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This research answers the complex decision-making question about identifying the quality dimensions in a polymer industry and to prioritize these quality dimensions to obtain the best quality product with minimum expenditure. This research takes use of expert opinion and right decision-making model to yield an optimal solution which will help the manufacturing plants to reduce wastage and to get a better consistent quality product throughout the production process.

Introduction: The rapid growth of social media provides new opportunities for non-profit organizations to network and influence the public. Rural non-profit organizations can expand organizational capacity and reach, engage more stakeholders, and acquire new donors at a relatively low cost by using social media effectively. Despite the obvious benefits of social media, many rural non-profits underutilize this technology due to social drivers in the community and lack of organizational capacity. This is particularly salient in rural Appalachia where inequities persist in access to broadband and wireless mobile services. Eliciting insights from the experts - rural nonprofit leaders – is critical in identifying strategies to help nonprofit organizations level up social media use. There is a paucity of research on social media use among nonprofit organizations in rural Appalachia. The present study fills this important knowledge gap in the literature. Methodology: This qualitative study used purposive sampling techniques to recruit representatives from nonprofit organizations located in an 8-county region of Appalachian Tennessee. Semi-structured phone interviews were conducted in 2018 with nonprofit representatives (n=21). Nonprofit representatives were asked questions pertaining to social media use, effective communication strategies, and best practices. Probing questions were used to explore topics further. The audio recordings of the interviews were transcribed verbatim. Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis procedures were used to conduct an in-depth descriptive analysis of participants’ responses and develop themes. Result: Four best practice strategies were identified: 1) “Know your people”—relationships matter: It is important to develop strong ties within the community; 2) “We had to come up with something fast”—resourcefulness matters: Nonprofit organizations should practice resourcefulness and adaptability in program development and outreach, 3) “Catch their attention”—the message matters: Messaging should be brief and positive in nature, and 4) “A lot of nonprofits come and go…”—the nonprofit matters: Nonprofit organizations should implement sound business practices. These themes highlight practical steps nonprofit organizations can take to enhance their social media communication strategies. Conclusion: With the emergence of sophisticated, easily accessible social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, there is an urgent need to identify simple strategies rural nonprofits can employ to use social media more effectively. Our research addresses this need by summarizing the best practices in social media practices for nonprofit organizations in rural Appalachia. Nonprofit organizations in rural Appalachia can use these best practices to enhance communication strategies, expand their reach, and strengthen relationships within the communities they serve.

The problem of this study was to develop a literacy teaching profile of the 2004-2005 Teachers of the Year in Kindergarten through grade 5 in four central Florida school districts. Of primary interest was the extent to which these teachers indicated their use of exemplary literacy practices as defined using the domains and indicators of the National Exemplary Literacy Teacher Assessment (NELTA). The NELTA results were analyzed using frequencies and percentages. The results of the NELTA were also evaluated and discussed when total length of years teaching, and length of years at present grade level were considered. The data were derived from the 66 (59.4%) classroom Teachers of the Year who responded to the survey. Overall, the findings showed little congruency between exemplary teaching practices as measured by the NELTA and teachers' self-described practices. Many teachers indicated utilizing grade level practices best suited for grade levels higher than the ones they were presently teaching. Demographic variables did little to clarify the profile of the Teachers of the Year; however, 18 teachers with 7 or more years of teaching experience (27.2%) responded with the highest levels of congruency. Furthermore, using the domains and indicators of the NELTA, 13 grade 4 teachers (19.7%) demonstrated the highest level of congruence with grade 4 best practices. Conclusions were made to explain this along with recommendations for future research.

This research is designed to distinguish and describe or explain incubator practices that affect the performance of incubator clients of university technology incubator programs. The research focuses on understanding which practices significantly contribute to increasing job creation for the firms located in university based technology incubators. An increasing number of communities are embracing economic development strategies that target the high tech sector with high wage, high value jobs as a way to diversify their economies and boost local and regional economies. New economic development strategies include the notion of a creation strategy or "growing your own" instead of relying on recruiting of existing companies from other regions. In 1999-2000 (according to the most recent data), small businesses created three-quarters of U.S. net new jobs (2.5 million of the 3.4 million total). The small business percentage varies from year to year and reflects economic trends. Over the decade of the 1990s, small business net job creation fluctuated between 60 and 80 percent. Moreover, according to a Bureau of the Census working paper, start-ups in the first two years of operation accounted for virtually all of the net new jobs in the economy. The study is broken into three parts: (1) a review of the literature on incubation, focusing on its history, best practices, technology incubation, networking theory, and previous empirical studies (2) a review of previous data collected in a recent national survey and (3) case studies of the top performing incubators in the country based on employment growth of client firms contracted with case studies from non-top ten programs. The literature suggests that the study of incubation must be considered in the context of a larger enterprise development system of which the incubator will fill gaps in the larger regional enterprise development system. This notion is explored. In general, there is a great need for more empirical research into best practice of incubation. It is a non trivial task however as the nature of the industry limits the ability to obtain traditional, statistically defendable, measures.

Due to development of once natural landscapes, also referred to as urbanization, stormwater management has evolved in an effort to address and counteract impairment of waterways in the United States by extensively implementing best management practices (BMPs) or Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI). Facilities are installed without any requirement of long-term monitoring; instead relying on lab-tested or assumed pollutant removal efficiencies that often do not translate into field implementation and do not perform as intended and required by regulatory agencies. Monitoring studies have often been applied with variable standards, which lead to inconsistent results and inconclusive data. This study aims to synthesize essential components of a GSI monitoring program based on a review of existing programs (Technology Assessment Protocol – Ecology [TAPE], Technology Assessment Reciprocity Partnership [TARP], etc.). Data from past protocols was used in tandem with historic precipitation data to develop a methodology for creating a local or small region-specific protocol. This methodology was applied to the case study area of Fairfax, Virginia. Results from the study indicate that historic precipitation data and past protocol recommendations can be effectively applied in a local setting to create a more suitable protocol adapted for GSI monitoring in order to confirm designed efficiency. / Master of Science