The creation of a new business venture is a multidimensional event, but little research has addressed the interaction of entrepreneurial characteristics and their relationship to new venture creation. The purpose of this study was to propose a conceptual framework for systematically studying the entrepreneurial personality. The major components of the proposed framework were attitude toward the behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, the three antecedents of behavior, and demographic indicators. A stratified random sample of 20 subjects, 15 males and five females, was identified for this study from a population of 120 Oregon agriculture exporters. The study had an important limitation: the population consisted only of agriculture export entrepreneurs. The data were gathered in two ways: an interview and a survey questionnaire. Based on the findings, a conceptual framework was proposed. The framework consisted of three antecedents of behavior: attitude toward the behavior, perceived behavioral control, and the subjective norm. These antecedents were influenced by selected demographic variables. Prominent factors were need for achievement, long-term involvement, risk taking (moderate), internal locus of control, sex (gender), and family background. Additional variables deserving further study are: innovation, drive and energy, persistent problem solving, age, birth order, educational history, and previous experience. The entrepreneurial behavior model developed from the conceptual framework was supported by the results of the study. / Graduation date: 1992

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a multifactorial caries risk assessment model by comparing the risk factor scores with caries increment. Secondary data analysis included a chart review of 434 dental patients in which basic caries risk scores, total risk score and caries increment were collected. ANOVA and logistic regression were conducted to assess the statistical significance of the difference between caries increments across categories of risk factors. Mean tooth caries increments of the risk groups were 0.20±0.8 (low), 1.13±1.59 (moderate), 2.09±2.63 (high), which were statistically significant (p<0.001). Past and present caries experience, carbohydrates, mucogingival bleeding index, and stimulated salivary flow showed statistically significant associations with caries increment (p<0.05) but the total risk score proved to be the most powerful predictor of future caries activity (p<0.001). The multifactorial etiology of caries necessitates the use of a risk assessment model that includes various factors that contribute to caries development.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a multifactorial caries risk assessment model by comparing the risk factor scores with caries increment. Secondary data analysis included a chart review of 434 dental patients in which basic caries risk scores, total risk score and caries increment were collected. ANOVA and logistic regression were conducted to assess the statistical significance of the difference between caries increments across categories of risk factors. Mean tooth caries increments of the risk groups were 0.20±0.8 (low), 1.13±1.59 (moderate), 2.09±2.63 (high), which were statistically significant (p<0.001). Past and present caries experience, carbohydrates, mucogingival bleeding index, and stimulated salivary flow showed statistically significant associations with caries increment (p<0.05) but the total risk score proved to be the most powerful predictor of future caries activity (p<0.001). The multifactorial etiology of caries necessitates the use of a risk assessment model that includes various factors that contribute to caries development.

<p>Research suggests that parents&rsquo / feeding practices play a critical role in the development of children&rsquo / s tastes, eating habits, nutrition and eventual weight status. Thus if parental feeding practices play such a critical role, the question arises as to whether there is a difference in parental feeding practices that determine different developments in children&rsquo / s nutritional habits. Furthermore, feeding practices are possibly based on the nutritional knowledge of parents. The aim of this study was to assess the Body Mass Index (BMI), nutritional knowledge and behaviour of primary care-givers. This study followed the quantitative research paradigm. A sample of 147 staff members, who were primary care- givers of children at a University in the Western Cape was self-selected to participate in the study. Only primary care-givers of children were invited to participate. The primary care-givers were asked to complete two online questionnaires, the Comprehensive Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFPQ) developed by Musher-E-Eisenman and Holub (2007), and the General Nutritional Knowledge Questionnaire (GNKQ) for adults. Data analysis was done by means of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS17). Results indicated that the majority of participants were overweight (46% of the participants). Primary care-givers across all body mass index groups did not lack nutritional knowledge but variations in behaviour were found with regard to feeding practices. However similarities were found in the BMI categories in the areas of teaching about nutrition, pressure to eat at meal times<br /> and encouraging balance and variety.</p>

Many infrastructure networks rely on each other to deliver utilities and services to the community. In the event of a disaster, these networks can sustain significant damage. It is therefore important to identify interdependencies among networks to mitigate the disaster consequences. In 2003, Public Safety Canada (PSC) and NSERC initiated the Joint Infrastructure Interdependencies Research Program (JIIRP) for this purpose. The research was carried out at six Universities across Canada including the University of British Columbia (UBC). The aim of JIIRP at UBC was to study infrastructure interdependencies during disasters in order to aid in decision making. This involved the development disaster simulation methodology and tool, and the implementation of a case study. UBC's Point Grey campus was used as case study. The campus is located in southwestern British Columbia, a known seismic zone, therefore earthquake disaster scenario was chosen. Reasonable estimations of the expected seismic damage and losses are required in order to simulate a realistic disaster scenario. For this reason, in this thesis, seismic risk assessment was carried out for the buildings at UBC. This involved the development of a building database, the assessment of the expected level of damage to the structural and nonstructural building components, and the estimation of monetary, human and functionality losses. Buildings in the database were classified into prototypes and the damage was estimated for several levels ofintensity using damage probability matrices. As expected, the most vulnerable buildings on campus were those containing unreinforced masonry. These buildings make up 7% of the buildings on campus. The least vulnerable buildings were multi-family residential woodbuildings which account for 27% of the buildings on campus. Losses were estimated following the damage assessments. Casualties were estimated for three times of day. 2PM was determined to be the critical time of day as the campus population is the greatest at this time. Monetary loss and functionality trends were examined with respect to earthquake intensity and it was shown that for moderate intensity earthquakes, the losses depend primarily on nonstructural damage, while structural damage plays the most important role for higher intensities.

The objective of this project was to develop a simple MCNPX model of the human eye to approximate dose delivered from proton therapy. The calculated dose included that due to proton interactions and secondary interactions, which included multiple coulombic energy scattering, elastic and inelastic scattering, and non-elastic nuclear reactions (i.e., the production of secondary particles). After benchmarking MCNPX with a known proton simulation, the proton therapy beam used at Laboratori Nazionali del Sud-INFN was modeled for simulation. A virtual water phantom was used and energy tallies were found to correspond with the direct measurements from the therapy beam in Italy. A simple eye model was constructed and combined with the proton beam to measure dose distributions. Two treatment simulations were considered. The first simulation was a typical treatment scenario-where dose was maximized to a tumor volume and minimized elsewhere. The second case was a worst case scenario to simulate a patient gazing directly into the treatment beam during therapy. Dose distributions for the typical treatment yielded what was expected, but the worst case scenario showed the bulk of dose deposited in the cornea and lens region. The study concluded that MCNPX is a capable platform for patient planning but laborious for programming multiple simulation configurations.

The purpose of this study was to understand how formative assessment interactions in developmental education reading, writing, and mathematics courses at a community college were experienced by both students and faculty members and how they were perceived to impact learning and teaching. The specific assessment technique studied involved a series of one-on-one, out-of-class Feedback Intervention (FI) interactions that focused on discussions regarding students’ strengths and weaknesses in relation to their course learning outcomes. In using a case study approach, I interviewed students and faculty members in focus group and individual settings. Using constant-comparative qualitative analysis, I examined their perceptions in order to better understand the impact student-faculty interactions had on students’ learning and faculty members’ teaching experiences. Questionnaires were also used to corroborate findings. The following research questions were used: (1) What are the contexts and learning experiences of developmental studies students? (2) How has formative assessment, specifically out-of-class interactions with their instructors, affected perceptions of their learning experiences? (3) How have these interactions affected developmental studies faculty members’ perceptions about their teaching? When I considered the overall impact of the student-faculty interactions, one overarching theme emerged: the FI interaction did have a positive impact on learning, and to a lesser degree, teaching. This theme was supported through two main findings related to learning: the interaction increased students’ motivation to learn and improved their learning strategies. In regards to teaching, the main finding was that facilitation of the FI interaction affected faculty members in that they became more learner-centered in their teaching strategies and methodologies. These findings confirmed a connective, dynamic learning process for both students and faculty members.

This study examined the participation rates and performance results of students with emotional disturbance (ED) in a statewide reading assessment. Public school districts in Texas use the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test in assessing the reading performance of their students in grades 3 through 8 and in grade 10. Factors of gender, ethnicity, cognitive ability, school level socio-economic status and instructional setting in reading were examined. This study found that 58% of students with emotional disturbance enrolled in grades 3 through 8 and in grade 10 participated in the 2007 TAKS reading assessment. Implications include differences by sub grouping of students with ED. This study also found that 44 % of those students with emotional and behavioral disorders enrolled in the grades who took the test met proficiency standards on the TAKS reading assessment in 2007. Chi square analysis showed that there is a significant relationship between students’ instructional setting in reading and both their participation in and their performance on the TAKS Reading Assessment. Logistic regression analyses results showed that instructional setting in reading can be used as a predictor of both a student’s participation in and performance on the TAKS Reading Assessment.

Educational policy mandates student participation in statewide accountability assessments with the expectation that students achieve proficiency on content objectives. Demonstrating proficiency may be most difficult for students with an Emotional Disturbance (ED) who experience poor school outcomes. This study examined the participation and performance of students with ED on a regular statewide accountability assessment in math and examined the relationship between student and school level factors to student participation and performance. In the study, 34% of the students with ED participated and met proficiency standards on the regular statewide assessment in math. Student level factors examined were grade level, gender, ethnicity, and intelligence. School level factors were school-wide socioeconomic status and instructional setting for math; ethnicity, intelligence, and instructional setting associated with participation; grade level, ethnicity, and intelligence associated with performance. Level of intelligence was the only factor predictive of both participation and performance on the regular statewide accountability assessment in math.

Risk assessment procedures for mixtures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present a problem due to the lack of available potency and toxicity data on mixtures and individual compounds. This study examines the toxicity of parent compound PAHs and binary mixtures of PAHs in order to bridge the gap between component assessment and mixture assessment. Seven pure parent compound PAHs and four binary mixtures of PAHs were examined in the Salmonella/Microsome Mutagenicity Assay, a Gap Junction Intercellular Communication (GJIC) assay and the 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase assay (EROD). These assays were chosen for their ability to measure specific toxic endpoints related to the carcinogenic process (i.e. initiation, promotion, progression). Data from these assays was used in further studies to build Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships (QSARs) to estimate toxic endpoints and to test the additive assumption in PAH mixtures. These QSAR models will allow for the development of bioassay based potential potencies (PPB) or toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) that are derived not only from bioassay data, but also from structure, activity, and physical/chemical properties. These models can be extended to any environmental media to evaluate risk to human health from exposures to PAHs.