Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 1973. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-151). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

In 2006, Governor Edward Rendell announced a three-year, $200 million Classrooms for the Future program to provide technology and technology support to schools across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, beginning in the 2006-2007 school year. The purpose of this research study is to examine the change process of the diffusion of technology within five schools through the implementation of the Classrooms for the Future initiative. This study will specifically examine the diffusion of the Classrooms for the Future initiative into schools and the perceptions of teachers, principals, superintendents, and Classrooms for the Future coaches with regards to the initiative and the impact the program is having on instruction. The research will focus on schools that have successfully or creatively implemented the CFF initiative, analyzing how and why the diffusion process was successful. Using a qualitative method, this study analyzed three sources of data: interviews with teachers, principals, superintendents/ technology directors, and Classrooms for the Future coaches; analysis of school district-specific archival documents relating to the implementation of the Classrooms for the Future initiative; and Classrooms for the Future archival survey data specific to the five selected schools and data provided through the Pennsylvania Technology Inventory Report from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Pennsylvania State University. Various levels and stages of Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations theory were applied to the data, providing a filter and a framework to evaluate organizational change over time. The results of this study suggested that the innovation-decision process, perceived attributes of the innovation, change agents, and communication channels were extremely significant in determining the rate of adoption of instructional technology and the sustainability of the innovation (Rogers, 2003). The role of authority figures in determining the vision of implementation was determined to be extremely significant in affecting teacher adoption of the Classrooms for the Future initiative. Additionally, the role of the Classrooms for the Future coach was imperative not only to increase adoption, but also for sustainability of the change. / Dr. Cathy Kaufman Dr. George Bieger Dr. David Piper

Atmospheric nitrogen deposition to the ocean has more than doubled in the past 150 years due to anthropogenic activity, reaching levels comparable with nitrogen fixation in the subtropical North Atlantic. Previous studies have suggested that atmospherically deposited N may increase export production, decrease surface water phosphate levels, and substantially impact geochemical estimates of nitrogen fixation. This dissertation reports on the magnitude and biogeochemical fate of soluble N and P deposition in the subtropical North Atlantic. Aerosol and wet deposition time-series samples were used to determine the fluxes, sources, and N:P ratios of atmospheric nutrient deposition. Based on the magnitudes of total soluble N and P deposition, atmospheric nutrients are estimated to supply ~10-50% of allochthonous N to the North Atlantic subtropical gyre. Samples gathered in Barbados, the Canary Islands, and Miami indicate that atmospheric N sources are primarily anthropogenic (and thus, increasing) and that P sources are primarily natural (and thus relatively steady). Because inorganic nutrient concentrations in surface waters are in the low nM range, increasing P stress in surface waters may occur as a result of increasing N deposition. This assessment is supported by modeling studies, which also indicate that deposition would enhance surface P depletion. Inorganic N contributes nearly all (85-87%) of atmospherically deposited soluble N; the majority (~60%) of the remaining soluble organic N is comprised of an incompletely characterized pool of volatile basic organic N. Water soluble organic P contributes ~20-50% of soluble P. Because organic P contributes a relatively higher portion of soluble P as compared to organic N, the inclusion of organic matter in deposition estimates could both enhance the expected level of export production and reduce the predicted levels of P stress induced by atmospheric deposition. Further modeling studies indicate that the fate of atmospheric nutrients in the subtropical North Atlantic is controlled by non-Redfieldian processes, and that atmospheric nutrients eventually accumulate in the main thermocline. The research presented here suggests that future increases in atmospheric N emissions could have long-term impacts on surface ocean biology and nutrient cycles in the subtropical North Atlantic.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Dale W. Lick, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 16, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

<p>The overall aim of this project was to establish whether there is a long-term decline of rainfall collected in rainfall gauges within the Jonkershoek Valley that have the longest and best quality records.</p>

I Sverige har insjuknandet och överlevnanden i hjärtinfarkt förbättrats de senaste åren. Levnadsvanor och livsstil har betydelse. Människor som drabbas av hjärtinfarkt blir utskrivana från sjukhuset allt tidigare idag mot förut. Detta bidrar till att patienter och anhöriga/närstående får ta ett större ansvar efter utskrivningen. Informationsbehovet kring livsstilsförändringar är därför stort. Syftet var att beskriva människors erfarenhet av vad som underlättar respektive försvårar att göra de livsstilsförändringar de fått rekommendation om efter en diagnostiserad hjärtinfarkt. Metoden var en beskrivande studie med kvalitativ ansats. Öppna intervjuer genomfördes med sex informanter. Data analyserades med innehållsanalys. Av informanterna framkom information om hur de upplevt tiden efter insjuknandet gällande de rekommenderade livsstilsförändringarna. Huvudresultatet visade att det som dominerade bland svaren och vad som underlättat att genomföra livsstilsförändringar var den egna motivationen till en förändrad livsstil. Vad som ansågs försvårande var den sociala begränsningen informanterna upplevde. Slutsatsen är att det är viktigt med information till sjukvårdspersonal om vilka faktorer som underlättar livsstilsförändring och att den informationen når ut till patienterna. Nyckelord: Livsstilsförändring, hjärtinfarkt. upplevelser

The purpose of the study was to determine whether children's attitudes toward Negroes could be significantly changed in a favorable direction through use of specified informational procedures and to investigate changes in attitude in relation to personality adjustment. Three instructional approaches were employed as agents for attitude change and were identified as The Literature Approach, The Audio-Visual Presentation Approach, and The Combination Approach.The Literature Approach provided pupils with books about Negroes to be included as part of an independent reading program. The books held potential for providing readers with vicarious experiences of Negro life, both past and present.The Audio-Visual Presentation Approach provided pupils with five separate audio-visual presentations which introduced factual information about Negro heritage, his contribution to the national development, his emotional reaction to his environment, his present living style, and his continued role as recipient of prejudice based on myths.The Combination Approach combined the strategies of The Literature and The Audio-Visual Presentation Approaches. ProcedureThe population in the study was comprised of 241 sixth grade white children assigned to nine classrooms in four elementary schools located in rural, small town and suburban settings in midwestern United States. The population was divided into the Control Group and the three Experimental Groups. The research design incorporated the standard pretest-treatment-posttest plan.The Attitude Scale (adapted from a scale constructed by Harrison Gough, University of Minnesota), the California Test of Personality, Elementary Level, Form AA and an information test (constructed specifically for use in this study and based on the information presented) were employed to gather data. The analysis of variance was utilized in determining the variation of information gained and attitude change for the four groups. The treatment by levels design of analysis of variance was utilized (using the two independent variables: personality and treatment) in determining the variation in attitude change in relation to the four treatment groups and the three levels of personality adjustment scores on the California Test of Personality.Findings1. Information about Negroes was conveyed to a statistically significant extent to pupils through The Combination and The Audio-Visual Presentation Approaches.2. Changes in attitude toward Negroes were not altered to a significant degree. Changes that did occur, but that were not statistically significant, appeared in the direction of unproved attitudes on the part of The Combination and The Audio-Visual Presentation Approaches.3. The level of personality adjustment scores of the pupils was not significantly related to the extent of change in attitude toward Negroes of the four groups employed.4. The level of personality adjustment scores was not significantly related to the extent of change in attitude toward Negroes regardless of the Approach that was analyzed.Conclusions1. Specific audio-visual instructional approaches provided learning experiences which resulted in higher scores that were statistically significant on an information test.2. Pupils participated in discussions about Negroes after they viewed presentations of specific audio-visual materials.3. Most children evidenced interest in learning about Negroes.4. Pupils who received presentations of specific audio-visual materials read more available books about Negroes than children who did not receive special presentations.5. Attitude change toward Negroes appears to occur less rapidly than cognitive (information) growth.6. A positive relationship (though not statistically significant) appears discernable between increase in knowledge about the Negro and favorable attitude change toward Negroes.7. Personality adjustment scores as measured by the California Test of Personality were not significantly related to attitude change toward the Negro.

The main purpose of this study was to explore, analyze and reflect on the meaning, nature, causes and associated dynamics of change in higher education within a Pakistani cultural context. Resistance was a major component of understanding this change. I focused on multiple factors that induced individual/group tendencies to resist or avoid making changes and to devalue change generally. This study employed a multiple case study approach. Semi-structured interviews with designated stakeholders of the planned change initiative were the primary data-collection method. Document analysis, members check and observations were used to triangulate the interview data. The data were analyzed on an ongoing basis. The findings revealed the complex dimensions of participants’ compliance and/or resistance with respect to change at the beginning of the twenty-first century when the Pakistani higher education system was shifting dramatically from a local to global perspective. Despite serious issues and weaknesses, change was gradual over time and the most strongly contested reforms were those that did not align with existing practices. In sum, the findings support the notion that change is complicated, and that the reasons for this complexity stem from factors that are structural, emotional, political and personal. The results of this study will be of interest to administrators and educators as they prepare for future challenges within the Pakistani context. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed, and directions for future research are identified.

The problem of climate change is the major challenge to the world community. However, the full world community still fails to find an adequate solution to this problem. In such a situation, the mutual efforts of plurilateral institutions, such as the G8+5, MEM (now MEF), APEC and APP are major drivers of the successful solution to the problem of climate change. This study examines these informal plurilateral institutions’ role, their effectiveness in policy creation and implementation, and their potential impact on global or regional climate governance to show that the APP and MEF have been effective in inducing climate action by their members. This paper applies an analytic framework of the six dimensions of global government developed by John J. Kirton. The development of environmental initiatives of six Asia-Pacific countries(the U.S., Canada, Japan, China, Korea and Russia) have been accompanied by the introduction of energy efficient technologies policies such as building and clean coal policies.

Climate change debates have typically centred around the environmental and economic effects of rising greenhouse gas emissions. The focus, however, has recently begun to shift towards acknowledging the human impacts of global climate change, especially in vulnerable regions and communities. This thesis considers whether human rights law can compensate for the inability of traditional, state-centred, environmental law and international law to address the human impacts of climate change. By using the situation of the Canadian Inuit as a case study, this thesis focuses on 'greening' existing human rights to address the environmental damage in the Canadian Arctic as a result of climate change. This study concludes that, although international human rights regimes provide potential forums for groups such as the Canadian Inuit, substantive environmental human rights are necessary in international law in order to best address the complex intersection of environmental degradation, such as climate change, and human rights.