Search

Summary: Professional service entrepreneurs (PSEs) paradoxically practice their profession in highly institutionalized contexts which require significant socialization, while at the same time enacting their role as an entrepreneur. Some activities consistent with entrepreneurship may be unnecessary for—and possibly even contradictory with— activities consistent with professional roles. In this dissertation, I addressed the questions of how two highly central role identities (professional and entrepreneurial) related to entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in professional service practices, and how EO influences performance in the context of professional practices. Using a sample of 139 physicians, I examined the relationships between the role identity centrality of two primary roles (professional and entrepreneurial) that PSEs occupy, the EO of their firms, and firm performance. This study utilized a mixed methods design, consisting of both a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews administered to a sample of professionals who own professional practice firms in the southeastern region of Florida. Findings suggest a significant and positive relationship between entrepreneurial role identity centrality and entrepreneurial orientation and a marginally significant and negative moderation of entrepreneurial role identity centrality upon the relationship between professional role identity centrality and EO. A qualitative study served to elaborate on the findings of the quantitative study, and revealed the potential of very unique understandings of the intersection of entrepreneurship and professional practice across a selection of physicians., 2014, Includes bibliography., Degree granted: Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014., Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Scenario analysis is a process of evaluating possible future events through the consideration of alternative plausible, though not equally likely, states (scenarios). The analysis is designed to enable improved decision making and assessment through a more rigorous evaluation of possible outcomes and their implications. For environmental impact and integrated assessment studies, the process of scenario development typically involves making explicit and/or implicit assumptions about potential future conditions, such as climate change, land cover and land use changes, population growth, economic development and technological changes. Realistic assessment of scenario impacts often requires complex integrated modelling frameworks that represent environmental and socioeconomic systems to the best of our knowledge, including assumptions about plausible future conditions. In addition, scenarios have to be developed in a context relevant to the stakeholders involved, and include estimation and communication of uncertainties, to establish transparency, credibility and relevance of scenario results among the stakeholders. This paper reviews the state of the art of scenario development and analysis, proposes a formal approach to scenario development in environmental studies and discusses existing issues. Major recommendations for future research in this area include proper consideration of uncertainty involved in scenario studies, construction of scenarios of a more variable nature, and sharing of information and resources among the scenario development research community.

With ever-increasing pressures on limited water supplies in arid regions, water managers are forced to make critical decisions about the management of water resources - sometimes under considerable uncertainty. Given the large number of stresses on existing water systems, proper management requires the consideration of all different factors that may contribute to water use and consumption. As water management becomes more focused on the issue of sustainability, processes traditionally thought of as non-water-related and irrelevant to water management are now becoming very pertinent. In particular, the consequences of changes in climate, population, land use, and various types of water usage (agricultural, environmental, domestic, and urban) are of considerable interest.With increasing uncertainty about the future, conventional methods of decision-analysis are increasingly unable to suitably quantify the future impacts of policy decisions, and they are also unable to provide a clear contrast between impacts of historical policy decisions and possible future management decisions. An analytical approach that is sensitive to qualitative effects of water-related decision-making will therefore be more useful towards improving management practices. Scenario development is one such tool that can be used to examine future implications of water management, and thereby shed light on the potential consequences of implementing different operational and institutional policies. The objective of this work is to propose a formal scenario development methodology applicable to water resources management issues. This framework is applied and evaluated on a regional scale for the U.S. southwest and on a local scale for the state of Arizona.The research presented here is comprised of several components; (i) a review of existing literature on scenarios, scenario studies, and scenario applications; (ii) a retrospective analysis of water management-related scenario applications that examine

This research documents the societal worth of riparian resources in the Southwestern United States. Two case studies are developed for this inquiry, the first being Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness in Southern Arizona, an area containing one of the last perennial streams in the Sonoran Desert bioregion. A hiking use value per visitor-day is estimated via the Travel Cost Method at $25.06 and $17.31 (2003 dollars) respectively for two access sites. I hypothesize the value discrepancy to indicate a premium for remote recreation. These valuation results compare well with other published recreational use value estimates, though it is the only valuation study associated with instream recreation in the Sonoran Desert of which I am aware. Indeed the environmental valuation literature is thin for the desert region in any respect.The second case study values public restoration preferences for the Albuquerque reach of the Rio Grande in Central New Mexico. A Choice Experiment and Contingent Valuation are employed within an original survey instrument to estimate human values for various restoration strategies planned for the region. Through focus groups and stakeholder interactions four restoration attributes were defined: vegetation density; tree type; fish and wildlife population; and natural river processes. Quantified values for Albuquerque area households were estimated for each restoration attribute level of change, allowing construction of total benefits anticipated for various restoration scenarios considered for the region. This research is at the vanguard of quantifying human benefit for saltcedar control, and this particular restoration characteristic was the most highly valued of all, at $59.03 per household per year. Full restoration was valued at $156.60 per household per year. These results have meaning beyond the study area since river restoration efforts are increasing across the Western US, with many focusing on controlling saltcedar, an exotic invasive plant.The fin

The Conchos Mexican basin is part of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo Basin. This basin provides water to irrigate 120,000 ha and water supply to one million of population and its different activities in the state of Chihuahua. Moreover, this basin has historically delivered most of the water, around 54%, to the United States of the six Mexican rivers included on the international Water Treaty signed between these two countries in 1944. Drought occurrences, such as the 1950's and 1990's, have demonstrated the basin's vulnerability. This has produced not only considerable economic losses on the region but also generated economic problems and political frictions with United States given the inability of México to comply with the Water Treaty's specifications. Because of this problematic, the lack of understanding of the water resources management, and the poor development and application of some new introduced water resource policies such as water right transfers, the present study is focused to develop two research lines: 1) to create a Decision support System (DSS), a lumped semi-distributed model, created using System Dynamics (SD) and running in monthly basis. For the short and long term, the DSS carries out simulation of water resources allocation, reservoir operation policies, increased water distribution efficiencies and temporary water rights transfers. And 2) to make an analysis of the current water right allocation mechanism aimed to understand more this current policy from an institutional perspective. The final expected outcome of this research is to identify alternatives oriented not only to improve the water resources management on the Conchos basin but also to facilitate México’s compliance with the Treaty requirements.

Approximately 780 officers in the chains of command of 53 U.S. Army battalions responded to paper-and-pencil exercises in order to test the replicability of earlier results on a model which links effective leadership to problem-solving abilities. In this replication, criteria included subordinate and superior assessments of leadership behavior/performance as well as career achievement (rank and awards). Limited replication of the earlier results was obtained. The group of variables reported earlier to predict achievement were also significantly associated with achievement in this replication. However, strengths of relationship were appreciably less than reported earlier for achievement and weak (even though statistically significant) for superior and subordinate assessments. The obtained data also raised questions about the validity of measures newly designed for the earlier effort and about the reliability of measurement needed for leader development research and practice.

The purposes of this research were to (a) identify individual differences related to unstructured problem-solving capability and (b) evaluate the effective- ness of a training course designed to enhance performance in solving unstructured problems. One group underwent training designed to teach thinking process skills. The second group underwent instruction about thinking and problem solving that was content (not process) oriented. Four predictors accounted for 60% of the criterion's variance. They were, in order of importance, mental rotations, use of intuition, use of introversion (both as assessed with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator), and risk-taking propensity. Students taking the thinking process training significantly outscored those taught only about problems and errors in human judgment and decision making.

This report documents a research project undertaken to identify the training needs of U.S. Army battalion commanders. Twenty-nine battalion commanders and their immediate supervisors (19) participated. Researchers used a structured interview to obtain information about the strengths and weaknesses of battalion commanders from their own perspective and that of their supervisors. Questions were also asked about 'mentoring' and life experiences that had resulted in significant changes in outlook on life and the issues surrounding it. These questions were asked to determine the -extent and nature of mentoring as a method for human resources development and to shed some light on the human development process in general. Major findings were (1) many battalion commanders did not appear to have been conceptually prepared for the requirements of their job, (2) decentralization of control is one of the most difficult battalion and brigade command requirements, (3) risk aversion caused by high levels of insecurity leads to inability to decentralize control, (4) failure to decentralize at battalion level may not result in disaster, but failure to do so at brigade level will, (5) battalion commanders need more preparation in how to Leader development Precommand training, Mentoring, Leadership. Battalion commands conduct collective training than in how to conduct individual training, (6) mentoring is a poorly understood concept often confused with related activities-coaching, counseling, and sponsoring, and (7) conceptual and emotional development appear to be major and interacting components of the maturation process--they should be given equal attention in any training designed to promote human development.