This dissertation explores the feasibility of employing software agent technology to support large-scale assessment. The research included the design, development, and evaluation of the Assessment Agent System for assessing comprehensive understanding based on concept maps. The system was designed by following an agent-oriented software design method. The Assessment Agent System is composed of five types of software agents: instructor agent, student agent, management agent, assessment agent, and reporting agent. Each of these agents was designed to possess different capabilities. Software agents in the system, through communication and cooperation, collectively provide the functionalities of user-system interaction, user management, task authoring and management, assessment delivery, task presentation, response collection, automatic assessing with feedback, and reporting. Through the process of design, development, and evaluation of the Assessment Agent System, this study demonstrates an approach that employs an agent-oriented software design method to produce sophisticated educational software applications. Furthermore, this study explored the concept map assessing method for the Assessment Agent System. When node terms and linking phrases are provided, assessing student concept maps can be automated by comparing student concept maps with assessment criteria, proposition by proposition. However, the usefulness of the proposition-comparing method depends heavily on the accuracy and thoroughness of the criterion propositions. Therefore, assessment criteria need to be continually refined and improved through examining student-created propositions. / Ph. D.

Media literacy scholars have to a great extent ignored the assessment of media literacy outcomes and associated challenges. Martens (2010) states that evaluating and explaining the effectiveness of media literacy education is one of the most overwhelming challenges for current research in the field. Buckingham and Domaille (2009) claim that the lack of structured assessment procedures likely contributed to the lack of status of media literacy education. The purpose of this mixed methods study (exploratory sequential design) was therefore to explore the views of media literacy scholars and professionals on media literacy assessment through qualitative interviews (N = 10) with the intent of using this information to develop a quantitative survey to validate and extend the qualitative findings with a larger sample of media literacy professionals and scholars from all around the world (N = 171). The study provides an overview of goals and outcomes of media literacy education. In addition, it provides information about the extent to which outcomes are specified and by whom these outcomes are specified. The study also offers a comprehensive overview of assessment methods that were used by participants of the study, the role that media literacy plays in their work, and the entities which developed these assessment methods. It provides further detail about the extent to which the learning process and product are assessed, the importance of context in assessment, approaches that are used to evaluate and interpret students' work, and factors that influence the way participants assess media literacy. The study also offers an overview of assessment challenges that were encountered by participants and the extent to which these are considered challenges for the field. In addition, for each of the assessment methods that were used by participants, a distinct set of challenges is identified. An account of the extent that respondents felt constrained by any outside regulations or mandates is provided as well, along with a description of how they would assess media literacy void of these constraints. Finally, methods to overcome media literacy challenges are presented, along with recommendations to improve the effectiveness of media literacy assessment. / Ph. D.

Since about 2015 the social, environmental and economic risks and chances of the bioeconomy and economy in general are becoming increasingly the subject of applied sustainability assessments. Under a bioeconomy, a variety of industrial metabolisms, strategies and visions on substituting fossil resources by renewables and hereto associated societal transformations is formulated, characterized as regional bioeconomy if most foreground activities take place in a specific region. Based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, further social and economic LCA approaches were developed in previous research whereby life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) aims to combine or integrate the evaluation of social, environmental and economic effects. In this early stage of rudimentary and combinatory LCSA development, the research questions of this work are to develop a transdisciplinary framework for integrated LCSA for regional stakeholders to assess ecological, economic and social sustainability in one harmonized method, as well as to implement, apply and validate it by two regional case studies. Therefore, i) the understandings of sustainability and approaches of sustainability assessment in LCA are transdisciplinary reflected and developed, ii) a systemic framework of the important aspects of such assessments is structured by a series of stakeholder workshops, iii) the methods and indicators from existing LCA approaches as well as from bioeconomy monitoring systems are selected, identified and allocated to a sustainability concept of holistic and integrated LCSA (HILCSA), iv) databases for the life cycle inventory and methods for life cycle impact assessment are implemented in a software, as well as v) the model and method is applied and validated in two case studies on laminated veneer lumber production and production of biofuels in central Germany. Based on previous research, the dissertation provides a theoretically well based and practically applicable framework for integrated life cycle sustainability assessment, an applicable indicator set for regional (product & territorial) bioeconomy assessment, an integration of life cycle impact assessment methods as well as their comprehensive interpretation. Thereby, LCSA is able to identify the contribution of regional bioeconomy product systems to 14 out of 17 Sustainable Development Goals in terms of planetary boundaries, a sustainable economy and societal needs. The presented results on material and energetic use cases of biomass show that integrated assessments are able to deliver a broad and comprehensive analysis of impacts to identify synergies, trade-offs and hot spots of regional bioeconomy. Compared to existing LCA and LCSA methodologies, the added value of the HILCSA methodology is its integrated and holistic character, which [1] allows consistent and comparable data on social, ecological, and economic indicators, [2] identifies synergies and trade-offs between different aspects and SDGs, [3] traces down impacts to regions in the fore-and background systems, [4] as well as allocates and aggregates them to the SDGs to make complexity communicable. Additionally, HILCSA takes social sciences and political economy into account from beginning to interpretation and discussion of results, relating to social, environmental, and economic impacts not only to technologies but also to societal, economic, and political questions.:Part I Overarching Introduction 1 1. Introduction 2 2. State of the Art 3 2.1 Sustainability Concepts and Frameworks in the Context of BE and the Role of Stakeholder Participation 3 2.2 LCA and LCSA Approaches for BE Regions 5 2.3 Inter-, Transdisciplinarity and Political Economy for Holistic Sustainability Assessment 7 2.4 Research Gaps to be addressed 8 3. Research Objectives 9 4. Methods 10 4.1 Stakeholder Expectations of the BE in Germany and Relevance of SDGs for Sustainability Assessments 10 4.2 Theoretical and Conceptual Considerations on BE, Sustainability and its Assessment for a Holistic and Integrated Framework for LCSA (HILCSA) 11 4.3 Criteria and Aspects for Implementation and Operationalization of HILCSA for BE Regions 11 4.4 Lessons Learned from Application and Validation of HILCSA in Case Studies and Results on Risks and Chances of a BE Transformation 13 5. Results 14 5.1 Stakeholder Participation in BE Monitoring and Assessment 14 5.1.1 Relevances, Interests and Perceptions 14 5.1.2 Narratives and Visions 17 5.2 Theoretical and Conceptual Implications from a Transdisciplinary Perspective on Sustainability Frameworks and Assessments 19 5.2.1 The Three Pillar Approach and additive LCSA 19 5.2.2 Introduction of Societal Relations to Nature in Sustainability Assessment and LCA 21 5.2.3 Societal-Ecological Transformation and the role of LCSA 21 5.3 Operationalization and Implementation of Holistic and Integrated LCSA (HILCSA) for BE Regions 23 5.3.1 Sustainability Concept and LCA Framework for HILCSA 23 5.3.2 Initial LCI and LCIA for HILCSA 25 5.4 Application and Validation of HILCSA in Case Studies and Results on Risks and Chances of a BE Transformation 31 5.4.1 Application of Holistic and Integrated LCSA: First Case Study on LVL Production in Central Germany 31 5.4.1.1 Goal and Scope 31 5.4.1.2 Life Cycle Inventory 33 5.4.1.3 Life Cycle Impact Assessment 34 5.4.1.4 Interpretation 35 5.4.2 Application of Holistic and Integrated LCSA: Second Case Study on prospective biomass to liquid production in Germany 36 5.4.2.1 Goal and Scope 36 5.4.2.2 Life Cycle Inventory 38 5.4.2.3 Life Cycle Impact Assessment 39 5.4.2.4 Interpretation 41 6. Conclusion and Outlook 43 6.1 Stakeholder Expectations and Participation 43 6.2 Theoretical Concepts for Sustainability and Methodological Frameworks 44 6.3 Operationalization and implementation of Holistic and Integrated LCSA 45 6.4 Lessons Learned from Case Studies: Identifying Risks and Chances of Regional BE by Applying & Validating HILCSA 47 6.4.1 Risks and Chances of Regional BE in Case of LVL and BtL and Validation of HILCSA 47 6.4.2 Lessons Learned and Future HILCSA Methodology Development 48 6.5 Concluding Remarks on Political (Bio-)Economy and Transformation 52 References 54 List of Acronyms 66 List of Tables 66 List of Figures 66 Part II Publications 68

There is an unprecedented need to manage our deteriorating water infrastructure systems effectively to mitigate the enormous consequences of their premature failure such as loss of service, money, time, damage to other infrastructure, and damage to property. Most of the water utilities understand this need and are implementing asset management approaches and technologies to increase the overall service life of their assets. However, to indeed achieve sustainable water infrastructure systems, there is a requirement to implement a risk-based asset management program which provides a more comprehensive approach to manage these aging assets. A risk-based asset management program assesses and manages the risk of failure associated with the water infrastructure assets and helps water utilities in prioritizing their assets for renewal. This program identifies the critical assets for renewal and saves the money and time invested in the renewal of 'not so critical' assets. This research incorporates an extensive literature and practice review on risk-based asset management of pipes, valves, and hydrants. The risk-based asset management consist of the following four major components: (1) understanding the deterioration modes and mechanisms, (2) implementing risk assessment and management approaches, (3) implementing condition assessment approaches and technologies, and (4) implementing asset renewal approaches and technologies. This research aims to provide enhanced guidelines based on the EPA 10 step asset management program which will help water utilities in developing a risk-based asset management program as well as in improving their existing asset management program. This research combines the in-depth knowledge gained through a state-of-the-art literature review and practice review. The practice review is conducted to capture the real world application of the risk-based asset management through interviews with the water utilities across the united states. This research has also compiled the knowledge gained by already published case studies to provide a more comprehensive overview of the current practices and trend in the risk-based asset management of drinking water pipelines, valves, and hydrants. / Master of Science / America’s drinking water infrastructure is deteriorating and there is an unprecedented need to manage our deteriorating water infrastructure systems effectively to mitigate the enormous impacts of their premature failure such as loss of service, money, time, damage to other infrastructure, and damage to property. In order to achieve sustainable water infrastructure systems, there is a requirement to implement a risk-based asset management program which is a comprehensive approach to manage these aging assets. A risk-based asset management program assesses and manages the risk of failure associated with the water infrastructure assets and helps water utilities in prioritizing their assets for renewal. This program identifies the critical assets for renewal and saves the money and time invested in the renewal of “not so critical” assets. This research aims to provide enhanced guidelines based on the EPA 10 step asset management program which will help water utilities in developing a risk-based asset management program as well as in improving their existing asset management program. This research combines the in-depth knowledge gained through a state-of-the-art literature review and practice review. The practice review is conducted to capture the real-world application of the risk-based asset management through interviews with the water utilities across the united states. This research has also compiled the knowledge gained by already published case studies to provide a more comprehensive overview of the current practices and trend in the risk-based asset management of drinking water pipelines, valves, and hydrants.

This study investigated whether risk compensation behavior would occur during a chemistry experiment due to the presence of protective equipment. This study also examined whether a homeostatic regulating mechanism exists for risk-taking behavior. Risk compensation and a homeostatic regulating mechanism for risk-taking behavior are both encompassed within the Risk Homeostasis Theory, which states that people accurately perceive and fully compensate for changes in risk. Thirty-six subjects performed three trials of a short chemistry experiment either with protective equipment or without protective equipment during the first of two sessions. After the first session, half the subjects were required to switch from wearing protective equipment to not wearing protective equipment, or from not wearing protective equipment to wearing protective equipment. The time required to complete the task, the number of errors committed, and subtask measurement accuracy were tabulated. Between-subject analyses did not reveal risk compensation behavior. Moreover, within-subject comparisons failed to show a significant risk compensation effect or the presence of a homeostatic regulating mechanism for risk-taking behavior. The results suggested that the Risk Homeostasis Theory may not explain sufficiently changes in behavior due to increases (or decreases) in perceived risk. The limitations of the present study were discussed. Suggestions and examples for research on different aspects of the Risk Homeostasis Theory were also provided. / Master of Science

<p dir="ltr">The race to comply with the Paris Climate Accords fueled by the desire to combat climate change and a greater appreciation of balance of ecological systems requires reducing reliance on fossil fuels and transitioning to using clean energy. This transition is expected to be cleaner but be also material intensive. These materials, such as neodymium or graphite, have been deemed critical by the United States, due to their importance to future of the country. Therefore, efforts are being made to diversify their production (by discovering new manufacturing methods) or improve the material efficiency of their applications.</p><p dir="ltr">It is important that these new applications are analyzed for their environmental impact. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is widely accepted methodology for conducting environmental assessment on products and processes. Traditional LCA has 4 steps – goal, scope definition, life cycle inventory, and life cycle impact analysis. Applying traditional LCA techniques on these emerging technologies has challenges, as they are still emerging and have demonstrated their potential at various scales – theoretical, lab scale, pilot scale, or small-scale industrial level. Often, the new processes or products are compared against existing conventional manufacturing methods. Therefore, to appropriately assess the impact of these new emerging technologies against current ones, the scope must be extended to include the product or manufacturing system (which is the economic system under which these technologies will operate and compete against). This methodology is applied to 3 technologies at various stages of their development.</p><p dir="ltr">In the first case study, for magnets, by including the importance of energy product to the product system within the LCA, we see that the higher energy product of additively manufactured magnets directly translates to its environmental benefits relative to injection molded magnets. The next case study looked at a novel process to create battery grade graphite, demonstrated at lab scale. This process was scaled to an industrial level and assessed against conventional methods of manufacturing graphite. The scaleup allowed the LCA to identify the molten salt and the graphite anode to be a potential hotspot. Lastly, the potential green marketability of aluminum cerium alloys is investigated. The product system is extended to include the effect of this new application on cerium compound prices and therefore the economic allocation for the LCA. A Nash equilibrium is found based on market dynamics for aluminum cerium alloys to help resolve this issue.</p><p dir="ltr">The case studies show that allowing the product systems to inform the LCA can result in richer results, which help identify hotspots or opportunities for these technologies as they mature and compete against the conventional products or processes.</p>

In 2006 the Gauteng Department of Basic Education (GDoBE) launched a pilot project to introduce Assessment for Learning (AfL). This initiative was prompted by learners’ poor performance; especially in subjects such as Mathematics and English. The AfL project was introduced in selected primary and secondary schools. Grade 5 teachers for all subjects and Grade 10 teachers for all subjects within selected primary and secondary schools formed part of the pilot project. These teachers were oriented and introduced to AfL, after which workshops to strengthen teachers’ understanding and skills of AfL were conducted. Lead educators (District Learning Area facilitators or Subject Advisors), were required to monitor and support participating schools and teachers in implementing AfL. Based on a literature and empirical study, the researcher explored the comprehension and implementation of AfL by selected primary school Mathematics teachers that participated in the AfL pilot project of the GDoBE. The empirical study was approached by means of a qualitative research design in the form of a multiple case study. Individual interviews, observations and focus group interviews were used to collect data from purposive selected teachers from three Gauteng Districts (Johannesburg West, Johannesburg North and Ekurhuleni South). Both Township and ex-Model C primary schools were included in the study and eventually a total of 11 Mathematics teachers from these schools participated in the study. The research results revealed that the sampled teachers’ comprehension of AfL can be rated as satisfactory since they realise its potential in terms of learning and learner development. Moreover, these teachers show an awareness of the relation between formative (AfL) and summative assessment (assessment of learning (AoL)). With regard to its implementation, it is clear that a lack of support from colleagues, School Management Teams (SMTs) and District officials impede on the successful implementation of AfL. Other factors hampering the implementation of AfL include time constraints, uncertainty about appropriate resources and the simultaneous implementation of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) and the Gauteng Primary Literacy Mathematics Strategy (GPLMS). It is further noted that the elements of AfL, which includes the sharing of learning intentions, questioning, feedback and peer and self-assessment, are all mediocrely implemented. / MEd (Learning and Teaching), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

In 2006 the Gauteng Department of Basic Education (GDoBE) launched a pilot project to introduce Assessment for Learning (AfL). This initiative was prompted by learners’ poor performance; especially in subjects such as Mathematics and English. The AfL project was introduced in selected primary and secondary schools. Grade 5 teachers for all subjects and Grade 10 teachers for all subjects within selected primary and secondary schools formed part of the pilot project. These teachers were oriented and introduced to AfL, after which workshops to strengthen teachers’ understanding and skills of AfL were conducted. Lead educators (District Learning Area facilitators or Subject Advisors), were required to monitor and support participating schools and teachers in implementing AfL. Based on a literature and empirical study, the researcher explored the comprehension and implementation of AfL by selected primary school Mathematics teachers that participated in the AfL pilot project of the GDoBE. The empirical study was approached by means of a qualitative research design in the form of a multiple case study. Individual interviews, observations and focus group interviews were used to collect data from purposive selected teachers from three Gauteng Districts (Johannesburg West, Johannesburg North and Ekurhuleni South). Both Township and ex-Model C primary schools were included in the study and eventually a total of 11 Mathematics teachers from these schools participated in the study. The research results revealed that the sampled teachers’ comprehension of AfL can be rated as satisfactory since they realise its potential in terms of learning and learner development. Moreover, these teachers show an awareness of the relation between formative (AfL) and summative assessment (assessment of learning (AoL)). With regard to its implementation, it is clear that a lack of support from colleagues, School Management Teams (SMTs) and District officials impede on the successful implementation of AfL. Other factors hampering the implementation of AfL include time constraints, uncertainty about appropriate resources and the simultaneous implementation of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) and the Gauteng Primary Literacy Mathematics Strategy (GPLMS). It is further noted that the elements of AfL, which includes the sharing of learning intentions, questioning, feedback and peer and self-assessment, are all mediocrely implemented. / MEd (Learning and Teaching), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

This project was initiated to revise the procedures for designation of scenic roads in Arizona. The portions of the procedures which required revision were viewpoint selection and the expert scenic assessment scale. A method for selecting viewpoints was developed based on mapping landscape character types. Three expert scenic assessment scales were evaluated for inclusion in the designation procedure based on the criteria of reliability, validity, generalizability, and utility. Psychology students' global judgements of scenic beauty provided the validity criterion. Three groups of landscape architecture students applied the three expert scales to allow evaluation of the other criteria. All three scales performed well on the selected criteria. The FHWA scale was superior overall. The results suggest that expert scenic assessment scales predict public preferences for a range of landscape types. When the reliability of scenic quality assessment scales is evaluated for the summed dimensions of the scales, reliability is improved substantially compared to previous research.

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Jeffrey Zacharakis / In this study, the researcher explores the effectiveness of Leader Development in the United States Army by examining the relationship between attendance at the Army’s Civilian Education System Basic Course (Basic Course) and enhanced leadership in its graduates. The study was conducted using a paired sample, drawn from five classes in the spring of 2015. The researcher employed the Multi-Rater Leadership Questionnaire version 5X-Short (MLQ5X) developed by Avolio and Bass (2004) in a quasi- experimental, repeated measure, within-subjects research design to answer the primary research question: Do graduates of the Basic Course demonstrate enhanced transformational leadership as a result of attendance at the course? The researcher found that Basic Course graduates demonstrated a statistically significant positive change in mean posttest scores when compared to mean pretest scores on the transformational leadership factors of the MLQ5X. The effect size was large. The study also explored differences within the sample for five groups of Basic Course students: Veterans-Non- veterans; GS Supervisory experience – No GS Supervisory experience; New Leaders – Experienced Leaders; Male – Female; and Ethnic Minority – Caucasian. While some differences between these groups were noted as possible topics for future research, none of those differences were found to be statistically significant in this study.