Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / L. Susan Williams / A major public concern is what to do with sex offenders. This seven-year study utilizes first-hand accounts from sex offenders who pursue children, exploring recruitment methods – that is, how they find and gain access to victims. Much public perception about sex offender recruitment is based on well-publicized cases such as that of Polly Klaas, Megan Kanka, and Jaycee Dugard – young girls who were abducted and, in the case of Klaas and Kanka, murdered, by strangers. Legislative efforts responded with laws such as “three strikes” and sex offender registries. Scientific studies have found such laws to be ineffective, yet heightened media exposure persists, perception of “stranger danger” prevails, and untried legislative initiatives continue. The most recent is “buffer zone” laws that limit where sex offenders live. To better inform perception and policy, this study investigates two samples of sex offenders concerning child recruitment. The first sample targeted a general population of sex offenders in state custody with a determinate sentence. The second focused on a population of sexually violent predators (SVP), as defined by Kansas law, constituting repeat offenders with a long history of sex offenses and/or those deemed legislatively as unfit for release into the community. The bulk of data came through interviews addressing activities that surrounded the offense(s), details of child recruitment, and, pertaining to the SVP sample, how offending corresponded with certain life events. Theoretically, the study is informed by Routine Activities Theory (RAT) and Life-Course Theory (LCT). RAT is based on a rational choice perspective of motivation and opportunity – an individualistic approach – while LCT sees offending episodes as strongly influenced by structural position. These two seemingly divergent theories represent a unique framework referred to here as conditioned activities, demonstrating how routine activities are altered by certain life events, or turning points, which, in turn, influence persistence or desistence in offending. It was discovered that child victim recruitment varies across the life course, specifically tied to changes in the offender’s social position. Age of the offender interacts with both position and life events.

Synopsis Business analysis is defined as the process in which business needs are identified and solutions proposed. This process is regarded as one of the most important parts of systems development because no other part is more difficult to rectify later. However, current business analysis methodologies are inadequate because they are at a too high level and only address portions of the complete business analysis process. In particular, the lack of clear objectives, relevance and outcomes of the phases make business analysis methodologies inadequate. Moreover, activities, techniques and tools not mapped to those phases are also problematic. The aim of this research was to develop a business analysis methodology for business analysts in the South African financial services environment. The intentions were to identify the phases, as well as objectives, relevance and outcomes for each of these phases. Furthermore, this research intended to identify appropriate activities, techniques and tools to address the objectives of each phase of a methodology. This was done by presenting a literature review of previous research relating to business analysis methodologies. For information gathering, 45 participants (comprising of business analysts, project managers, IS managers and CIOs) contributed to this research, 22 of whom were interviewed individually while 23 participated in focus group interviews. The data from each of these methods was analysed independently and did not influence or feed into any of the other methods. Once the individual interviews and focus group interviews had been transcribed, content analysis and analysis within and between interviews (Merriam, 1998; Strauss, 1987) was used to analyse the information gathered independently. The phases of a business analysis methodology identified by the research are the: • feasibility phase; • business case phase; • analysis and design phase; and • post-implementation evaluation phase. Objectives, relevance and outcomes of these phases were also identified. In addition, activities, techniques and tools were mapped to each of these phases.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University. / The problem of this study was to provide from objective pitch measurements an answer to the question: What does a child do with his vocal pitch in certain speaking and oral reading activities? The purposes of the study were: 1, To locate in terms of fundamental frequencies the average pitch levels used by children in speaking, in easy and difficult reading, and in unaided recall of easy and difficult reading. 2. To compare the mean vocal pitches of the five oral activities noted above. 3. To report average pitch levels significantly related to differences in sex, intelligence, grade placement, and educational achievement for the groups studied.

Since the UK industrial revolution, coal combustion, ore smelting and other industrial activities have resulted in a marked increase in emissions of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) such as antimony (Sb), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), along with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), to the atmosphere. Although stricter environmental regulation and improved technology has led to a notable decline for some contaminant emissions in recent decades, this has not been observed for all elements, e.g. Sb, where only a modest reduction in emissions have been recorded. Once emitted, Sb along with Pb, As, Cu, Zn and PAHs may persist in the environment for considerable periods of time after their release; although their chemical associations may change, elements are not broken down over time and organic contaminants may break down slowly. Above all, PTEs and PAHs are detrimental to human and environmental health, with chemical forms of Sb, Pb, As and PAHs categorised as carcinogenic. Understanding their behaviour and fate in the environment is therefore an important step towards evaluating their likely impact on both ecosystem and human health. Consequently, this study focuses on the release, behaviour and fate of contaminants from current and past anthropogenic sources in the urban and rural environment, with a specific interest in Sb and PAHs, where emissions originate from similar anthropogenic sources, with Pb, As, Cu and Zn also included for comparison purposes. Current and past industrial activity was identified as the dominant source of PTEs and PAHs to the urban environment, with emissions from vehicle, coal combustion and metal smelting identified as main contributors to total contaminant concentrations. Using road dust collected from Edinburgh at five high- and low-traffic roads at a distance of 10 and 50 m from the closest road junction, concentrations of Sb, Pb, Cu, Zn, PAHs and Pb isotope ratios were determined, with road dust undergoing further characterisation using chemical (sequential extraction) and spectroscopic (X-ray diffraction, SEM-EDX) techniques. No consistent trend for the element concentrations released from vehicles braking at 10 and 50 m from the closest road junction was observed. Mean concentrations for Sb, Cu and Zn were 5.3 ± 2.8 mg kg-1, 91.4 ± 48 mg kg-1 and 237 ± 144 mg kg-1, respectively, and were similar to road dust sampled from five high- and five low-traffic locations in Glasgow (Sb 4.5 ± 2.1 mg kg-1; Cu 117 ± 71.9 mg kg-1; Zn: 283 ± 146 mg kg-1). This was in contrast to mean concentrations for Pb and Σ16PAHs obtained from Glasgow (Pb 250 ± 283 mg kg-1, Σ16PAH 7.7 ± 4.3 mg kg-1) where values were approximately double and two-thirds greater than those found in Edinburgh (Pb 135 ± 129 mg kg-1, Σ16PAH 4.7 ± 2.9 mg kg-1), respectively. Lead isotopic analysis of Glasgow road dust (206Pb/207Pb range of 1.140-1.174) showed a strong influence of past emissions from coal combustion and metal smelting, and was in agreement with Glasgow's industrial history. For Edinburgh, the isotopic signature was considerably lower (206Pb/207Pb range of 1.116-1.151), and was influenced moreso by emissions of Australian sourced Pb in leaded fuel. Isotopic signatures in Edinburgh were lowest at easterly locations within 5 km of Edinburgh airport (206Pb/207Pb ~ 1.12), and corresponded with past vehicle emissions from leaded petrol use, and to a lesser degree, emissions from avgas, which was consistent with the mean annual wind direction for Edinburgh. The mobility of elements from the road dust to the aqueous phase were assessed by sequential extraction, and by using road surface water samples which showed mobility decreased in the order of Zn > Cu > Pb > Sb. Road dust characterised by XRD and SEM-EDX had a high proportion of quartz present (~55%), whilst the presence of less abundant minerals such as calcite were found to increase Pb mobility through ease of dissolution into the aqueous phase. For the rural environment, the behaviour and fate of elemental pollution originating from two former mining sites, an Sb mine at Glendinning, SW Scotland, and a Pb mine at Tyndrum in central Scotland was examined. Under specific environmental conditions, Sb was found to be both mobile and immobile in the environment. The chemical weathering of stibnite found in spoil heaps at Glendinning Sb mine demonstrated that ~3% of total Sb can be mobilised during the chemical weathering process, while hydrous Fe oxides and organic matter in the surrounding soil favoured its retention. The retention of Sb, along with Pb, was similarly observed in Loch Tay sediment downstream of Tyndrum Pb mine, where upon deposition, Sb and Pb remained immobile in sediment and allowed the construction of deposition chronologies for two sediment cores to be established. Excellent agreement between the sediment core deposition chronologies was observed, with both chronologies identifying atmospheric deposition as the primary source of Sb to Loch Tay sediment, whilst the dominant source of Pb was from Tyndrum Pb mine ~25 km upstream of Loch Tay. Relative to Sb and Pb, As had the greatest mobility, with its geochemical behaviour and partial retention by the solid phase influenced by the presence of Fe. This was evident in the surrounding soil at Glendinning Sb mine, where As was associated with hydrous Fe oxides present in the solid phase, while at Loch Tay, the redox cycling of Fe resulted in the post-depositional mobility of As in sediment. The use of ombrotrophic peat bogs for this study provided an effective means to assess atmospheric deposition of contaminants over past centuries; they continually accumulate and receive all their nutrients and contaminants exclusively by deposition from the atmosphere. The deposition archives of Sb and Pb from two Scottish peat cores sampled from Great Moss, Cairngorms Mountains, and, Auchencorth Moss, Midlothian, were used to construct chronologies for historic and contemporary emissions, particularly in relation to current and historic anthropogenic activities observed in urban and rural environments. At Great Moss, the deposition of Sb and Pb during the 19th century increased by a factor of 10 and 4, respectively, as a result of the industrial revolution and emissions from the combustion of coal and metal smelting. The trend continued into the 20th century where Sb and Pb deposition peaked ~1950, followed by a decline towards the early 21st century by a factor of 5 and 11, respectively. Over this period of time, the contribution from coal combustion and metal smelting towards total anthropogenic emissions was on the decline, while emissions from the combustion of leaded fuel increased until the ~1980s. Although deposition chronologies before 1970 for Sb and Pb at Auchencorth Moss were generally in agreement with those from Great Moss, several differences were observed after 1970, or more specifically, in the top ~10 cm of the peat core. This was a result of sub-surface perturbations for Ti, Sb, Pb and 210Pb concentrations, and indicated once deposited, elements were susceptible to post-depositional mobility brought about from a change in environmental conditions. The thicker acrotelm layer present at Auchencorth Moss, and the vertical movement of the peat water-table within this layer, resulted in a change in redox conditions and led to the redox cycling of Mn and Fe, which in turn, influenced vertical concentrations of Ti, Sb, Pb and 210Pb. While Sb and Pb are usually found immobile in peat systems, the post-deposition mobility of Sb and Pb at Auchencorth Moss was comparable to a peat core sampled from Flanders Moss, and indicated that under specific environmental conditions, both elements can become mobile in ombrotrophic peat bogs. It is worth bearing in mind however, that these results are the exception, and in all other cases ombrotrophic peat bogs remain a reliable archival material to use.

The dissertation is devoted to the history and practice of extracurricular activities in mathematics in Russia. It investigates both the views expressed by mathematics educators concerning the aims and objectives of extracurricular activities, and the daily organization of such activities, including the pedagogical formats and the mathematical assignments and questions to which extracurricular activities have given rise. Thus the dissertation provides an overview of the history of extracurricular activities over the course of a century, as part of the general development of education (including mathematics education) in Russia. The study called for a multifaceted investigation of surviving sources, which include practically all available textbooks and teaching manuals, scholarly articles on conducting extracurricular activities, magazine and newspaper articles on conducting extracurricular activities, surviving memoirs of participants and organizers of extracurricular activities, and much else, including methodological materials preserved in archives, which have been located by the author. Summing up the results of the study, it may be said that two major goals have always been important in extracurricular activities in Russia: the first goal is motivating students; the second goal is preparing the mathematically strongest students and providing them with an opportunity to deepen and enrich their mathematical education. Of course, extracurricular activities have not been aimed exclusively at these two goals, and at different stages of development additional goals (such as ideological preparation) were also formulated. Broadly speaking, it may be said that the history of the Russian system of mathematical extracurricular activities in general has been strongly aligned with the history of the development of the system of Russian school education. The study analyzes the specific character of extracurricular activities at each of the historical stages of Russia's development, in particular, it lists and described the basic forms of extracurricular activities, paying special attention to the indissoluble connection between the so-called mass-scale forms, in which millions of schoolchildren participate, and forms and activities that are engaged in only by a very few. Also provided is a survey of the changes that have occurred in the mathematical problems that are offered to students. The author believes that familiarity with the longstanding tradition of extracurricular activities in mathematics in Russia may be useful also to the international sphere of mathematics educators, since the issue of motivating students is becoming increasingly important. The study concludes with a discussion of the possibilities and the expediency of putting such experience to use.

How important is the financial market for economic growth? It can be argued that from the supply perspective that a well-functioning stock market boosts economic growth by lowering the cost of the firm to access public funds for new investment opportunities to expand business and production. Another view suggests that from the demand perspective that stock markets create a wealth effect on consumption for economic growth. In turn, the growth induces more demand for financial services and so the growth of the stock market. Both the supply and the demand argument imply a positive relationship between the stock market and the economy. Exactly how the behaviour of investors in trading stocks on a stock market can affect the performance of the firm is unclear. The study of this question helps to understand how stock trading activities can affect manufacturing production and so the growth of an economy from the perspective of the micro structure of a market. China as the largest emerging economy in the world has experienced the fastest growth of the economy and rapid development of its stock market over the last 30 years. It provides us with an excellent case to study the question on how the momentum of paper trading of shares can be transmitted to the growth of industry and firms which is a determined part of a real economy. The thesis takes China to study the question in an attempt to discover the micro mechanism of transmission as its key contribution to the existing literature on the study of the stock market effect on economic growth. The thesis employs a fixed effects model to estimate longitudinal firm-level data comprising 2233 heterogeneous Chinese listed firms over the period 2005-2015. In our estimation, it finds how stronger stock-trading performance can induce an increase in external funding of the firm. It then shows how the improvement in a firm's financing ability will turn to improvements in inter-firm reallocations of resources towards the more productive firms. However, the presence of equity over-trading appears to hinder the growth of firm business, possibly because the negative externalities of the speculative trading outweigh the effect of the positive externalities, such as excessive volatility that creates high risk of stock investment. Overall, empirically, the thesis establishes a micro-economic structure of transmission from stock trading activities to the growth of the firm. The structure explains the importance of stock markets on economic growth from the supply perspective of an economy.

Neighborhood social disorganization has been found to be related to crime and deviance. In explaining this relationship, most have focused on specific factors of informal social control and collective efficacy. Using data from the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (n = 12,800), the relationship between social disorganization and delinquent outcomes was examined by looking at extra-curricular activities as intervening mechanisms with logistic regression in SPSS. While the effect of social disorganization on delinquency remained significant, results indicated some evidence of mediation when accounting for extra-curricular activity measures predicting binge drinking. Specifically, the coefficient for social disorganization was reduced and significant at a lower threshold once extra-curricular activity measures were added in the models. Also, findings indicated different patterns of relationships found among the various extra-curricular activity categories concerning delinquent outcomes. Unlike other types of extracurricular activities, increased involvement in athletic activities was related to increased participation in delinquency.

This study of the supervisory activities of the Utah high school principals vas originally planned by the Utah State Department of Public Instruction and the Utah Secondary School Principals' Association, to be a part of a questionnaire study on the status of the Utah high school principal. As it was later not included in the status study, the supervision study became a study by itself.

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The study involved the evaluation of anthropometric activities for high school science. The activities actively engaged students in the process of gathering, processing and analyzing data derived from human body measurements, with students using their prior knowledge acquired in science, mathematics and computer classes to interpret this information. Quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interview) methods were used to provide answers to the research questions. The quantitative portion of the study involved students' achievement, students' attitudes to science and students' perceptions of the classroom learning environment. A pretest/posttest design was used with achievement outcomes, however, only a single assessment of student attitudes and classroom environment was made. The sample size used to gather data on students' attitudes to science and students' perceptions of the leaming environment was 726 students. Five hundred and ninety-eight (598) students tools the biology test. However, analyses were restricted to the subsample of 158 students who had experienced the anthropometric laboratory activity. Twenty-four students (24) were interviewed for the qualitative part of the study. Data generated from the interviews were used to complement information provided in the surveys. The main purpose of this research was to evaluate these student-centered activities in terms of students' achievement, students' attitudes and students' perceptions of the science classroom environment. Other aims included: to validate generally-applicable measures of classroom learning environments and students' attitudes to science; to investigate gender differences in students' achievement, attitudes and perceptions of classroom environment; and to investigate associations between the classroom learning environment and the student outcomes of performance and attitudes. / Some of the important findings of this study included: 1. In reference to the survey instruments, the item analyses supported the internal consistency reliability and ability to differentiate between classrooms of the learning environment questionnaire and the analyses of attitude data supported the factorial validity, internal consistency reliability and discriminant validity of the attitude questionnaire. 2. Substantial differences between the pretest and posttest scores for the achievement measures in Biology and anthropometric activities were found. These findings were supported by statistically significant t-test scores and effect sizes. 3. There was a positive influence of using anthropometric activities on both students' attitudes and their perceptions of the classroom learning environment. The findings based on qualitative information (interviews, which involved twenty-four students) were consistent with patterns emerging from our quantitative information (surveys, which involved 760 students) and they supported the effectiveness of the anthropometric activities. 4. The analysis of gender differences in students' achievement, attitudes and perceptions of classroom environment revealed that boys have more positive attitudes to science than girls do and is in agreement with past studies. However, females' students demonstrated more favorable perceptions of the learning environment than mates, primarily with Student Cohesiveness and Rule Clarity. 5. The association between student attitudes and their perception of the leaming environment indicated that students' attitudes to science are most likely to be positive in laboratory classes where student perceive a strong integration between the concepts and principles covered in theory classes and in laboratory classes. These findings are consistent with results in other countries. / 6. The association between achievement and student perceptions of their learning environment, suggest that integration of theoretical concepts with laboratory activities (Integration), a cohesive student group (Student Cohesiveness) and using appropriate laboratory materials and equipment (Material Environment) are likely to lead to student achievement. This finding replicates the results of previous studies. 7. I found stronger outcome-environment associations for attitudes than for achievement. This finding is consistent with results from past research. The contributions and significance of this study can be summarized as follows: 1. One of the key components of this study was the development and implementation of the innovative anthropometric laboratory activity, which was especially designed for this research. 2. Another contribution of this study is to the field of integrated curriculum instruction. While most instructional curricular activities are subject specific, this study is interdisciplinary in nature because it effectively links concepts and skills from science, mathematics, statistics, and technology (graphing calculators and computers). 3. A unique feature of this research is that it had an evaluation component involving student performance, student attitudes, and the nature of the classroom learning environment. Therefore, the study contributes to the field of learning environment research by adding another study to the limited research that has employed the classroom environment as a criterion of effectiveness in evaluating educational innovations. The study has the potential to help other science teachers to apply these ideas in their classrooms.