commodity markets. The challenge for farmers, seed dealers, and seed companies, therefore, is to determine value and price amid a rapidly fluxuating market environment. Locally, seed dealers must price seed wheat at a level that is both fair to the farmer with consideration to their local cash market, and yet profitable to the seed company. Ehmke Seed in Lane County, Kansas, is one such seed dealer struggling with determining price in an ever-changing market environment. This study analyzes pricing models based on historical seed prices and the local cash grain market. Twenty-five years of seed wheat prices at Ehmke Seed were compared to local cash wheat and grain sorghum prices at the Garden City Cooperative Elevator in Garden City, Kansas, with a margin analysis conducted on the models with respect to Ehmke Seed’s cost of production. This study also provides a statistical analysis of the competing price models to compare their reliability. A more dependable method of pricing will help Ehmke Seed come to a better understanding of alternative marketing options for wheat, and serve as a basis to help understand how future wheat varieties, such as transgenic wheat, may potentially be priced in the future.

In response to increasing attention to the issues of teacher quality, quantity, and the mandate for highly qualified teachers, alternative approaches to teacher certification have become widespread. Alternative certification allows individuals who typically posses an undergraduate degree in a field other than education to participate in shortened training and/or on- the- job learning experiences that lead to full certification. The number of alternatively certified teachers in urban hard to staff schools is growing. There are many debates as to the effectiveness of alternative certification. At the core of the arguments are issues surrounding teacher pedagogy, classroom management, and knowledge of the teaching and learning experience in general. This study sought to determine public school principals' perceptions of alternatively certified teachers. The study asked principals to compare alternatively certified teachers to those teachers who have participated in a traditional university based teacher education program. Both groups of teachers had one to three years of experience in the classroom. Survey research was used to compare the effectiveness of alternatively certified teachers to traditionally certified teachers based upon principals' perceptions. There were five survey domains, including (1) content knowledge, (2) classroom management, (3) instructional planning, (4) human relations skills, and (5) professionalism. Results of this study indicated that principals perceived that alternatively certified teachers were perceived as slightly less effective than traditionally certified teachers. Teachers trained in the traditional teacher education programs were viewed as more effective with regard to content knowledge, classroom management, instructional planning, and professionalism.

In this dissertation, I investigate how organizations understand and apply shared meanings of sustainability. Integrating recent theoretical developments regarding organizational culture with findings from prior literature suggesting that corporate codes can be effective instruments for shaping employee behavior, I describe the flexible exchange of cultural meanings and practices between organizations and their environment with respect to the adoption of environmental certified management standards (ECMS). Taking an inductive, mixed methodological approach, I first use cultural consensus modeling survey techniques to analyze the types of situations vineyard managers in Oregon and Washington categorize as sustainable management conventions and the consistency of these categorizations among those organizations that have adopted ECMS and those organizations that have not. I then draw on interview and archival data to gain deeper insight into the survey findings, focusing on the nature of the relationship between the adoption of ECMS and managerial knowledge around shared meanings and practices regarding sustainability. I find that the adoption of ECMS is associated with an alignment among organizations regarding how they understand and apply sustainability, with three characteristics enhancing the effectiveness of ECMS in cultivating alignment: detailed practice descriptions, demanding objectives to achieve and maintain, and industry specificity. I further uncover that key activities involving the interaction of ECMS and ECMS members facilitate this alignment in cultural meanings and practices surrounding sustainability. From these findings, I develop a grounded conceptual model of cultural exchange, describing how organizations serve varying roles in the cultural exchange process and how each role leverages a set of specific mechanisms to facilitate the adaptation, generation, and transfer of existing and new cultural meanings and practices between organizations drawing on a shared cultural repertoire. The findings from this study contribute to enhancing our theoretical understanding of organizational culture as an open system through a more complex, intentional, and hierarchical account of cultural exchange, as well as develop insight into how the substantive adoption of ECMS practices is associated with alignment among organizations regarding cultural meanings and practices regarding a salient issue in an industry, such as sustainability.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is a correlation between attitude andbuying decisions of consumers regarding certified coffee. The study will examine whether marketsurveys measuring consumer’s attitudes, is a good method for predicting a purchasing decisionsregarding certified coffee. Method: To study consumer attitudes towards certified coffee, we have implemented a web-basedsurvey at Facebook. A total of 108 responses were recorded. To complement the Facebook study wehave conducted three surveys on persons who are customers at ICA. Respondents here consists of customers who traded at an ICA store in Stockholm on three different occasions and times. In order tostudy consumers' actual buying decisions are also sales on Fairtrade and KRAV-certified coffeecollected. Theory: The study is based on the two theories "The Theory of Planned Behaviour" and "TheDecision-Making Process," which describe consumers' attitudes and purchasing behavior to a product. Conclusions: The study’s results show that one can discern a pattern among the four sub-studiesregarding respondents' attitudes and purchase decisions of certified coffee. Results of this study showthat the respondents on average have a neutral attitude to certified coffee. Women have a more positive attitude to certified coffee than men. Students and workers' attitude to certified coffee is not different.There is a correlation between respondents' attitude to the stated purchase decision regarding certified coffee. The stated purchase decision is the buying decision that the respondents have stated in the questionnaire surveys. An analysis of the sales of Fair Trade and KRAV however, we can see that thereis a paradox between consumer attitudes and the actual buying decision when it comes to certified coffee. Approximately 36 percent of respondents have a positive attitude to certified coffee while Fairtrade and KRAV-certified coffee have a sales share of about 10 percent of the total coffee market in the Swedish grocery trade in 2011. The study concludes that there is a relationship between consumers' attitude to and the actual purchase decision regarding certified coffee. Market surveys which measure consumers' attitude is not a reliable method for predicting consumers' purchasing decisions regarding certified coffee.

Title: LEADERSHIP ROLES FOR NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFIED TEACHERS IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS SCHOOL DISTRICTS National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) are highly skilled in the latest research-based instruction and understand the importance of data-driven instruction and its impact on student learning. Because of their expertise, NBCTs have the potential to become leadership agents for producing high-performing schools. However, there is little to no evidence that NBCTs are being encouraged to use their expertise to improve school performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore NBCTs in leadership roles in southern Illinois schools. To accomplish this purpose, three areas were explored: the extent to which NBCTs participated in leadership roles in schools and the nature of those NBCT leadership roles, NBCTs' perceptions regarding their leadership role significance, and the enablers and barriers to NBCT leadership. Mixed methods were used to interpret, analyze, and draw conclusions from quantitative and qualitative data. The findings show that prior to November 2007, 150 NBCTs were actively teaching in Regional Areas V and VI in southern Illinois school districts. Sixty-two percent (n=93) of those NBCTs responded to the request that they participate in the survey. Of those responding to the survey, over one half (59%) of NBCTs were involved in leadership roles in schools. In addition to their regular teaching assignments, the majority of these NBCTs were involved in multiple leadership roles in the seven core areas of professional growth and staff development, mentoring, curriculum development, student achievement, grant writing, school improvement, and support groups. Forty-one percent (n=38) of NBCTs indicated not having a leadership role. To determine NBCTs' perceptions of leadership role significance, NBCTs ranked the significance of their leadership role(s). The findings show that NBCTs perceived their leadership role(s) to have the most significance when addressing the following areas: (a) improved classroom practices, (b) communicating and operating from strong ideals about teaching and learning, (c) coaching and facilitating teams of teachers in school wide professional and staff development, (d) disaggregating and analyzing test scores data to increase student learning, and (e) promoting shared goals and vision. NBCTs perceived less significance when their leadership role(s) were involved in collaborating with administrators in creating and sustaining internal conditions, acting as change agents to inspire peers, leading the recognition and celebration of school accomplishments, facilitating sessions on current theories and practices, and addressing and adapting to negative undercurrents within the organization. The enablers and barriers to NBCT leadership roles were explored. The findings show that factors associated with administrators, colleagues, and circumstances beyond one's control contributed to the enabling or barring of NBCT leadership in schools.

Becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the goal of many aspiring accountants. Universities and colleges prepare students to gain the necessary skills to pass this certification exam; however, the CPA exam is increasingly difficult, and students continuously struggle trying to pass all four parts of the CPA exam. The goal of this research project is to gain a better understanding of how ETSU can better prepare students to become CPA exam ready, since this certification leads to increased job opportunities, pay, etc. A survey was sent out to 90 previous graduate students at ETSU with both multiple choice and open-ended response questions. The data was analyzed qualitatively since 16 people responded, and broad conclusions of the results were assessed. Questions in the survey asked students to give their input on how ETSU can improve the Master of Accountancy (M.Acc.) program, identify parts of the CPA exam that were troublesome and easy, how prepared students felt for the CPA exam, etc. The findings of this survey presented a wide range of opinions on ETSU’s ability to prepare students for the CPA exam and offered valuable insight to be considered.

No description available.

No description available.

Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) are responsible for the care of America's aging population. CNAs are paid a miniscule amount of money and are often ineligible for medical benefits through their employers. CNAs bathe, change, feed, and help toilet the residents of long-term care facilities. The stressful work and personal lives of CNAs leads to many problems such as high turnover rates, absenteeism, health problems, and elder abuse. In the United States, food insecurity is a concern for many of the uninsured working poor. The purpose of this study was to assess the overall perceived concerns, barriers, and solutions of CNAs in both their work and family environments, identify where nutrition and food security fits into the priorities of CNAs, and identify educational strategies to improve their health and overall quality of life. Twenty-nine CNAs participated in six focus groups across the state of Virginia. Triangulation techniques were used to compare both qualitative (focus groups) and quantitative (participatory activities and questionnaires) research. Participatory activities showed that the top home concern of CNAs was money management. CNAs ranked keeping their family healthy fourth (9.6%), and they ranked preparing fast easy meals eighth (1.7%). The top work concern of CNAs was time management. Staying healthy at work ranked fourth (12.9%), while packing a nutritious lunch was sixth (3.4%). The preferred methods of education for the participants were watching videotapes, attending classes at a central location, and having a mentor to help them with their problems. / Master of Science