This project is based on a study supported by the Canadian Education Association. The project examines how research activities have been implemented and carried out in nine secondary school districts across Canada. The main research questions are to understand how school districts organize to embed knowledge from external research in their secondary schools and to understand the impacts of small-scale interventions intended to increase the use of research in secondary schools and districts. This thesis documents a part of the greater project with a focus on educators’ knowledge about two main areas related to secondary school improvement: success factors for students and student pathways/trajectories. Data were collected through questionnaires, teleconference calls and individual communication with district leaders. The study concludes that it is difficult to know the impact of the interventions; impact seems modest but a few key elements have been identified that facilitate take-up of the research activities.

This study examines the ways that knowledge on public-private partnerships in education (PPPE) spreads due to the knowledge mobilization (efforts to incorporate research into policy and practice in education) work of World Bank Education Sector. Specifically, this study looks at the role of the World Bank in research mediation between research producing contexts and research using contexts. Using bibliometric analysis this study a) traces the citations in five World Bank publications on PPPE in order to clarify the origins of the evidence used; and b) maps the spread of this research through its online take-up by other organizations. This study provides baseline data about the knowledge mobilization efforts of the World Bank around PPPE, and illuminates the broader discussion in the literature on who is included (and excluded) from this research enterprise.

This project is based on a study supported by the Canadian Education Association. The project examines how research activities have been implemented and carried out in nine secondary school districts across Canada. The main research questions are to understand how school districts organize to embed knowledge from external research in their secondary schools and to understand the impacts of small-scale interventions intended to increase the use of research in secondary schools and districts. This thesis documents a part of the greater project with a focus on educators’ knowledge about two main areas related to secondary school improvement: success factors for students and student pathways/trajectories. Data were collected through questionnaires, teleconference calls and individual communication with district leaders. The study concludes that it is difficult to know the impact of the interventions; impact seems modest but a few key elements have been identified that facilitate take-up of the research activities.

This study examines the ways that knowledge on public-private partnerships in education (PPPE) spreads due to the knowledge mobilization (efforts to incorporate research into policy and practice in education) work of World Bank Education Sector. Specifically, this study looks at the role of the World Bank in research mediation between research producing contexts and research using contexts. Using bibliometric analysis this study a) traces the citations in five World Bank publications on PPPE in order to clarify the origins of the evidence used; and b) maps the spread of this research through its online take-up by other organizations. This study provides baseline data about the knowledge mobilization efforts of the World Bank around PPPE, and illuminates the broader discussion in the literature on who is included (and excluded) from this research enterprise.

After its abandonment in the 1980s, threat has re-emerged as an area of theoretical importance in understanding social movement mobilization (Jasper 1998). This case study examines the role of threat in mobilizing members of a movement to empower the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation (a small tribal community in NC). The study explores threats and the emotions that make them up, while also investigating the relevance of other prominent assumptions embedded in mobilization theories. The study employed mixed methodologies including focus groups, individual interviews, and participant observation. Findings supported the idea that threats may be partially responsible for creating mobilization, but also suggest that prominent threats faced by this community complicate the ways in which threat is understood. The findings also shed light on limitations of the prominent Weber-Michels model for movement growth/decline, and highlight potential areas of interest for future research with Indigenous communities.

The study explores collective action in Sweden between 1980 to 1995 using time-series data from the European Protest and Coercion Database. In spite of severe hardship during the crisis of the early 1990s, Swedish strike-rates declined. However, contention merely shifted from workplaces into the streets; there was indeed a protest movement against austerity, as shown by a series of large demonstrations, and some riots, between 1989 and 1993. Further analysis indicates this movement faded as it was increasingly chanelled into the electoral campaign of the labor pary; having won the 1994 election, the organised labor movement no longer had an interest in sustaining the protest movement against austerity.

NAPL (non-aqueous phase liquid) blob mobilization and solubilization models were developed to predict residual NAPL fate and describe flow dynamics of various displacing phases (water and surfactant foam). The models were achieved by pore-scale mass and force balances and were focused on the understanding of the physico-chemical interactions between NAPL blobs and the displacing phases. The pore-level mass balance indicated changes in NAPL saturation instead of mass reduction occurring with blob solubilization. The force balance was used to explain the complex flow configurations among NAPL blobs and the displacing phases. Some factors such as the wettability and the spreading/entering coefficients were useful in determining flow configurations. From the models developed in this study, dimensional analysis was performed to identify NAPL blob motion during water or surfactant foam flooding. In non-dimensionalized forms, a Trapping number employed as an indicator of blob displacement performance was modified to quantify the onset of blob mobilization. Its value for water flooding was nearly 2-3 orders of magnitude greater than that of surfactant foam flooding. Next, to investigate the blob flow regime in porous media, a blob velocity was computed. Regardless of the displacing phases, a blob’s velocity increased with increasing blob sizes after commencement of blob motion, and the velocity of DNAPL (dense non-aqueous phase liquid) blobs was greater than that of LNAPL (light non-aqueous phase liquid) blobs. From this investigation, it is expected that the pore-scale solubilization and mobilization models would provide better understanding leading to a predictive capability for the flow behavior of NAPL blobs removed by various displacing phases in a porous medium. Additionally, the models based on newly approached concepts and modified governing equations would be useful in conceptualization, as well as the model prediction of other immiscible or miscible fluids flowing through a porous medium. Further, the models developed in our study would be a useful contribution to the study of small-scale contaminants or substances such as particle and bacterial transport in porous media.

This study is base on the concept of social capital to discuss the dispersion and integration of social capital in different community actions. And try to understand the elements of social capital by the survey of the residents in community action. Further more, to indicate the background, status, participation and role to community organization and activities of all residents. Also, what all can be used in community action, include human, finance and other resources. This study tries to looking for the model of dispersion and integration of social capital through the mobilization of resources in different community action. The purposes of this study are,(1) to research the model and origin of social capital in community, (2) discussing the way to get social capital by the different kind of residents, and how it make the dispersion and integration to social capital, (3) to research why the dispersed social capital integrated to community elites. For these purposes, Chi-San Town is choice to be the area for empirical survey. In the discussion of relative theory, the concepts of social capital, community action theory and social network theory will help to analysis the mobilization of social capital. Through the demand and need to public affair, the assistant network is established in the survey of 214 residents in Chi-San Town. This network is the base structure and relation of the mobilization of social capital. Furthermore, it will be used to examine the effect and degree of resources mobilization in different community actions. The assistant network of public affair can be used to observe the dispersion and integration of social capital. When community action is processing, social capital will be integrated to the elite of residents. Residents will give the resources what the community action can use to the persons who used to assist in the demand for public affair. Through this network, community action will be more efficiency. Different community action will result in different mobilization model and degree for social capital. By this way, social capital can be observed. The social capital embedded personal relationship can be used when community act and integrate to the elite of residents.

Thanks for the wide application of mobile technology and the incre- asing popularization of wireless networking, a brand new business oper- ation model, which breaks out the limitation of fixed working time and space and brings more real-time and activity to life and work, is therefore brought to enterprises, and has eventually brought up the booming deve- lopment of M-commerce (Mobile Commerce). With the attribute of regard- lessness of location, and the high flexibility and mobility, people can expect that more and more diversified mobile technology applications will be available and popularized in the coming future. However, if corporations only take suggestions from mobile technology providers or consultants, but understood neither what their corporations really need, nor ignored what their users most concerns, expenditure of time and money can be resulted, and no effect can be expected. Therefore, the QFD (Quality Function Deployment) method, with its MRM (Matrix Re- lation Map) tool, is introduced as a valid methodology to help identify users¡¦ requirements, and to sketch the relationships between each step of implementation. This research also adopts ¡§qualitative single case study with multiple units of analysis¡¨ as the basic approach, and the subject of this research is a steel manufacturer. By using QFD to clarify the voice from users of their needs, entprises can realize what the users really want. And by using the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) skill to syste- matically transfer customers¡¦ requirements into design considerations, corporations can check if their capabilities can meet those voice from users, and then make practical plans that the entprises should do while implementing mobile environment. Finally, this research had, from the view of end-users, evaluated and consequently proposed a set of functions module and priority, as well as practice suggestions, for implementing mobile environment; The outcome of this research can be used as a basic for advanced study, and be adopted by corporations and industries in all areas.

Over thirty years ago electrical coupling was observed in embryonic cells prior to chemical communication. This temporal relationship of electrical coupling preceding functional chemical neurotransmission occurs throughout neurogenesis, prompting the idea that gap junctional coupling synchronizes the synaptogenic establishment of functional neural networks. Helisoma neuronal pairs treated with trophic factors exhibit increased electrical coupling and subsequently delay the formation of inhibitory chemical connections. Studies in this thesis addressed the mechanism regulating this inverse relationship between electrotonic and chemical communication. Synaptogenesis between two neurons from the Helisoma buccal ganglia, B110 and B19, were examined using alternative culturing conditions that were either exposed to or deprived of trophic factors. Incubating neuronal pairs in trophic factors induced transient electrical synapses and postponed the formation of chemical connections. In electrically coupled neuronal pairs, presynaptic secretory vesicles were recruited to the sites of presynaptic contact, but did not respond to calcium elevation (i.e., photolytic release of calcium from NP-EGTA) with neurotransmitter release. These and other studies demonstrated that transient electrical coupling does not disrupt calcium handling or postsynaptic responsiveness. Rather, electrotonic coupling delays chemical synaptic transmission by imposing a functional block between the accumulation of presynaptic calcium and the synchronized vesicular release of neurotransmitter.