This dissertation introduces and develops the construct of consumer cynicism, characterized by a perception of a pervasive, systemic lack of integrity in the marketplace, and investigates how cynical consumers behave in ...

This study described and analyzed the perceptions of teachers who participated in a unique professional development experience. The research framework that guided the study included components of professional development, ...

The plasma polymerization behavior of fluorocarbon systems was investigated using the monomers C₃F₆, C₂H₂F₄, C₄F₁₀ and C₃F₆O, which were compared to methane and butane, Section III. In Sections V and VII, surface modification ...

Waterfowl are renowned for their ability to exploit a wide variety of food resources. They feed on fresh and marine water invertebrates, aquatic and terrestrial plants, and agricultural grains and crops. This nutritional ...

Scientists have debated the hypothesis of reinforcement. Nevertheless, recent empirical and theoretical work have dispelled doubts about its existence. Reinforcement is most often studied by establishing one of its predicted ...

This research is a result of a collaborative effort with Shelter Insurance Companies in Columbia, Missouri. The first essay focuses on sales team design. Based on an effect called Group Motivation Gain, previous research ...

Soy-based polyol used in polyurethane applications are sustainable and renewable materials which have been reported to require less energy to produce and to have lower market price. They also have less environmental impact, ...

This thesis derives the sharp estimates for the transmission boundary value problems (TBVP) for Dirac operators in Lipschitz domains in the three dimensional setting. Most of the transmission problems considered in the ...

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of time on the indices within the Personal and Organizational Assessment-Revised (POQA-R, Institute of HeartMath, 1999-2004) among rural, elementary educators ...

Analysis seeks to understand rural poverty within the context of agricultural and postindustrial economic structure. Detailed socioeconomic data are analyzed for 4,610 non-metropolitan census tracts in the north central ...

This dissertation explores the growth of Auguste Rodin's phenomenal acclaim in Northeast Asia, where he was introduced in the early 20th century, when China, Japan, and Korea were undergoing social, political, and cultural ...

This research is focused on developing a method that is applicable to the industrial-scale production of propylene glycol from glycerol with considerably high conversions and yields. The fundamental understanding behind ...

The release of ACTH from the anterior pituitary is one step in the activation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. The HPA axis is activated in response to stress and the secretion of ACTH is under the control ...

Recent trends in ecological studies have displayed increases in the studying of urban systems and wildlife. Investigations on various urbanized taxa have often described similar behavioral (reduced fear of humans, altered ...

This study investigated the cognitive (knowledge) and affective (attitude) outcomes of students taking a cultural diversity in business course as compared to students enrolled in another capstone course at a Midwest ...

This thesis is a theoretical study of photo-induced ferro-magnetism in dilute magnetic semiconductors. When light is incident on these systems, electrons and holes are created across the band gap. These particles interact ...

Interval-censored failure time data commonly arise in follow-up studies such as clinical trials and epidemiology studies. By interval-censored data, we mean that the failure time of interest is not completely observed. ...

This study explored general chemistry students' thinking processes about molecular polarity and related concepts. The study employed a mixed-method design to reveal how general chemistry students use their conceptual ...

The Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinoses (NCLs) are a group of rare genetic diseases characterized by neurodegeneration and accumulation of autofluorescent lysosomal storage bodies in numerous cell types. There are currently no ...

The purpose of this study was three-fold: to determine the effectiveness of instructional strategies on improving the acquisition and retention of leadership content by secondary students in urban agriculture programs; to ...