Evaluating training outcomes: A mixed-method case study of a sales training program

Beane Ricchiuto, Michele University of Pennsylvania 2011 해외박사(DDOD)

Ongoing training and development of the workforce is critical for both organizational and societal growth. The demand for training and development is growing due to demographic changes in the U.S. population, globalization and the speed of technological changes. The United States needs an educated work force to remain competitive in the global economy. This cannot be done without investment in education and in workplace training and development programs. While American businesses are making large investments in training and development programs, these organizations do not know if these investments are producing any results because they do not measure the success or failure of these programs. Regardless of reason for not evaluating, the impact is the same: the training and development function within organizations cannot effectively improve employee performance, demonstrate their value or receive critical feedback needed to improve its program offerings. The purpose of this dissertation was to conduct a training outcome evaluation that assessed the effectiveness of a sales training program in achieving its stated objectives. A case study approach was used because it served as a real life example of the dilemma organizations face when trying to understand the effectiveness of their training programs. This case study used quantitative data methods to determine that the training was ineffective in producing gains in sales performance. Qualitative data collection methods were used to help explain why the training was ineffective. This data also identified opportunities to improve the training for future use. As a result of these findings a new evaluation model was presented for discussion that emphasizes the use of test pilots, obtaining qualitative feedback and leveraging stakeholder involvement, to refine and deploy quality training programs.

Arsenic exposure, artificial tanning and melanoma in Iowa

Beane Freeman, Laura Elizabeth The University of Iowa 2003 해외박사(DDOD)

Exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) has long been implicated in the development of cutaneous melanoma. Artificial tanning devices, which emit UVR, may mimic exposure to the sun and increase melanoma risk. Self-tanning cream use is becoming increasingly common, which may also impact melanoma risk. We examined artificial UVR and self-tanning cream use in relation to melanoma. Studies of basal and squamous cell carcinoma have reported an increased risk with arsenic exposure. We explored a potential association between arsenic and cutaneous melanoma. In this case-control study, the associations between cutaneous melanoma and environmental arsenic exposure, artificial tanning, and outdoor occupational exposure were evaluated in Iowans ages 40 and older. Participants included 368 melanoma cases and 373 colorectal cancer controls diagnosed in 1999 and 2000, frequency-matched on year of diagnosis, gender and 5-year age category. Participants completed a mailed survey and submitted toenail clipping samples for analysis of arsenic content. We found an increased risk of melanoma in participants with elevated toenail arsenic concentrations (Odds Ratio [OR] = 2.1; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 1.4–3.4) and effect modification by prior skin cancer diagnosis (p-interaction = 0.0298). For those with prior skin cancer, the OR was 7.0 (95% CI = 2.2 = 22.8), while for those without prior skin cancer the OR was 1.7 (95% CI = 1.0–2.9). The use of a shallow well for residential drinking water, which has been linked with higher arsenic levels, was associated with increased melanoma risk (OR = 1.6; 95% CI = 1.0–2.6). We found a suggestion of effect modification with use of sunlamps and skin color. For those with medium or dark skin color, the OR was 2.0 (95% CI = 1.0–8.0), while the OR for those with fair skin was 1.1 (95% CI = 0.6–1.8). We found no association between use of self-tanning creams and melanoma risk. When we examined total number hours spent outdoors on the job, we found a significant increased risk of melanoma for those participants who spent more time outdoors (OR = 2.2; 95% CI = 1.2–5.1). A reliability study conducted as part of the overall project showed that the survey instrument was generally reliable (most ≥0.6) and there was little or no evidence of non-differential exposure misclassification.

A MEASURE OF THE SELF : A STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF TEACHERS IN A SUBURBAN HIGH SCHOOL

BEANE, MILDRED BARNES Boston University 1995 국내박사

Distress tolerance in perinatal women: Concurrent and longitudinal associations with maternal responsiveness

McCabe-Beane, Jennifer Elaine The University of Iowa 2016 해외박사(DDOD)

Maternal responsiveness to infant needs is critical to child development. Few studies have attempted to identify basic processes that underlie responsiveness. Parenting theory suggests that distress tolerance (DT) may be important to understanding dysfunctional parenting. Distress tolerance refers to an individual's ability to withstand subjective internal distress (e.g., uncomfortable thoughts, feelings). Despite its significance in the study of psychopathology, DT is not a well validated construct. Thus, the primary objectives of the present study were 1) to validate the construct of DT in a sample of perinatal women, and 2) to examine the concurrent and longitudinal associations between perinatal DT and maternal responsiveness. Eighty-six pregnant women in their third trimester and their respective informants completed an online survey of DT. At 4-months postpartum, a research team collected observational assessments of maternal responsiveness and a second assessment of self-reported DT. Factorial validity of DT was demonstrated through confirmatory factor analysis and suggested that DT is best represented as a multidimensional construct. Convergent validity of DT was demonstrated by small to moderate correlations (r's = .16-.53) between self- and informant ratings of DT. Results of path analyses demonstrated a small association (r=.19) between prenatal DT and responsiveness; however, no association was found between postpartum DT and responsiveness. These findings suggest that targeting DT during pregnancy may improve outcomes for women and their infants. Distress tolerance skills are used in a number of empirically supported psychotherapies. Similarly, these skills could be incorporated into existing prenatal programs and parenting interventions to increase responsiveness and, ultimately, improve child outcomes.

The politics of evangelical identity in the United States and Canada

Bean, Lydia Nan Harvard University 2009 해외박사(DDOD)

Since the 1970s, white evangelical Christians have become an important constituency for the Republican Party in the United States. This development has been explained in terms of a "Culture War" between "orthodox" and "progressive" visions of moral authority and national identity. Critics of the "Culture War" framework argue that this conflict is sustained by a small set of political and religious elites, who strategically mobilize mass publics around cultural divides. Within this "political mobilization" framework, the link between evangelicalism and conservative politics is socially constructed from the "top down." But how has this link become constructed as natural within the lives of rank-and-file American evangelicals? This dissertation argues that religion and conservative politics have also become linked from the "bottom up," in the ways that evangelicals construct subcultural identity in local congregations. To evaluate the consequences of local identity construction, U.S. evangelicals were compared with their religious counterparts in Canada, where party mobilization around religion and morality has historically been more constrained. This comparison used multi-site, ethnographic observation in two Baptist and two Pentecostal churches, matched on either side of the border in Hamilton, Ontario and Buffalo, New York. This observation was supplemented with 60 interviews with clergy and laypeople. Evangelicals in both countries were found to have equally conservative moral beliefs, but American evangelicals constructed their religious identity in more partisan terms, while Canadian evangelicals constructed their religious identity in more civic terms. This meant that in the two American churches, religious identity was effectively conflated with party identification, while in the two Canadian churches, it was easier for evangelicals to identify as both theologically conservative and politically liberal or left-leaning. This "subcultural identity" framework helps explain why evangelical morality has such different political consequences over time and across national contexts. This analysis also paints a more complex picture of the role of religious nationalism in diverse, secular democracies.

Consumer support for local and organic foods in Ohio

Bean, Molly Kate The Ohio State University 2008 해외박사(DDOD)

Contemporary discourse on consumption is growing and one significant focus is food consumption. In fact green buying, such as purchasing organic and local foods is booming. As this type of consumption flourishes, an increasing number of sociologists are grappling with better understanding the role of consumption. As scholars seek to understand the significance of local and organic food consumption, they are beginning to recognize and theorize about consumers as political actors capable of shaping the food system. This dissertation is a step toward better theorizing about the role of and power of consumers. Some sociologists have observed that contemporary consumption patterns are not as easy to decipher using old frameworks dependent on social class and price as explanatory factors. There is debate about the declining significance of social class in structuring consumption and among some scholars an increased emphasis on reflexive concerns as primary motivators associated with modern consumption practices. I examine the effect of class and a number of reflexive concerns on support for local and organic foods. A number of studies of alternative food systems have examined the factors associated with support for organic foods more than support for local foods; however, very few studies have compared the two groups. I seek to fill this gap by examining the significance of a number of factors across several models of support for local and organic foods. Such comparisons are warranted as the proliferation of nonlocal processed organic food products challenges the historic relationship between these foods. Historically, organic foods were likely to have been produced and marketed locally; however, now organic foods are increasingly sold in mainstream grocery stores and are likely not locally produced. To test the hypotheses, data from the 2004 Ohio Survey of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Issues, a statewide survey of Ohio households is analyzed. A number of factors associated with support for local and organic foods are examined including, class, environmental concern, food safety concern, diet/health consciousness, and agrarian sentiment. The multivariate findings do not support the hypothesis that class is positively associated with support for local and organic foods. Education though, is positively associated with behavioral measures of support for organic. I find there are particular reflexive concerns associated with support for local versus support for organic. There are also a number of shared reflexive concerns positively associated with both local and organic. I also find that attitudinal support for local is not significantly associated with behavioral support for organic foods and vice versa. These results indicate a possible decoupling of local and organic. I also develop a typology of consumers based on these data utilizing cluster analysis techniques and present a profile of five types of consumers in Ohio based on their level of support for local and organic foods. I find that class is not associated with being an alternative food system supporter and that there are some distinct differences with regard to reflexive concerns across consumer types. The group most supportive of both the local and organic attribute are more reflexive and the group least supportive of these attributes is less reflexive. The organically inclined group is more agroenvironmentally concerned and diet health conscious than the locally inclined group, whereas the locally inclined group reports higher levels of agrarian sentiment. The most supportive type based on the typology is subsequently compared to a reference group known to be engaged in food system issues. I find that the known supportive group is more educated and reports a higher household income. I also find the known motivated group is more reflexive than the most motivated group in the general population. I find price and convenience are rated as more important among those most supportive of these foods in the general population compared to the known supportive group. These findings have significant implications for food system activism and theory building associated with consumption.

M dwarf metallicities and exoplanets

Bean, Jacob Lyle The University of Texas at Austin 2007 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation is primarily focused on the topic of M dwarf metallicities and their relevance to the study of extrasolar planets. I begin by describing a method for accurately determining M dwarf metallicities with spectral synthesis based on abundance analyses of visual binary stars. I then apply this technique and present the first spectroscopic metallicities of three M dwarfs with planetary mass companions. The three M dwarf planet hosts have sub-solar metallicities, a surprising departure from the trend observed in FGK-type planet hosting stars. I discuss the implications of this result for extrasolar planet searches around the most numerous stars in the galaxy. I also present measured metallicities for a select group of M dwarfs with precisely determined masses and luminosities. Comparison of these stars' V band magnitudes with the predictions of the current state-of-the-art theoretical models for low-mass stars indicate that the models are deficient, as previously thought. I discuss how the cool star model atmospheres that were developed for the metallicity analysis technique might be used to improve M dwarf structure and evolution models. In addition to M dwarf metallicities, I describe some complementary work to determine the true mass of an extrasolar planet candidate using a combined analysis of high-precision astrometry and radial velocities. I present a dynamical mass for the companion to HD 33636 that indicates it is a low-mass star instead of an exoplanet. This result demonstrates the value of follow-up astrometric observations to determine the true masses of exoplanet candidates detected with the radial velocity method. Finally, I discuss the broader implications of the results presented in this dissertation and the prospect for similar work in the future.

Poetry 'n acts: The cultural politics of twentieth-century American poets' theater

Bean, Heidi R The University of Iowa 2010 해외박사(DDOD)

"Poetry 'n Acts: The Cultural Politics of Twentieth-Century American Poets' Theater," focuses on the disciplinary blind spot that obscures the productive overlap between poetry and dramatic theater and prevents us from seeing the cultural work that this combination can perform. Why did 2100 people turn out in 1968 to see a play in which most of the characters speak only in such apparently nonsensical phrases as "Red hus the beat trim doing going" and "Achtung swachtung"? And why would an Obie award-winning playwright move to New Jersey to write such a play in the first place? What led to the founding in 1978 of the San Francisco Poets Theatre by L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E writers, and why have those plays and performers been virtually ignored by critics despite the admitted centrality of performance to L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E writing's textual politics? Why would the renowned Yale Repertory Theatre produce in the 1990s the poetic, plotless plays of a theater newcomer twice in as many years---even when audiences walked out? What vision for the future of theater could possibly involve episodic drama with footnotes? In each example, part of the story is missing. This dissertation begins to fill in that gap. Attending to often overlooked aspects of theater language, this dissertation examines theatrical performances that use poetic devices to intervene in narratives of cultural oppression, often by questioning the very suitability of narrative as a primary means of social exchange. While Gertrude Stein must be seen as a forerunner to contemporary poets' theater, chapter one argues that the Living Theatre's late 1950s and early 1960s anti-authoritarian theater demonstrates key alliances between poetry and theater at mid-century. The remaining chapters closely examine particular instances of poets' theater by Amiri Baraka (known equally as poet and playwright), Carla Harryman (associated with West Coast poetry), and Suzan-Lori Parks (a critically acclaimed playwright). These productions put poetic theater on the backs of tractors in Harlem streets, in open gallery spaces, and in more conventional black box and proscenium architectures, and each case develops the importance of performance contexts and production histories in determining plays' cultural effects.

Non-Gaussian Component Analysis

Bean, Derek Merrill University of California, Berkeley 2014 해외박사(DDOD)

Extracting relevant low-dimensional information from high-dimensional data is a common pre-processing task with an extensive history in Statistics. Dimensionality reduction can facilitate data visualization and other exploratory techniques, in an estimation setting can reduce the number of parameters to be estimated, or in hypothesis testing can reduce the number of comparisons being made. In general, dimension reduction, done in a suitable manner, can alleviate or even bypass the poor statistical outcomes associated with the so-called "curse of dimensionality.''. Statistical models may be specified to guide the search for relevant low-dimensional information or "signal'' while eliminating extraneous high-dimensional "noise.'' A plausible choice is to assume the data are a mixture of two sources: a low-dimensional signal which has a non-Gaussian distribution, and independent high-dimensional Gaussian noise. This is the Non-Gaussian Components Analysis (NGCA) model. The goal of an NGCA method, accordingly, is to project the data onto a space which contains the signal but not the noise. We conduct a comprehensive review of NGCA. We analyze the probabilistic features of the NGCA model and elucidate connections to similar well-known models and methods in the literature, including a hitherto-unseen and surprising connection to a set of models proposed by Cook in the context of dimension-reduction in regression. We review the literature on NGCA, catalogue existing NGCA methods, and compare them to the method proposed in Chapter 2. We also propose and analyze a new NGCA method based on characteristic functions called CHFNGCA. We show CHFNGCA is, under mild moment conditions on the non-Gaussian sources, consistent and asymptotically normal; the latter property has not been demonstrated for any other NGCA method in the literature. We conclude by highlighting areas for future work. The proof of all stated propositions, lemmas and theorems are contained in Appendices A and B.

Improving high-performance capillary electrophoresis methods for characterizing the proteins of wheat, barley, oats, rice, maize, and sorghum: "Putting HPCE to work"

Bean, Scott Roger Kansas State University 2001 해외박사(DDOD)

Food proteins play important roles in food functionality, nutrition, and human health. One important class of food proteins are those found in cereal grains. Cereal proteins are unique in many ways: they are highly complex and heterogeneous, are often difficult to extract, and aggregate readily, making them difficult to characterize. Because of the economic importance and widespread use of cereal proteins, however, many techniques have been used for their analysis. High-performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) is one of the newest techniques to be so used. HPCE offers several benefits to the study of cereal proteins. HPCE is fully automated, allowing for unattended operation and produces digitized data that is easily stored, analyzed, and quantified. This is often difficult to do with traditional electrophoresis data. Furthermore, HPCE produces little toxic waste and is inexpensive to operate on a day-to-day basis. Considerable research has been done on developing methods to separate cereal proteins by HPCE. The focus of this dissertation will be on improving existing methods for separating cereal proteins with emphasis on making HPCE a rapid, reliable, and rugged tool for cereal chemists to use. The first part of this research describes the use of low conductive and isoelectric buffers to produce very rapid (2–10 min), high resolution, reproducible separations. To achieve this, two specialized buffer systems based on phosphate-glycine and iminodiacetic acid buffers were developed. These buffers were used to separate storage proteins from wheat, oats, rice, barley, and rye. Slight modifications of the phosphate glycine buffer was used to achieve successful separations of maize and sorghum storage proteins. For this work, 60% acetonitrile was added to the buffer to help maintain protein solubility. In the second part, methods for separating cereal proteins by SDS-CE are described using polymers in dynamically coated capillaries. Finally, improved methods for sample preparation are reported. It was found that pre-extraction of albumins and globulins resulted in better reproducibility and less stringent capillary rinsing proteins. The factors involved in achieving good quantitative reproducibility are reported in the final part. Critical factors found were making a clean, straight cut on the capillary ends, humidifying the sample vials, and optimizing the injection conditions. Decreasing the initial voltage ramp up time was found to increase the efficiency of the separations.