2006 MU dissertations - Access restricted to UM
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Item Organizational citizenship behavior as a measure of performance in sport : relationships with leadership, team cohesion, and athlete satisfaction(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2006) Aoyagi, Mark, 1977-; Cox, Richard H., 1941-[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The purpose of this study was to examine aspects of the Multidimensional Model of Leadership (MML; Chelladurai, 1978), the theory of team cohesion (Widmeyer, Brawley, & Carron, 1985; Widmeyer & Williams, 1991), and a model of athlete satisfaction (Chelladurai & Riemer, 1997) and how these theories related to organizational citizenship behavior (OCB; Organ, 1988) in sport. A total of 281 student-athletes from a large Division I university and a smaller Division III university representing a variety of sports participated in the study. Results of the study provided evidence for OCB as a valid measure of performance in sport. Results also supported the hypothesized circular relationship amongst team cohesion, athlete satisfaction, and performance (Martens & Peterson, 1971; Williams & Hacker, 1982) as well as many of the predictions hypothesized in the MML, the theory of team cohesion, and the model of athlete satisfaction. However, based on discrepancies with the proposed models, a new model depicting the relationships among leadership, team cohesion, athlete satisfaction, and performance is presented. Results are discussed in the context of previous literature as well as theoretical, research, and practical implications.Item Fuel depletion analyses at the Missouri University Research Reactor(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2006) Ion, Robert Aurelian, 1966-; Miller, William Hughes, 1941-[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] In developing, assembling and updating safety analysis cases for nuclear power and research reactors, fuel depletion plays a major role and ultimately leads to the calculation of fuel inventory and reactivity versus burnup, important parameters required for regulatory compliance. This thesis describes the use of the Monteburns code for the Missouri University Research Reactor (MURR) fuel depletion analyses, and provides simulation comparisons with experimental results and other codes results. The model and simulation differences are assessed and an analysis of the accuracy of the Monteburns code and model for MURR is provided. This thesis also describes an application in support of the MURR Safety Analysis Report (SAR) update work.Item Three essays on the corporate debt choice(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2006) Arena, Matteo P., 1973-; Howe, John S.[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] This dissertation examines the determinants of the corporate debt choice between different forms of debt financing and different countries. By examining the most extensive sample of U.S. debt issues to date, Essay 1 shows that firms that issue 144A debt are significantly different from firms that privately place non-bank debt without using the 144A rule. I also find that traditional private placements rather than bank loans are the favorite debt source for firms with good credit quality that cannot access the public market because of flotation costs and information asymmetry. Essay 2 examines how governance provisions that affect the cost of debt are related to the corporate debt choice. I find that firms with fewer takeover defenses and larger blockholder ownership are more likely to issue private debt. This result is consistent with the hypothesis that private debt claimants can reduce the expected negative impact of takeovers on debtholder value by enforcing stricter covenants or by renegotiating debt in case of takeover. Essay 3 examines the external debt financing choices of multinational firms by using a unique international dataset of firm-level debt offerings. I show that tax-based incentives, country-specific investor preferences, and difference in legal regimes across countries influence multinational firms in their debt location choice.Item Understanding elementary teachers' beliefs, attitudes and intentions to support mental health services in schools(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2006) Gay, Sara Svoboda, 1976-; Koller, James Raymond[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The purpose of this study was to investigate elementary teachers' beliefs, attitudes and intentions to support specific mental health services in schools through the development of a psychometrically sound survey instrument. The theoretical foundation of this study was the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), which posits that (a) a person's intention to perform a behavior is the best predictor of actual behavior, and (b) intention is a function of attitudes towards the behavior and subjective norms. Further, underlying beliefs about outcomes of behavior predict attitudes. One hundred fourteen elementary teachers across a Midwestern state completed the survey, and regression analyses indicated preliminary support for the TRA in predicting intention to support mental health services from attitude and subjective norms. Specifically, subjective norms and positive beliefs about supporting mental health services predicted intention, and both positive and negative outcome beliefs predicted attitudes toward supporting mental health services in schools. Participants in the study generally shared favorable attitudes and outcome beliefs about mental health services. In addition, participants perceived their elementary teacher colleagues to have favorable attitudes towards mental health services. Finally, approximately half of the participants intended to or agreed that a social pressure existed to support mental health services in schools.Item Effects of oxidative stress and Alzheimer's amyloid-beta peptide on astrocytes(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2006) Zhu, Donghui, 1974-; Lee, James[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Oxidative stress and deposition of amyloid-[beta] peptide (A[beta]) in brains have been hypothesized as causes of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and research into the effects of oxidative stress and A[beta] on cell functions should lead to better understanding of AD. Here we focused on these effects on astrocytes, since they are the major cell type which regulate and nurture neurons. We found that both oxidative stress and A[beta] activate two key signaling proteins in astrocytes, p38 mitogen-activated kinase and phospholipase A2. In turn, activation of these key proteins results in physical property changes of plasma membranes and in mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondrial dysfunction led to excess production of anionic superoxide, which may drive the disease development towards exacerbation of the oxidative and inflammatory conditions, characteristics of the AD brain. The findings derived from this study suggest that inhibitions of these key signaling proteins provide new therapeutic strategies to retard the progression of AD.