AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERATION OF Teresa K. Betts, for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Business Administration defended December 14, 2011, 10:00 a.m. 108 Rehn Hall at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: THE ROLE OF COMPETITIVE CAPABILITIES AND STAKEHOLDER PRESSURE IN THE ADOPTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICES AND IMPACT ON BUSINESS PERFORMANCE MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Suresh Tadisina This paper examines the underlying effect of manufacturing plants' competitive capabilities and their adoption of environmental practices. A Natural Resource Based View (NRBV) theoretical approach was utilized to develop and test a set of hypotheses surrounding how manufacturing plants with specific competitive capabilities would have a greater likelihood of implementing sets of environmental practices with similar underlying resources and capabilities. Further analysis evaluated how the influence of stakeholder pressures moderated the relationship between competitive capabilities and the degree of adoption of environmental manufacturing practices. Multiple regression results indicate quality and cost competitive capabilities are positively significantly associated with the adoption of specific environmental practices. Further analysis indicates stakeholder pressures do not moderate the relationship between competitive capabilities and the degree of adoption of environmental practices. Unique sets of stakeholder pressures are independent predictors for each set of environmental practices. ANOVA analysis indicates competitive process flexibility capability and product design environmental practices and competitive product innovation capability and product design environmental practices positively significantly impact business performance. This study contributes to the literature by providing insights into competitive capabilities which link to the degree of adoption of specific environmental practices and insights into synergies which may exist between competitive capabilities and environmental practices and their effects on business performance.

abstract: ABSTRACT Much of teacher feedback research is conducted in the L1 and L2 contexts. There is a paucity of research about feedback in the Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL) context. Particularly, little is known about teachers' feedback practices and student views of teacher feedback. The present study was undertaken to fill the research gap by focusing on teachers'written feedback. Student data from surveying 38 students was interpreted with teacher data gained from interviewing three teachers. The findings indicate that teacher written feedback, which occurred in a multiple-draft writing cycle, generally accorded with recommended feedback principles. Students responded favorably to teacher written feedback. The results also reveal discrepancies between teachers' feedback practices and student perceptions of and preferences regarding teacher feedback. The results show that students wanted more written comments from teachers, though most teachers didn't prioritize written comments. Despite teachers' practices and their inclination toward offering coded indirect error correction, students in the study expressed their preferences for direct error correction. Most students are interested in receiving teacher feedback that addresses all aspects of writing rather than primarily focusing on language accuracy. The reasons that may account for the disjuncture are also discussed in the study. The study concludes that it is important for teachers to be aware of student attitudes and expectations regarding teacher feedback. Teachers should be flexible enough to provide individualized feedback. Pedagogical implications are included in the paper in the hope of shedding light on the development of effective and helpful teacher feedback. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Asian Languages and Civilizations 2012

The principal aim of the thesis is to investigate the mortuary practices of the late Iron Age period in south-eastern Britain, focusing on identification of the wider sequence of activity. It is evident that the deposition of the calcined remains and associated objects are just one element in a more complicated pattern of behaviour. A number of contemporary inhumation burials and mortuary-related features drawn from an increasing number of sites illustrate the wider practices in operation. The identification of pyre-related features and debris lies at the core of this study providing an opportunity to advance understanding of pyre technology as well as the mortuary rituals. This study provides an opportunity to advance late Iron Age mortuary studies in relation to the cosmological, political and ideological structure (Fitzpatrick 1997; Pearce 1997a; 1997b; 1999; McKinley 2000).

Esta dissertação trata das formas pelas quais um grupo de homens que frequentam uma academia de musculação da zona sul de Porto Alegre incorpora práticas de cuidados corporais com vistas à produção de corpos adequados aos padrões estéticos contemporâneos e como lidam com a ambiguidade decorrente destas práticas que se situam na fronteira entre o que é percebido como masculino e feminino. O marco teórico que subsidia este estudo contempla a discussão sobre masculinidades, as teorizações foucaultianas sobre biopolítica e os estudos sobre o governo dos corpos na contemporaneidade. O material empírico foi construído a partir de uma pesquisa de cunho etnográfico que conciliou observação participante e entrevistas semiestruturadas, cujos registros produziram um diário de campo. A análise consistiu em contrastar os achados da pesquisa com aqueles descritos na literatura, problematizando as formas pelas quais os frequentadores desta academia incorporam no seu cotidiano algumas práticas de cuidados com o corpo. Esse processo permitiu compreender que algumas práticas são consideradas não-problemáticas para a construção do gênero e são aceitas sem maiores problemas, enquanto outras, aquelas consideradas potencialmente perigosas para a afirmação da masculinidade, são modificadas ou suprimidas. / This paper is about a group of men that works out in a south Porto Alegre‟s gym and their body care and ways to achieve the contemporary esthetic patterns. The theoretical approach that bases this study faces the discussion about masculinities, foucaultians theories about biopolitics, and the studies about body government on contemporaneity and how they deal with the ambiguity resulting from such practices that are in the border of what is considerate masculine or feminine. Empiric material was build from an ethnographic research that matches observations of the participants and semi-structured interviews, whose records brought forth a research diary. Analyses consisted on contrast research results from those described on literature, problematizing the ways by which regulars from this gym incorporate in their everyday some body care practices. This process allowed comprehending that some practices are considered non-problematic for gender construction, and are commonly accept, whereas others, considered potentially danger for masculinity affirmation, are modified or suppressed.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi de avaliar economicamente uma unidade de produção de alevinos de espécies reofílicas do estado de Rondônia e desta forma estruturar a análise de custos, econômica e gerencial do empreendimento. O empreendimento avaliado possui 54 ha de área total e 6,5 ha de lâmina d’água disponíveis para a alevinagem. Na safra 2010/2011 o empreendimento produziu os seguintes produtos: alevinos de tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) nos tamanhos de 3g, 5g, 10g, 15g, 20g e 30g; alevinos de piavuçu (Leporinus macrocephalus); e alevinos de curimba (Prochilodus lineatus). O empreendimento ainda comprou e revendeu alevinos de pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) e alevinos de Jundiara (♀ Pseudoplathystoma fasciatum X ♂ Leiarius marmoratus). A fim de avaliar como a produção de alevinos consumiu os recursos disponíveis do empreendimento, realizou-se o mapeamento do fluxo de produção do empreendimento e de sua estrutura que custos . Foram calculados os seguintes indicadores de custo e rentabilidade: custo operacional efetivo e total, custo total de produção, receita liquida e lucro, além dos indicadores de fluxo de caixa usuais e seus alternativos integrados, ponto de nivelamento e margem de contribuição total. Através do mapeamento do fluxo de produção verificou-se que o plantel de reprodutores apresenta resultados reprodutivos satisfatórios, porém o empreendimento apresenta falhas no manejo de arraçoamento de reprodutores e alevinos e não realiza o controle dos estoques de alevinos e dos parâmetros de qualidade de água nos viveiros. Entre os produtos efetivamente produzidos no empreendimento, os que apresentaram os menores custos médios e as melhores rentabilidades estão os alevinos de tambaqui de 3g, 5g e os alevinos de piavuçu. A análise custos e econômica mostrou que empreendimento apresenta uma baixa lucratividade a médio prazo em relação ao capital investido e economicamente inviável a longo prazo, devido a sua onerosa estrutura de produção. Diante destes resultados fica evidente que as tomadas de decisão para determinação de valores de investimento e preço de venda dos produtos são realizadas sem todas as informações necessárias para o adequado planejamento do empreendimento, o que mostra a importância do contínuo controle dos processos e avaliação econômica deste tipo de empreendimento. / The objective of this study was to evaluate a unit cost of production of fingerlings of reophilic species in the state of Rondônia, Brazil, and thereby structure the cost analysis, and the economic management of the enterprise. The enterprise has 54 ha and 6.5 ha of water is available for the nursery. In the season 2010/2011 the enterprise produced the following products: fingerlings of tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) in 3g, 5g, 10g, 15g, 20g and 30g weights; piavuçu fingerlings (Leporinus macrocephalus) and curimba fingerlings (Prochilodus lineatus). The venture has bought and resold pirarucu fingerlings (Arapaima gigas) and jundiara fingerlings (♀ Pseudoplathystoma fasciatum X ♂ Leiarius marmoratus). In order to evaluate how the production of fingerlings consumed the resources of the enterprise, was conducted the flow map of production of the enterprise and its cost structure. Was calculated the following indicators of cost and profitability, and total operational cost, total cost of production, net income and earnings, and indicators of cash flow and its usual alternative integrated point of leveling and total contribution margin. By mapping the production flow it was found that the bloodstock breeding presents satisfactory results, but the venture fails in the management and feeding of fingerlings and does not perform the control of fingerlings stocks and the parameters of water quality. Among the products actually produced in the enterprise, who had the lowest average costs and better returns are 3 g and 5 g tambaqui fingerlings, and piavuçu fingerlings. The analysis showed that costs and economic analysis has low profitability in the medium term in relation to capital invested and economically unviable in the long term, due to its costly production structure. Given these results it is evident that the decision making process for determining values of investment and the selling price of the products are made without all the information necessary for proper planning of the enterprise, which shows the importance of continuous control process and economic evaluation of this type of business venture.

A presente tese de doutorado parte da indagação “quais as práticas educativas que se produzem na Igreja do Evangelho Quadrangular, no Bairro Pestano, localizado na Periferia da cidade de Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul”. Tem como objetivo central descrever, compreender e analisar essas práticas educativas. Os conceitos que fundamentam esse estudo são: Educação e trabalho, Periferia e Religião. Trata-se de estudo de caso de natureza qualitativa. Assumi como método o desenvolvimento da dialética marxiana. Para o objetivo proposto foram realizadas quatro entrevistas semi-estruturadas e registro em diário de campo com observação das diversas práticas que compõem a Igreja do Evangelho Quadrangular. Como resultado da pesquisa três práticas se destacam como centrais na análise: a Igreja, o Culto e a Célula. A Igreja, como espaço/território, instituição e também como um dos lugares de formação e educação do povo da periferia, sendo que todas as suas proposições estão alinhavadas por um instrumento: a bíblia, a qual é usada como uma “ferramenta” de evangelização desenvolvida no conjunto das práticas educativas que compõem as neopentecostais. A bíblia usada como uma verdade universal. A igreja também como espaço de dar testemunho, parte da pedagogia do exemplo. O Culto, espaço de cultuar as simbologias, espaço de educação e acolhimento. Local de encontro, de ser “escola”. E, a Célula, lugar de conhecer, acompanhar as pessoas, de construir relações sociais para fortalecer a família. O consumo ganha uma centralidade para responder as demandas necessárias do capital. A tese principal explicita que há uma conexão entre os neopentecostais e a reorganização do capital o que se materializa nas práticas educativas, pois é nelas que reside o processo educativo entre as Igrejas Neopentecostais e a produção de uma nova sociabilidade entre os sujeitos sociais no capitalismo. A Igreja teve que se reorganizar como o movimento do capital; a crise do capital também produziu uma crise na Instituição Igreja. O ascetismo, a renúncia, o auto- sacrifício, os velhos costumes, o desprezo pelos prazeres mundanos, enfim, as velhas roupas tiveram que ser deixadas, ou trocadas por uma nova roupagem, em que o consumo ganha uma centralidade, na qual se exacerba a relação de troca entre DEUS/IGREJA e seus fiéis. Nas práticas se concretizam as mudanças e nelas é que se operacionaliza o processo de formação humana necessário para responder às demandas necessárias do capital. Deste modo, estas práticas educativas religiosas neopentecostais contribuem para uma nova sociabilidade no movimento do capital em sua atual configuração. / The present doctoral dissertation starts from the wonder of “what educational practices are produced at Foursquare Gospel Church, in Pestano district, on the outskirt of Pelotas city, in Rio Grande do Sul state?”. It aims to describe, comprehend and analyze these educational practices. The concepts that based this study are: work and education, outskirts and religion. It is a qualitative case study. As methodology it is assumed the developing of the Marxian dialectics. To the proposed aim it was done four semi structured interviews and notes on the field diary, observing several practices that compound the Foursquare Gospel Church. As the research result three practices were seen as central in the analyses: the church, the worship and the cell. The church as place/territory, institution and also as a place of formation and people education on the outskirts, being all its propositions followed by an instrument: the bible, which is used as a “tool” to the evangelization developed and a set of educational practices that compound the Neopentecostals. The bible used as a universal truth. Place to give testimony as part of example pedagogy. The worship, place to adore symbols, place of education and welcoming. Place of meeting and of being a” school”. And the cells, as a place to know, accompany people and build relationship to strength families. The consumption assumes centrality to answer the needs and demands of the capital. The main thesis states that there is a connection between Neopentecostals and the capital reorganization and it is materialized in the educational practices, because on them, are the educational process between Neopentecostals and the production of a new sociability among the subjects in the capitalism. This way the Neopentecostal educational practices contribute to a new sociability in the capital movement in the actual configuration. The church had to be reorganized as a capital movement, because the crisis in the capital, also produced a crisis in the institution church. The old asceticism, renouncement and self-sacrifice, the old traditions, the disdain for the world pleasures, therefore, the old clothes had to be left, or changed by new ones, where the consumption earns a centrality, where is highlighted the relationship of exchanges with GOD/CHURCH and its churchgoers. In the practices are concretized the changes and on them are done the process of human formation needed to answer the needs and demands of the capital.

Advancement of eco tourism with the building of a wellness centre. Consideration to indicators in strategies to build the new brand in order to maximise ROI / The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the health spas embark on marketing strategies and how they will deal with the increased consumer demand. On the one hand, a case study of two recognised health spas will illustrate how the spas integrate marketing strategies to build credible relationships with their customers and will demonstrate successes and failures of each health spa. On the other hand, an exploration of the market dynamics will present a consciousness of the customers’ expectations and suggest whether the level of service quality in the health spa is adequate to meet these needs. The practical implication of the study will assist in the design of a proposed model with best marketing practices for the sustainability of this competitive industry.

Highways and roadways are the major source of stormwater runoff due to their prevalence and large non-permeable surface area. Best Management Practices (BMPs) such as bioswale provide effective on-site management and control of stormwater runoff from linear infrastructure such as highways. Many factors affect the performance of bioswales for stormwater volume reduction. The ratio of the installed BMP area to its service drainage area, characteristics of precipitation and the amount of sediment build-up over the surface of the BMP area are among the most important factors. Earlier studies have indicated that volume reductions in stormwater runoff from bioswale application range from 50% to 94%. However, the reported research lacks adequate information for a full understanding of how bioswales perform under various conditions. Consequently, additional systematic and in-depth research to better understand and the potential of bioswales as a method of controlling stormwater runoff is indicated. This research examined the effect of the following factors on bioswale performance: the ratio of the BMP area to the service drainage area, precipitation amounts and intensity, and sediment build-up. Hydraulic and hydrological processes were developed and analyzed through conceptual and physical models using appropriate governing equations including the Green-Ampt method. Field study of discrete rainfall events was conducted to collect information to calibrate and validate the numerical models. The field study tested various bioswale conditions with different levels of sediment accumulation. It also considered expected soil loss in the study area using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) method. In addition to field study, extensive simulations were conducted considering various contributing areas, rainfall depth and intensity, and sediment accumulation. These variables were manipulated to evaluate their effect on runoff volume reduction. Findings indicate that, for a given rainfall depth and duration, increasing the ratio of the BMP area to the service drainage area from 4% to16% results in increased bioswale efficiency ranging from 84% to 99%. The results revealed that input flowrate to the bioswale ranged from 0.04 to 4.7 in./min. depending on the rainfall intensity and soil type in the area. The runoff reduction performance of a newly constructed bioswale ranged from 44% for the highest input flowrate to 99% for the lowest input flowrate rainfall events. On the low end of rainfall volume/intensity, a 4% increase in the BMP area ratio results in a 34% improvement in efficiency (50% to 84%). On the high end of rainfall volume/intensity, a 16% increase in the area ratio results in only a 5% increase in efficiency (94% to 99%). Results also show that sediment accumulation has a substantial negative effect on infiltration rate. The observed efficiency of a bioswale in runoff reduction ranged from 13% to 100%. According to the USLE, the expected amount of soil loss occurring in the right-of-way area of a highway is approximately 1 ton/acre annually. The research revealed that for a given rainfall depth, duration, and area ratio; increasing the amount of sediment accumulation from 0 lbs./sq. ft. (equivalent to a newly constructed bioswale) to 2.7 lbs./sq. ft. (equivalent to a 10-year old bioswale) results in a 52% reduction in the runoff effectiveness of the bioswale sub-catchment from 98% to 46%. Finally, the physical model and associated governing equations were analyzed to describe the process of each studied factor. These results can be used for further study where the sediment accumulation rates differ from those modeled in this research.

The pillaging of companies by those who control them is becoming a common occurence in South Africa. The problem arises where those in control of a company are its sole shareholders and the property they are charged with stealing, though not legally belonging to them, is vested in an entity which itself belongs to them. One defence is that there can be no theft where the company consents to the appropriation of its funds. It is argued that a theft is committed only where all the criminal elements of the crime of theft are satisfied, notwithstanding the consent, or absence thereof, by the company. Case law indicates that a conviction depends on the : solvency or insolvency of the company; degree of control and victim of the appropriation. It is submitted that it is inappropriate to base a conviction on these criteria. All abuses of the corporate structure should be punished. / Mercantile Law / LL. M.

A partir da visão de organização como processo busca-se compreender como e por que ocorre o organizar na bioconstrução. A metodologia utilizada segue os pressupostos da Teoria Ator-rede e Depois que traz como conceito central o enactment aliada a discussão de coletivo para iniciar a pesquisa de campo. Os dados empíricos preliminares, obtidos com observação participante em três locais diferentes que trabalham com bioconstrução a partir da visão da Permacultura e analisados a partir da ótica da TAR e Depois que enfatiza as relações de humanos e não-humanos, destacaram a contribuição para o entendimento de prática e cooperação em termos do fazer/pensar indissociáveis. Assim, acrescenta-se na discussão teórica a noção de prática de Schatzki (2005) e a noção de cooperação a partir da proposta de Sennett (2013). Além de observação participante – usada durante toda pesquisa - os dados empíricos foram coletados – em um segundo momento - por entrevistas, questionário e observação não-participante resultando em uma análise temática baseada no entendimento de prática de Schatzki (2005). O texto se desenvolve através de descrição detalhada dos acontecimentos, intercalado com trechos de incursões teóricas que apresentam a assemblege do método conforme pressupõe a TAR e Depois. Com isso, entende-se e descreve-se a bioconstrução como prática de cooperação através das relações entre todos que enactam a bioconstrução – pessoas e a materialidade. Pela ótica da prática, embasada nos dados empíricos, a cooperação está na inteligibilidade prática do organizar da bioconstrução, assim o barro enacta a cooperação, que enacta a bioconstrução, que enacta o barro. Para existir cooperação não é suficiente uma visão comum ou uma moral social, é preciso o fazer/pensar que constitui e reflete, como processo, essa visão. A tese, através de casos empíricos, contribui para as discussões em Estudos Organizacionais sobre o organizar e em Gestão de Pessoas sobre como ocorrem relações de trabalho horizontais, ambos entendendo processo como o que está em constante mudança. Busca também fortalecer o uso da TAR e Depois como prática metodológica e lente de analise inicial, além de discutir a cooperação em termos de prática. A contribuição para o campo social está na sua ontologia política que dá visibilidade à bioconstrução como uma possibilidade de contrapor o senso comum estabelecido para construção de habitações em nossa sociedade atual. Assim como a bioconstrução nos ensina construir algo único com o que temos disponível, sua prática poderá nos ajudar a pensar criticamente a “monocultura da gestão”. / Considering the organization as a process, this thesis seeks to understand how and why is the organizing in the bioconstruction. The methodology follows the assumptions of Actor-Network Theory and After, that brings as a central concept the enactment combined with collective discussion to start the fieldwork. Preliminary empirical data obtained through participant observation in three different locations, working with bioconstruction from the vision of permaculture, and analyzed from the TAR and After optics, emphasizes the relationship of human and non-human, it highlighted the contribution to understanding the concepts of practice and cooperation in terms of doing / thinking inextricably linked. Thus, it was added to the theoretical discussion the notion of practice Schatzki (2005) and the notion of cooperation Sennett (2013). In addition to participant observation - used throughout research - the empirical data was collected - in a second stage – by interviews, questionnaires and non-participant observation resulting in a thematic analysis based on the Schatzki (2005) concept of practice. The text is developed through a detailed description of the events, interspersed with excerpts from theoretical incursions presenting the method assemblege as presupposes the TAR and After. Thereby, it is understood and described bioconstruction as practice of cooperation through the relationships between all that enact bioconstruction - people and materiality. From the perspective of practice, based on empirical data, cooperation is the practical intelligibility of bioconstruction organizing, so the clay enact cooperation, which enact bioconstruction that enact clay. To be cooperation, a common vision or a social morality is not enough, it is needed doing / thinking represents and reflects this view, as a process. The thesis, through empirical cases, contribute to the discussions in Organizational Studies on organizing and Human Resources about how horizontal working relationships occurs, understanding the process as it is constantly changing. It also seeks to strengthen the use of ANT and After as a methodological practice and initial analysis lens, and discuss cooperation in terms of practice. The contribution to the social field is in its political ontology that gives visibility to bioconstruction as a possibility to counter common sense established for housing construction in our present society. As bioconstruction teaches us build something unique with what we have available, this practice can help us thinking critically about the "monoculture of management."