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There has been a lot of interest among marketing practitioners and researchers in the concept of marketing communications as related to computer-mediated marketing environments as a result of the commercialization of the World Wide Web (WWW) as a marketing and communication medium. Despite growing interest, there is a dearth of research on the processual nature of communication between marketers and consumers. The overall aim of this study, therefore, is to expand our understanding of marketing communication within the computer-mediated marketing environments. This understanding is achieved in the thesis by incorporating ideas from traditional marketing communication models those based on a one-way, general outbound, linear model in which marketers deliver communication to customers and prospects and contemporary marketing communications theory within a contextualist framework, to examine the evolving marketing communication medium. Given the growing empowerment of customers through information technology that has created the interactive marketplace, the study aims to illuminate concretely that Internet exerts a mediating influence on the relationship between marketers and consumers. Following this articulation, the study considers computer-mediated marketing environments as a technological development that increases the options for marketing communications. Placing marketing communication and computer-mediated marketing environments within a historical context of technology as consistent with social constructivist framework rather than thinking about the medium as an isolated phenomenon, builds the base for understanding the opportunities and difficulties associated with marketing communications and the Internet in contrast to capabilities for marketing prior to the Internet. The current study indicates that marketing communication in the computer-mediated marketing environments possess some fundamental uniqueness, which are ancillary and augment the consumption processes. The study proposed a conceptual framework for understanding marketing communication trajectory in the evolving interactive marketplace. The framework proposed provides a new base for developing a wide range of marketing communication programmes for practitioners and academic researchers.

American, African, European, and Middle Eastern (N = 420) technical professional employees of a multinational organization were surveyed to explore the relationship between perceived values congruence (PVC) and organizational commitment (OC). PVC was looked at as a function of fit between: (a) person s and organization s actual values and (b) organization s espoused and actual values. Four dimensions of values (ethics, people, change, and bottom line) and three components of OC (affective, continuance, and normative) were considered. The key findings of the study were: (a) PVC was related to OC; (b) the relationship was different for each component of OC and socio-cultural group; and (c) the regression models that described these relationships showed that each socio-cultural group was most strongly associated with a different dimension of values: change for Americans, bottom line for Africans, people for Europeans, and ethics for Middle Easterners.

Modality is a grammatical, or semantic-grammatical, category. It is an important component of human languages. This is at least the case in most European languages. To what extent is it a near-universal? This thesis is to contribute to the question. It focuses on modal verbs in English and Chinese, two genetically and geographically unrelated languages, and analyzes what these two languages have in common and how they differ in their systems of modality. To achieve the aim, the thesis adopts the theoretical framework proposed by van der Auwera (1996, 1998 with Plungian, 2001) for the typological study of modality. Its language-specific descriptions involve the morphosyntactic features, notional functions, modal logic, and diachronic development. With these descriptions, it constructs a cross-linguistic database in a uniform, parallel structure. Then on the basis of this database, it deals with the cross-linguistic issues about modality in English and Chinese. Like many of the studies in this area, this research makes use of the well-sampled data in the relevant literature, thereby assuring the same degree of representativeness. When the data do not meet this need, it resorts to computer-based corpora. In the diachronic study of Chinese modality, quantitative analysis is adopted in proposing a development path for the senses of a modal. English translation is given particular attention in the description of Chinese modality and cross-linguistic analyses. One can only know one's own language only if one compares it with other languages. The present study is conducive to a better understanding of English and Chinese. It contributes not only to the investigation of language universals, but also to the study of human cognition and other linguistic or applied linguistic issues.

This study attempts to re-evaluate Lawrence's poetry, which has often been read as a set of biographical documents or supplementary notes to his novels, as fully independent literary work in the light of post-modern critical theory.The author carefully examines how Lawrence needed to misread his precursors, the nineteenth-century Romantics, to establish himself as one of the modern poets. What separates his poetry from his precursors' is his self-consciousness as a modern poet. His search for radical freedom in language and his meta-poetic exploration of a new poetic expression make him a true pioneer of the "terra incognita" in English poetry.

This dissertation addresses emerging developer communities in a new field of science and technology as well as methods to capture exchange processes between them. It contributes to the discussion about a new mode of knowledge production and a changing division of labour between public research, industry, and government by investigating 'nanotechnology' - an emerging area between science and technology. To explore exchange processes in this field, the study applies various methods. In particular, it uses patent citation analysis.The methodological contribution is a new interpretation of this indicator, which sees patent citations as information flows that point to reciprocal exchange processes and potential overlaps between science and technology. This is in contrast to the received interpretation, which suffers from the application of a framework that was developed in the context of scholarly citation and does not fully appreciate that a patent citation is established by the patent examiner - a party external to the inventive process.Various formats of patent citation analysis describe 'nanotechnology' as a set of instrument-driven scientific fields on their way towards science-related technologies. Even though nanotechnology patents contain more patent citations to the scientific literature than other technical fields, the science and technology systems are relatively autonomous. What links them in the case of nano-science and technology is a common interest in improving techniques of nano-scale measurement and manipulation.Another finding is that both countries and firms exhibit relatively strong path-dependencies. While nanotechnology comprises a key set of technological areas - instrumentation, electronics, and pharmaceuticals/chemicals - nano-scale activities vary considerably from country to country. Also knowledge-building activities of firms follow a strong technological path-dependency. As a result, 'social capital' seems to be confined to chiefly technological or scientific trajectories. Hence, 'social capital' appears not to be very useful in explaining how knowledge is accumulated and integrated at the nano-scale.Given the central role of instrumentation and the mediated nature of exchange between science and technology at the nano- scale, public policies should be directed towards supporting education and infrastructure in the area rather than more 'direct' transfer mechanisms.

The aim of this dissertation research is to develop an understanding of how components of the organizational structure, leadership structures at the top level and resource allocation decisions may affect corporate reputation as defined by the reputation quotient(RQ),and which aspects of running a company top management should keep an eye on in order to maximize the reputation of their company?Based on a literature review on the topic of corporate reputation and governance, which comprises the first part of the dissertation, a positivistic, deductive approach was chosen and a self-administered questionnaire has been developed that was sent out to the CEOs of the 60 companies currently covered in the 2002 RQ-rankings. The detailed discussion of the research method can be found in the third chapter.

James Hogg, a Scottish writer, was the founder of the psychological novel. He perfectly understood the notions of dream and reality, the danger of the voyage in "Nancy Chilshom", the world of the illusions, the lure, madness and strangeness towards the reality of the tragedy, the kingdom of the fairies, death, the finality of art, the supernatural, the Devil and sorcery in Scotland, the Scotland-England couple : the female nation and the male devastator, the carnival of the masks and the reality of his Masonic initiation at the end of his life.

Recently, endurance athletes and high altitude climbers have gained access to commercially available, portable normobaric hypoxic chambers. Intermittent exposures to hypoxia in these chambers may elicit adaptations similar to those observed during acclimatization to altitude. Manufactures of these systems purport that intermittent exposures may elicit adaptations similar to those observed in response to the hypoxia of high altitude, however there have been no reports in the scientific literature that ventilatory acclimatization or alterations in cerebrovascular dynamics occur following repeated episodes in the portable chambers.The main conclusions are that an intermittent normobaric hypoxic intervention, consisting of five consecutive overnight exposures to a simulated altitude of 4300m, elicits perturbations in the acute cerebrovascular and ventilatory responses to both hypoxia and hypercapnia, which are similar to changes following chronic altitude exposure. Individual variability to intermittent hypoxia may have an impact on the rate at which the process of acclimatization proceeds. The extent of physiological and symptomatic responses to intermittent hypoxia are likely to be associated with the severity of hypoxia as well as the length and number of recurrent episodes of hypoxia.

Modern architecture is a creation of the West. In a non-Western context, it normally reflects a direct intervention of Western powers through colonization. Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is an exception. Thai people have argued that they adopted and assimilated modern architecture into their unique cultural tradition without being physically colonized. The shift toward Western culture and Modernity is evident in 19th and 20th century Thai architecture, particularly in the capitol city of Bangkok. Major public buildings signify the country's domestic political circumstances, its Westernization and Modernization processes, in addition to the discourse of colonialism and anti-colonialism. Many of the best-known works resulted in hybrids between European and Siamese design characteristics. They hold more importance than simply stylistic developments, and in essence show a manifestation of social and political awareness, as well as national and cultural identity known as Thainess or khwampenthai. This dissertation examines the evolution of Western and Modern architecture in Siam and Thailand. It illustrates how various architectural ideas have contributed to the physical design and spatial configuration of places associated with negotiation and allocation of political power, which are throne halls, parliaments, and government and civic structures since the 1850s. In order to advance multi-cultural and cross-cultural studies, the buildings are investigated for their social, political, economic and cultural signification, considering the issues of cultural borrowing, appropriation and transformation, national and cultural identity, socio-political authority, as well as the native's resistance and reconciliation to the process of colonization.

This dissertation describes work performed at the Palomar Testbed Interferometer (PTI) during 1998-2002. Using PTI, we developed a method to measure stellar angular diameters in the 1-3 milli-arcsecond range with a precision of better than 5%. Such diameter measurements were used to measure the mass-radius relations of several lower main sequence stars and hence verify model predictions for these stars. In addition, by measuring the changes in Cepheid angular diameters during the pulsational cycle and applying a Baade-Wesselink analysis we are able to derive the distances to two galactic Cepheids (h Aql & z Gem) with a precision of ~10%; such distance determinations provide an independent calibration of the Cepheid period-luminosity relations that underpin current estimates of cosmic distance scales.Second, we used PTI and the adaptive optics facility at the Keck Telescope on Mauna Kea to resolve the low mass binary systems BY Dra and GJ 569B, resulting in dynamical mass determinations for these systems. GJ 569B most likely contains at least one sub-stellar component, and as such represents the first dynamical mass determination of a brown dwarf.Finally, a new observing technique, dual star phase referencing, was developed and demonstrated at PTI. Phase referencing allows interferometric observations of stars previously too faint to observe, and is a prerequisite for large-scale interferometric astrometry programs such as the one planned for the Keck Interferometer; interferometric astrometry is a promising technique for the study of extra-solar planetary systems, particularly ones with long-period planets.

Personal impurity caused by childbirth, menstrual blood or death is an issue of concern prevalent in many cultures. In Japan, the generic term for these kinds of impurities is kegare and death impurity, a sub-type of kegare, is known as shi-e. The major topic of this book is death impurity. The definition and genesis of shi-e are explained. In addition, details of the influence shi-e had on ancient Japanese society as well as its continuing influence on modern Japanese society are given. Three hypotheses are stated and supported: (1) the shi-e concept began in Japan during the Yayoi period (300 BC - 300 AD) rather than at a later date as previously hypothesized; (2) the basis for the aversion to dead bodies, i.e. shi-e, is that corpses remind people of the fact that they will soon die; (3) Buddhism and Shintoism merged in Japan because of the impact of shi-e on Shintoism. This book concludes with some comments on the relevance of knowledge of the death impurity for students of Japanese history, culture and society.

When J. Henry Shorthouse (1834-1903) published John Inglesant in 1881, he contributed a unique synthesis of Anglo-Catholic sensibilities to the enduring legacy of the Oxford Movement. Although his "philosophical romance" has been acclaimed "the greatest Anglo-Catholic novel in English literature" and "the one English novel that speaks immediately to human intuition without regard to the reader's own faith or philosophy", his most enduring contributions are the "religion of John Inglesant", an Anglo-Catholic synthesis of obedience and freedom, faith and reason, and the sacramental vision of "the myth of Little Gidding".Afflicted with a lifelong stammer, "the author of John Inglesant" proved himself a master of cadenced rhythms and "enspiritualised" prose in quest of "the great musical novel". Delineating parallels between sixteenth-century and Victorian England, Shorthouse integrated Quietism with Platonism into a religious aesthetic, a sacramental vision of "the Divine Principle of the Platonic Christ". Studied chronologically, Shorthouse's transition from Quaker to "Broad Church Sacramentalist" provides informing comparison with T. S. Eliot's conversion from Unitarian to Anglo-Catholic, as his myth of Little Gidding informs the historical imagination of Eliot's Christian poetry and dramas. The religious and developmental nature of the work of both artists affords analogies with C. G. Jung's psychology of Individuation.

'Nervous shock' cases form an area of law, which illustrates well the operation of judicial policy. It is possible from such cases to trace the changing attitudes of lawyers, doctors and of society in general to psychiatric injury over the last century. These cases also highlight the changing judicial attitudes to the scope of duty of care and to the whole issue of policy decisions.The recognition of nervous shock similarly illustrates the development of medical knowledge in relation to psychiatric injury. The recognition of Post traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) has been a relatively new and controversial phenomenon and this disorder has now been incorporated into the various classifications of mental disorder as a recognisable psychiatric illness.This book examines the development of the law and medical knowledge in relation to cases of nervous shock and in particular to PTSD. The expansion and subsequent contraction of liability is shown to be dynamic in nature, as both legal and medical knowledge have increased.The intention of this book is to provide a concise review of the law comparing it to current medical knowledge in relation to PTSD. The book is intended to be of use to professionals involved in psychiatric injury cases who require an up to date understanding of PTSD.

This work elaborates R. W. Emerson s modification of S. T. Coleridge s central philosophical-aesthetic notions, such as imagination, reason, genius and symbol. Although Kant s and Schelling s idealistic philosophy, various pantheistic theories and Neoplatonism are identified as Coleridge s and Emerson s congenial intellectual and spiritual background, the author draws yet more attention to subtle differences between the English Romantic Coleridge and the American transcendentalist Emerson, which allow us to recognize that we deal with two distinct philosophical and poetic theories. It is shown that Emerson, neglecting flatly Coleridge's careful distinctions aimed at preserving the balance between dualism and monism, resolves Coleridge's theoretical ambiguity by exclusively concentrating on the part of Coleridge's system which favors the irrational and the unconscious dimension. As a consequence, Emerson's philosophy and aesthetics, with their emphasis on reason and imagination understood as inspiration, that is, the inflow of the divine into the mind of the artist, represent a radicalized version of Coleridge's neatly supressed monistic tendencies. In Emerson's interpretation, Coleridgean imagination becomes equated with Plotinian soul, that is, Coleridgean reason becomes a synonym for the utter mystical depersonalization. Finally, the delicate and easily overlooked Emersonian shifts with regard to Coleridge's theory point at the significance of Emerson's theoretical solutions in the transition from romanticim to modernism, a transition to which, ironically enough, Coleridge himself unintentionally and indirectly gave valuable contribution.

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the organisational problems, and in particular the leadership problems, of self-help groups in Japan for parents whose children have intractable diseases.Since 1993, I have been involved with these parent groups, and have conducted three sorts of qualitative interview: thirteen informal conversational interviews, four focus group interviews, and fourteen guided interviews, involving the members of twenty-one parent groups. Part of the research was carried out as participatory action research in which a research team was formed and authorised by the parent groups.My findings have shown that the groups' most serious problems lay not outside their groups but within, with the shortage of suitable leaders who volunteered in the activities. Three different sorts of account were given concerning the leadership shortage. They included justification, accusation and exposure: the participants claimed that taking care of ill children caused the leadership shortage; selfish members created it; or the determination of older leaders to remain at the helm prevented new members from becoming leaders. Cognitive maps have been drawn of these situations.I have explained the theories behind the free-rider and social loafing problems, and the leadership traps confronting the parent groups, and have applied attribution theory to the results. I have discussed the practicality of consultation for group leaders, and argued that organisational socialisation should be activated in the parent groups while propounding the island-within-a-lake model of parent groups. Methodologically, I have discussed social research within Japanese culture and the ethical issues pertain to participatory action research.

The high degree of heterogeneity of textile composites was found to be the primary problem in analysis and testing. A concept was developed based on a description of the local variation of the material stiffness matrix using a spline interpolation. The role of this stiffness function is to facilitate the calculation of the material stiffness matrix at any given position or for arbitrary domains in the form of finite elements.Based on this approach, two different methods were developed. In the first method the average material stiffness matrix is calculated for a finite element and subsequently the elemental stiffness matrix of this element is assembled. In the second approach the elemental stiffness matrix is calculated directly using the local material stiffness at the integration points of the finite element.This concept was then applied to the plate twist test. The numerical analysis of this test was done in order to determine the influence of heterogeneity on the test results. It was shown that this test measures the in-plane shear modulus largely independent of the representative volume element (RVE) size. Both finite element approaches were then applied to the V-notched beam shear test, to investigate the applicability of this test to the measurement of the shear properties. The test set-up as well as numerical parameters of the finite element analysis of the test were studied. It was possible to derive limits for the applicability of the V-notched beam shear test in terms of RVE size, as well as set up guidelines for the finite element analysis of textile composites.With electronic speckle pattern interferometry, which enables full-field displacement and strain measurements, tensile tests were carried out on 3D-woven textile composite specimens. With the agreement of the experimental results and the theoretical predictions the validity of the developed approach was again shown.