In this thesis, we design and implement an On-Line assessment system. It is interoperable to every E-Learning platforms conformed to SCORM. In this On-Line assessment system, we provide seven kinds of test formats; it can dynamic adjust the pointer of difficulty; in the ¡§New Examination Paper¡¨ function, we increase module, it can lighten the load of teacher when they set the examination paper; When students on their examinations, every students will see different sequence of questions and items in questions.

The study of this project includes nomenclature, methodologies for risk assessment, and the exchange of information on human and ecological toxicology studies in nanotechnology research. The goals are: (1) collecting domestic and international nanotechnology relevant to toxicity information, (2) establishing the flow chart of nanotechnology risk assessment, (3) making suggestions of methodologies for risk assessment on nanotechnology, and (4) establishing the structure of nanoparticles risk management for reference to future nanotechnology risk management. Nanopartilces, quantum dots, fullerenes and carbon nanotubes has been collected in Toxicological information of nanomaterials. This study has established the Precautionary Principle and the preliminary framework for health risk assessment, which could prevent or reduce risks before the completed development of the potential danger, and reply the appeal for developing a standard methodology for risk assessment which is made by European Commission during the Brussels Conference of 2004. Exchange of informations of nanotoxicology allows contact between domestic and international researchers. The methodologies for risk assessment establishes framework for health assessment of risks which could be used to be the direction to develop the internal risks assessment, and is advantageous to the government in management of the risks of nanotechnology.

Instructional evaluation is essential for assessing the effectiveness of learning events. In today's economy, corporations are under great pressure to reduce expenses, and training budgets often feel the effects. The closure of in-house training programs, combined with the reduction of training budgets, could be seen as evidence of training professionals' inability to prove their worth in terms of organizational benefit. To solidify their value to an organization, training departments must assess the effectiveness of their programs and provide evidence that they are supporting the organization's goals. The purpose of this study was to determine how employer-sponsored training is evaluated in the financial services industry by firms affiliated with DALBAR, Inc., using Kirkpatrick's four-level evaluation model as a framework. The total population for this study consisted of all financial services organizations providing education and training. The target population was limited to the financial services organizations that subscribe to the services provided by DALBAR, Inc. Affiliation with DALBAR was considered an indicator of interest in raising standards of excellence within the financial services industry. Therefore, DALBAR affiliation was believed to represent organizations whose training personnel had current knowledge of industry practices and thereby would report higher usage of evaluation than the total population of other entities. Data was collected using a modified survey instrument. Patterns, trends, models and methods of training evaluation among these financial services organizations were examined. Finally, barriers to implementation of training evaluation were identified and explored. Recommendations for practice include increasing training department staff members' knowledge of evaluation theories and techniques, as well striving to make training evaluation a priority for the organization as a whole. Among the recommendations for future research is the execution of a qualitative study to be conducted through in-depth interviews with selected respondents to explore in greater detail the relationships between organizational characteristics and the implementation of higher levels of evaluation.

The purpose of this research study was to determine the relationships among PSAT scores and TAKS scores in selected Texas high schools in order to inform state policy makers, school district administrators and teachers as they strive to implement policies to improve student achievement. In addition the findings of this study can be vital for curriculum planning pre-K-16. The population for this study was the 3,243 sophomores at the 55 Texas high schools involved in the Texas AP/IB Center's PSAT Pilot Program. The schools participating in this program were selected based on the high proportion of students from low-income homes and the lack of an AP program or low AP program participation. Students at participating high schools were predominantly minority and from homes identified by the Texas Education agency as low socioeconomic status. This study's significance is based on its potential to provide school district administrators additional information on which to base decisions regarding budget allocations for Advanced Placement programs. With greater stress on high-stakes testing and greater competition to enter higher education, Texas school districts will have initial data upon which to strengthen curricular offerings. Additionally, this study will provide policymakers at the state and local level the data necessary to make decisions when marketing and promoting the Advanced Placement program. Research findings of this study included: 1. The degree of association between PSAT score and TAKS scores was moderate. 2. Caucasian students consistently outperformed their minority counterparts on all examinations. 3. Economically disadvantaged students achieved lower scores than their more affluent counterparts on all tests. 4. Females outperformed males on most exams, but the results are not conclusive.

Naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) exists in connate waters and, under the right conditions during oil drilling, can plate out on the interior surfaces of oil and gas industry equipment. Once deposited, this material is commonly referred to as ??scale.?? This thesis is concerned with the presence of 226Ra in scale deposited on the inner surfaces of oil drilling pipes and the internal dose consequences of inhalation of that scale once released. In the process of normal operation, barium sulfate scale with a radium component adheres to the inside of downhole tubulars in oil fields. When crude flow is diminished below acceptable operational requirements, the pipe is sent to a descaling operation to be cleaned, most likely by a method known as rattling. The rattling process generates dust. This research investigated the chemical composition of that aerosol and measured the solubility of pipe scale from three oilfield formations. Using standard in-vitro dissolution experimental equipment and methods, pipe scale is introduced into simulated lung fluid over a two-week period. These samples are analyzed using quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (Q-ICP-MS), known for very low detection limits. Analysis reveals virtually no 226Ra present in the lung fluid exposed to pipe scale. Sample measurements were compared against background measurements using Student??s t test, which revealed that nearly all the samples were statistically insignificant in comparison to the lung fluid blanks. This statistical test proves within a 95% confidence interval that there is no 226Ra present in the lung fluid samples. These results indicate that inhaled NORM pipe scale should be classified as Class S and serve to further confirm the extreme insolubility of petroleum pipe scale. For dose calculations, the S classification means that the lung is the main organ of concern. Radium-226 from petroleum pipe scale does not solubilize in the interstitial lung fluid, and does not, therefore, enter the bloodstream via respiratory pathways. Since there is no removal by dissolution, the 500 day biological half-life implied by the S classification is based solely on the mechanical transport of 226Ra out of the lungs by phagocytosis or the mucociliary escalator.

The harmonious meshing of employee career development needs and corporate missions, goals, and objectives is a necessity for the growth and maintenance of both the individual and the organization. This study was designed to investigate Taiwan Power Company (TPC) white-collar employees?? perceptions of career development program needs. The purposes of the study were (a) to identify the perceptions of career development program needs; (b) to explore the underlying constructs among current and future positions in regard to the employee??s perceptions of career development program needs; (c) to investigate the differences among perceptions of career development needs; (d) to determine whether or not differences among perceptions of career development program needs exist among respondents who differ in terms of gender, age, and education; and (e) to discover if individuals who differ in terms of job functions and job roles have different opinions on whether the selected career development programs were already provided or should be provided by the company.This study was conducted using a questionnaire. The data were collected from a stratified random sample of 1,636 white-collar employees in the TPC. A response rate of 82.5% resulted in a final sample of 1,351 respondents. The content validity of the questionnaire was established via expert opinion and the internal consistency of the instrument was calculated using Cronbach??s ??. Frequency counts, central tendencies and standard deviations were used in the descriptive analysis of the current and future position data. Principle factor analysis with Varimax rotation revealed six constructs for the current position data. Similar factor analytical results were obtained for the future position data. Two-way MANOVAs with Descriptive Discriminant Analysis and univariate ANOVAs, with REGWF when appropriate, were used to probe significant main effects. Chi-square tests were employed to answer the research questions regarding the perceptions of whether the 33 career development programs were already provided or should be provided by the company. Differences in terms of current and future positions were obtained for individuals who were classified by job function, job role, gender, age, and education. Twelve conclusions were generated and specific career development practices were suggested.

Six types of aerosol samplers were evaluated experimentally in a test chamber with polydisperse fly ash. The Andersen sampler overestimates the mass of small particles due to particle bounce between stages and therefore provides a conservative estimate of respirable particulate mass and thoracic particulate mass. The TSP sampler provides an unbiased estimate of total particulate mass. TSP/CCM provides no information below ESD 2 µm and therefore underestimates respirable particulate mass. The PM10 sampler provides a reasonable estimate of the thoracic particulate fraction. The RespiCon sampler provides an unbiased estimate of respirable, thoracic, and inhalable fractions. DustTrak and SidePak monitors provide relative particle concentrations instead of absolute concentrations because it could not be calibrated for absolute particle concentrations with varying particle shape, composition, and density. Six sampler technologies were used to evaluate airborne dust concentrations released from oilfield pipe rattling operations. The task sampled was the removal of scale deposited on the inner wall of the pipe before it was removed from service in a producing well. The measured mass concentrations of the aerosol samplers show that a Gaussian plume model is applicable to the data of pipe rattling operations for finding an attainment area. It is estimated that workers who remain within 1 m of the machine centerline and directly downwind have an 8-hour TWA exposure opportunity of (13.3 ± 9.7) mg/m3 for the Mud Lake pipe scale and (11.4 ± 9.7) mg/m3 for the Lake Sand pipe scale at 95 % confidence. At distances more than 4 m downwind from the machine centerline, dust concentrations are below the TWA-TLV of 10 mg/m3 for the worker in both scales. At positions crosswind or upwind from the machine centerline there is no measurable exposure. Available data suggest that the attainment area for the public starts at about 9 m downwind from the machine centerline in both scales, as 24 hour average concentrations at these distances are smaller than the 0.15 mg/m3, the NAAQS for unrestricted public access. The PSD of the suspended plume is dominated by particles smaller than ESD 50 µm.

Although there appears to be increasing popularity in neuropsychology across disciplines of study, only modest work has been conducted with preschool and schoolage children. Changes in the structure of cognitive processes during early childhood and the extent of frontal lobe maturation are important to consider when conducting assessments with young children. Many neuropsychological theories, however, are based primarily on adult research (e.g., Luria’s theory) and respective assessment measures are often the extension or slight modification of items from adult assessments. Because adults and children differ on a number of neuropsychological measures, especially at younger ages, the same underlying constructs and interpretive strategies may not be appropriate for use with young children. The CAS and NEPSY are two assessment measures based on Luria’s theory; however, each posits a different conclusion regarding the number of factors that explain neuropsychological functioning in young children. Luria asserted that neuropsychological functioning is comprised of three functional units, while Naglieri and Das (e.g., CAS) suggested a four factor model, and the authors of the NEPSY declared a five factor model of functioning. Due to the emerging development of a child’s frontal lobes, and the inconsistency regarding the number of factors related to neuropsychological functioning in young children, this study examined the CAS and NEPSY using factor analyses and model fit indices to determine the underlying structural model(s). The study also examined the usefulness of combining specific subscales from the CAS, NEPSY, and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III (PPVT-III; Dunn & Dunn, 1997) to create a cross-battery approach to assessing neuropsychological functioning in young children. In addition to the CAS, NEPSY, and PPVT-III, data was obtained from the Behavioral Assessment System for Children (BASC; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1992), and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF; Gioia, Isquith, Guy, & Kenworthy, 2000) to gather background information and to assess parent and teacher ratings of behavioral and neuropsychological functioning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Texas at Dallas, 2008. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-99)

Zugl.: Zürich, University, Diss., 2009.