Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Arkansas, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-101).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Arkansas, 1992. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-101).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1991. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Los Angeles, 1989. / Includes bibliographies.

Th. 3e cycle--Sci. de l'éduc.--Paris 10, 1986.

The purpose of the study was to develop a scale to measure sexual orientation and to examine its psychometric properties. Previous scales were critically examined and compared and the need for a scale which simultaneously measures same and opposite sex responsiveness independently, and accounts for dynamic changes over time, while testing a number of overt and covert dimensions of sexual orientations, was established. A 48-item scale was designed to tap self-reported intensity and frequency of Emotional Attachment, Sexual Fantasy, Sexual Attraction and Sexual Contact towards males and females in the Past, Present and Future. An initial study was conducted with 13 undergraduate university students of both genders, representing a variety of sexual orientations and nationalities, and qualitative feedback was obtained and utilized to make appropriate adjustments and refinements to the scale. The scale was then administered to 133 Rhodes University undergraduate psychology students to obtain quantitative data with regard to its internal structure. The scale was found to have a good internal consistency reliability Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.8106. Existing sub-scales had lower alpha coefficients. Factor analysis, a form of construct validation, was performed and four factors emerged. These had very good internal consistency reliability alpha coefficients: Sexual Responsiveness to Females (0.9894), Sexual Responsiveness to Males (0.9741), Emotional Attachment to Females (0.8403) and Emotional Attachment to Males (0.8372). These factors were further statistically analysed to ascertain how they relate to one another and to the demographics of gender, age, relational status and sexual orientation identity. Future research will need to assess other forms of reliability and validity and focus on larger and more varied samples.

Magnetoreception in rodents was studied in this Ph.D. thesis. Behavioural evidence for compass magnetic orientation was found in two subterranean African rodents: the social giant mole-rat (Fukomys mechowii) and solitary silvery mole-rat (Heliophobius argenteocinereus) and epigeic rodent bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus). The study is also focused on the role of magnetic orientation in solving the orientation task in Morris water maze in bank vole.

The Market orientation (MO) phenomena have been meticulously studied in the marketing literature for more than three decades. While in the beginning MO had been investigated from a focal form perspective, it has evolved to account for the role it plays in distribution channels or supply chains. However, the perspective taken has consistently been from a focal firm perspective, either about its own or its partners market orientation. This study seeks to extend the theory on market orientation to account for the role that it plays within business relationships (i.e. inter-firm market orientation). IMO was initially conceptualized as the joint activities between the focal firm and its channel partner in joint intelligence generation, joint intelligence dissemination and joint customer responsiveness. This study develops the theory that a business relationship can be either market oriented or not and attempts to explain the effect of this inter-firm market orientation on relationship performance as well as focal firm performance. Specifically, this study asks the question, does inter-firm market orientation mediate the focal firm market orientation – performance relationship?This study was investigated using a two-stage approach. In the first stage, a measurement scale was developed and empirically tested to measure inter-firm market orientation. It was from the scale development efforts that the conceptualization of IMO was refined to include the joint intelligence cooperation and joint customer responsiveness efforts between the focal firm and its channel partners. It appears that the focal firm and their channel partner do not differentiate or separate the activities of intelligence generation and intelligence dissemination. They view it more as a cooperative effort. Additionally, the focus of the intelligence cooperation efforts appears to be more about intelligence collected through market research about end-user customers rather than by speaking with customers directly. Finally, the customer responsiveness efforts appear to be reactively focused rather than both reactively and proactively. The scale development was followed by the second stage where the revised IMO construct was included in a model in which it mediated the often-studied market orientation – performance relationship. A number of hypotheses were developed using various relationship theories such as transaction cost economics, resource-based view, and interaction approach. The model was tested with a sample of 130 informants using a variance-based structural equation modeling technique called partial least squares. The final analysis indicated that all paths were significant and that the IMO and relationship performance constructs partially mediated the MO – performance relationship. These findings suggest that it is important to understand both intra and inter-firm market orientation activities to truly understand their impact on business performance.

Investigating internal employee behaviors that influence firm results is an area of on-going interest to both academics and practitioners. This study combined the two recently developed constructs of internal market orientation and industrial service quality to investigate their relationship. The integration of the business outcomes of overall service quality, customer satisfaction, and commitment to the relationship were included to add practical application to study. Additionally, the moderator length of relationship between service provider and customer was included to examine its influence in the model. Internal marketing and market orientation influenced the development of the internal market orientation. Decades of studies into service quality lead to the development of the business-to-business service quality scales applied to this study. Studying these constructs in real world settings, including the moderator, and measuring subjective business outcomes was conducted to confirm scale use, broaden the settings, and offer depth to the field of study. Two surveys to employees and one survey to matching customers created 107 dyad records for structural equation model analysis. Results showed no significant relationship between internal market orientation and industrial service quality. There was a significant relationship between industrial service quality and overall service quality perception, confirming past studies. However, counter to past research industrial service quality did not influence customer satisfaction and commitment to the relationship. A surprising result was the significant relationship reported between employee perceived service quality and the two business outcomes of customer satisfaction and commitment. This research did not support the theoretical premise that internal market orientation is an antecedent to industrial service quality. This study reported mixed results for the connections between perceived service quality and the business outcomes included. Some of the limitations from previous research were addressed while a more integrated model was investigated to add to the understanding of the marketing concept.

Published Article / A pilot programme was run (2004-2005) with Tourism Management students at the Central University of Technology, Free State to enhance the satisfaction levels of both the student and relevant employers during Experiential Learning. The goals were to try and better prepare students for their Experiential Learning experience by means of a formal orientation programme in addition to the normal briefing session held and to enable both students and employers to achieve higher satisfaction levels in terms of pre-determined aspects as a result of the programme. The pilot programme was based on and informed by theories of learning in cooperative education, best practice requirements as well as a study of possible benefits to all parties concerned.