Recent studies have shown that imagining contact with a member of a differing social group can reduce prejudice toward said group. This type of prejudice intervention, known as an imagined contact intervention, can be beneficial when direct contact with the outgroup is not feasible. This study adds to existing research on imagined contact interventions by replicating a simple version of the intervention by Husnu and Crisp (2010) and assessing attitudes toward an American Muslim out-group. This study extends the research of Husnu and Crisp (2010) by using American participants as opposed to British participants and also uses an online distribution for the intervention as opposed to a laboratory setting. The research question was: Will the imagined contact intervention significantly reduce prejudice toward the American Muslim out-group when compared to a control condition? Participants who reported socializing with the Muslim out-group less than three times in the past six months completed a form of the intervention online, responded to an out-group attitude index regarding the Muslim out-group, and completed demographics questions. In this study, there was no significant effect of the imagined contact intervention on out-group attitudes. Possible reasons for the intervention’s ineffectiveness, including the use of online distribution for the survey, are discussed along with directions for future research.

For the second study, a web-based survey was developed and distributed to all members of four major health education organizations. A total of 1,925 HEs’ completed the survey and 1,607 responses were utilized in the final analysis. This study indicated that participants had deficient knowledge and unfavorable attitudes toward the CDCproposed genomic competencies. In the third study, a theoretical model was developed to predict HEs’ likelihood to incorporate genomic competencies into their practice. Using techniques from Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the model was tested with the same data of the second study. Findings supported the proposed theoretical model. While genomic knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy were significantly associated with HEs’ likelihood to incorporate genomic competencies into their practice, attitudes was the strongest predictor of likelihood. In summary, these studies indicated that participating HEs had deficient genomic knowledge, unfavorable attitudes toward a set of CDC-proposed genomic competencies, and low likelihood to adopt genomic competencies into health promotion. Relevant training should be developed and advocated. As the SEM analysis results indicated the survey findings supported the proposed theoretical model, which can be utilized to steer future training for HEs. statistics, 2) unadjusted inferential statistics, 3) stratified analysis, and 4) multivariable models. My investigation produced results in accord with generally accepted notions in addition to significant findings that interestingly counter current preconceptions. Intraspecies contact was more common than inter-species, with indirect contact occurring more frequently than direct. Direct contact between species occurred extremely rarely. The most important factors that influenced the rate of contact for both species were water, winter, and cultivated fields. Information regarding probability of infectious agent survival and transfer will be used in the future to advance current epidemiological models, including geographicautomata (Ward et al. 2007: In Press) and cellular automata models (Doran and Laffan 2005) to better understand and manage integrated domestic cattle and free-ranging wildlife populations. Such modeling provides essential and necessary knowledge for developing prevention, detection, response, and recovery strategies – employed in advance, during, and after a disease outbreak, respectively.

Les fumées à basse température (<120-150 °C) sortant des procédés industriels pourraient être récupérées pour la production d'électricité et constituent un moyen efficace de réduction de la consommation d'énergie primaire et des émissions de dioxyde de carbone. Cependant, des barrières techniques tels que la faible efficacité de conversion, la nécessité d'une grande zone de transfert de chaleur, et la présence de substances chimiques corrosives liées à une forte teneur en humidité lors du fonctionnement en environnement sévère entravent leur application plus large. Cette thèse porte particulièrement sur les secteurs industriels les plus énergivores rencontrant actuellement des difficultés à récupérer l'énergie des sources de chaleur à basse température dans des environnements hostiles. Des cycles thermodynamiques existants basés sur le Cycle de Rankine Organique (ORC) sont adaptés et optimisés pour ce niveau de température. Deux méthodes de récupération de chaleur classiques sont étudiées plus particulièrement : les déshumidifications à contact direct et indirect. Des méthodes de conception optimisées pour les échangeurs de chaleur sont élaborées et validées expérimentalement. Pour la déshumidification à contact indirect, des matériaux à revêtement anticorrosifs sont proposés et testés. Pour la déshumidification à contact direct, les effets du type et de la géométrie des garnissages sur les performances hydrauliques sont étudiés. Des cycles thermodynamiques innovants basés sur la technologie de déshydratation liquide sont proposés. Un cycle de régénération amélioré (IRC) est développé. Comparé aux technologies de récupération de chaleur classiques, l'IRC proposé améliore à la fois la puissance nette et le taux de détente de la turbine en prévenant par ailleurs les problèmes de corrosion. / Low-temperature waste-gas heat sources (< 120-150°C) exiting several industrial processes could be recovered for electricity production and constitute an effective mean to reduce primary energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. However, technical barriers such as low conversion efficiency, large needed heat transfer area, and the presence of chemically corrosive substances associated with high moisture content when operating in harsh environment impede their wider application. This thesis focuses on particularly energy-hungry industrial sectors characterized by presently unsolved challenges in terms of environmentally hostile low-temperature heat sources. Existing thermodynamic cycles based on Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) are adapted and optimized for this temperature level. Two conventional heat recovery methods are studied more particularly: indirect and direct contact dehumidification. Optimized design methods for heat exchangers are elaborated and experimentally validated. For the indirect contact dehumidification, advanced anti-corrosion coated materials are proposed and laboratory tested. For the direct contact dehumidification, the effects of packing material and geometry on the corresponding hydraulic performances are underlined. Innovative thermodynamic cycles based on the liquid desiccant technology are investigated. An improved regeneration cycle (IRC) is developed. Compared to the conventional heat recovery technologies, the proposed “IRC” improves both net power and turbine expansion ratio besides preventing faced corrosions problems.