The equatorial Pacific is a major region of biological production in the world oceans and an important part of the global carbon cycle. Changes in climate during the Cenozoic (65 Ma to present) have impacted the carbon cycle, and it is important to assess these impacts. This study focuses on the primary productivity of the equatorial Pacific during the early to middle Miocene (24 - 12 Ma) as recorded by Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Site 574, and investigates the sedimentary components potentially linked to productivity: bio-Ba, bio-SiO₂, Corg, CaCO₃, and uranium, as well as detrital thorium to estimate clay-bound barium. Within this time frame the plate beneath Site 574 traveled northwesterly across the equator and allows a unique opportunity to monitor changes in productivity and the carbon cycle in this region. It is difficult to determine directly primary productivity from the sedimentary record because the preservation of different proxies for this parameter - Corg, bio-CaCO₃, and bio-SiO₂, can be highly variable. The variability has many causes, including nutrient recycling in the water column and the depth of the carbonate compensation depth (CCD), which prevents the preservation and ultimate burial of plankton debris at the seafloor. To interpret the production versus deposition rates during the early and middle Miocene, proxies were used in conjunction with direct measurements of biogenic remains. By determining the concentrations of biogenically produced barium (bio-Ba), which is less affected by degradation, it is evident that the mass of Corg produced was much greater than that preserved in the sediments. We observed higher deposition of bio-Ba and bio- SiO₂ as the site was transported over the equatorial divergence by plate tectonics, as expected. In contrast, CaCO₃, accumulation was low in the divergence region, and coincides with a dissolution event known from other site studies in the equatorial Pacific. The pattern of uranium deposition resembles CaCO₃ and Corg, and average U concentrations suggest that it was primarily deposited as a trace element in the shell material of biogenic carbonate. Corg also resembles CaCO₃ and appears to represent primarily a dissolution signal. Total uranium analysis proved to be a useful proxy for Corg and CaCO₃ preservation, and analysis of detrital thorium (²³²Th) concentration suggests very limited terrigenous clay input. Comparison of the different proxies reveals carbonate preservation events, changes in Corg preservation, and changes in deposition as DSDP Site 574 migrated northwesterly across the equator.

The Productivity Measurement and Enhancement System (ProMES) is a human resource intervention that provides feedback to members of an organizational unit via a measurement system constructed by the unit personnel. The unit constructs the system by defining their objectives, identifying productivity indicators for each objective, and developing utility curves or contingencies for each indicator, specifying the overall and relative value to the organization of different performance levels on each indicator. Over the years, it has produced very positive results upon implementation. However, there has been great variability in the effectiveness of ProMES. This study attempted to identify the factors that contributed to this variability. Three major factors were proposed to influence the success of the intervention: feedback quality, the degree to which units prioritized their actions on the feedback, and the organizational social context. Additionally, the individual effects of the components of the organizational social context factor were analyzed; these components included the degree of employee participation in the intervention, unit attitudes towards productivity improvement, organizational support for the intervention, and organizational stability. Three productivity indices were used as dependent variables: the unit d-score (the difference between feedback productivity and baseline productivity divided by the pooled standard deviation), the rate of productivity change over the first third of the feedback stage, and the degree to which units were able to sustain prior productivity improvements over the last two thirds of the feedback stage. The degree of match with the original ProMES methodology was proposed as a moderator in the relationship between the three major factors and the criteria, and the degree of feedback interpretation training given to the unit was proposed as a moderator between the units? action on feedback and the criteria. Drawing on a database of 74 units from different industries and countries, scales were constructed to operationalize the factors. Results from multiple regression analyses indicated that favorable attitudes towards productivity improvement were associated with faster productivity improvements. Additionally, feedback quality and the action taken on feedback significantly predicted greater and faster productivity improvements. The implications for human resource professionals and researchers in industrial/organizational psychology are discussed.

Thesis (doctoral)--Göteborgs universitet, 2002. / Extra t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, Department of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Maryland, College Park, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-105). Available online from the Digital Repository at the University of Maryland.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, March 1999. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. / Committee Chair: Vidakovic, Branislav; Committee Co-Chair: Edwards, Paula; Committee Member: Goldsman, David; Committee Member: Griffin, Paul; Committee Member: Lee, Eva

Thesis (MS)--University of Montana, 2007. / Contents viewed on April 1, 2010 Title from author supplied metadata. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Göteborgs universitet, 2002. / Extra t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.