The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of class size reduction (CSR) on student performance while implementing Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The researcher sought to examine test scores specifically in 1st grade classrooms during the 1st year implementation of CCSS. Additionally, the researcher wanted to assist school leaders in identifying ways to motivate teachers to perform at the highest level and focus on student outcomes. The results indicated that students in the CSR classes had higher scores than the students in the non-CSR classes in some subjects. The findings from this study were consistent with the studies in the literature. There was a difference in the pre-test scores and the post-test scores of the CSR and non-CSR. The post-test scores were higher for the students enrolled in the reduction classes. School leaders should consider reducing class size and find a balance between CCSS and the Mississippi frameworks. This challenge will require the support and understanding of the entire learning community and other key members of the educational community. School leaders will be primarily responsible for ensuring this new initiative is put into practice at a high level of rigor to ensure that students are prepared for college and/or a career.

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The binding energy of the tritium nucleus is calculated by the variational method, using static repulsive core potentials. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

At one local school site in Georgia, a subgroup of students did not achieve a score of at least 800 on the state's Criterion Referenced Competency Test in math. To improve student success, the local site implemented professional development (PD) for teachers. Successful PD has been shown to promote effective teaching practices, which in turn, have resulted in improved student learning. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore 5th grade teachers' lived experiences of PD and its influence on their application of the Common Core state standards. Bandura's social cognitive theory of self-efficacy guided the study. In-depth interview data were gathered from 5 teachers who taught 5th grade and experienced at least 3 PD sessions. Data from the interviews were transcribed, open coded, and then analyzed with the interpretive model in search of common themes. The 5 teachers' narratives identified ineffective and irrelevant PD and insufficient math resources for teaching the state's math standards. Based on the findings, 3 original PD sessions on the planning and implementation of the state standards were created and additional training and resources were recommended to the local site. This study may promote positive social change by helping local teachers improve their instruction of the state's mathematics standards, thereby improving the mathematics education of students.

Since Taiwan implemented the two-day weekend in 1998, ¡§home stay¡¨ industry has become a hot trend in leisure and become more and more commercial. Therefore, the research motivation of the case study is to find out the key success factors in business strategies of the home stay industry in Taiwan. The research methods of this study are to interview home stay operators, to directly experience home stay, to collect consumer questionnaires, and to probe into literature information. Social science research is used to collect data. Then, qualitative research and descriptive statistics are used to analyze information and discuss the results. The results of the case study of the key success factors in business strategies of the home stay industry are as follows: 1.Core assets: A. Home stay operators must choose a right location. B. Home stay operators must have adequate financial resources, own land, aesthetic architectures, and etc. 2.Core competencies: A. Home stay operators need to have personal special expertise, knowledge, or skills. B. Home stay operators need to have correct business ideas. C. Home stay operators need the abilities of business strategies and implementation. D. Home stay operators are able to prioritize service quality and create a brand. 3.Characteristics and charms of operators: A. Operators need the personal characteristics and charms to establish close interaction with customers. B. Operators have the characteristics of tenacious perseverance to overcome operating obstacles on the early-stage venture. With the core resources and core competences mentioned above, operators integrate all kinds of resources and exert the business method of ¡§synergy ¡¨ to enhance competitive advantages and to create value for future home stay business.

Studien avser att förklara riksdagspartiernas inställning mot Natomedlemskap över tid. Därför utförs en policyanalys inom ramen för ''The Advocacy Coalition Framework'’. Detta genomförs genom att kategorisera riksdagspartierna till relevanta advocacy coalitions utifrån deras beliefs. Studien använder sig av utrikespolitiska debatter för att avgöra respektive riksdagspartis beliefs. Genom att undersöka riksdagspartiernas normative och empirical policy core beliefs över tid kan studien finna likheter och skillnader mellan advocacy coalitions. Vad studien kommer fram till är hur riksdagspartierna tar en annan ställning inom säkerhetspolitiken och hur gemensamma beliefs kan förekomma mellan advocacy coalitions. Med åren går det även att se hur riksdagspartier börjar värna mer om militära medel för svensk säkerhet. Studien erbjuder också ett teoretiskt intressant inlägg genom att lyfta upp hur empirical policy core beliefs binder också advocacy coalitions varifrån tidigare forskning visar hur oftast normative policy core beliefs avgör strukturen i advocacy coalitions. Riksdagspartiers ställningstagande antingen för Natomedlemskap eller mot Natomedlemskap blev relevant för vilken advocacy coalition riksdagspartierna blev kategoriserade inom.

未來企業競爭優勢的來源必須來自於本身的核心競爭力及必須建構新的核心競爭力，國內外專家學者對於核心競爭力的意義和來源以及探討核心核心競爭力的發展的過程已有一些研究，但是當外在環境改變時，企業如何能夠繼續運用原有的核心競爭力及如何建構新的核心競爭力方面的研究卻較少。因此，本論文就以擁有創新研發、製造技術、速度、規模與彈性的Intel公司為例，針對面對現有的競爭廠商及當未來環境的發展及應用延伸到寬頻、無線通訊及資訊家電等多元應用領域時，Intel如何延伸原有的核心競爭力和適當維持與運用其資源與能力來建構新的核心競爭力而能夠延伸成為其新的長期核心競爭力並爭取到進入新的市場的機會，創造新的競爭優勢。本研究歸納的研究發現如下　: 　　一、企業的研發單位可以把研發經費放在推動技術的商業化上來累積資源和增加及鞏固企業內部的核心競爭力。 　　二、核心競爭力的延伸可以從未來的角度看產品和技術，而不是根據以往的經驗看待下個世代的產品或技術。 　　三、運用產業規格的制定和繼續不斷的投資才能鞏固和建立企業的核心競爭力，也才有機會延伸企業原有的核心競爭力到下一個新市場來制定新的規格。 　　四、產品規格的市場因素是影響核心技術開發創造成功的重要因素。 　　五、核心競爭力具有延展性，核心競爭力的創造與累積在於企業內部資源的有效運用與共享。 　　六、核心競爭力的建立靠著長時間學習的累積多過發明的躍進。 　　七、企業領導者的願景和價值觀，企業的管理制度和組織文化對延伸企業的核心競爭力有很大的影響。 　　八、路徑相依度高，知識的擴散與移轉將變得更容易。 　　九、面對未來的新產業，成立新事業部門是建構新的核心競爭力的重要方法。 　　研究結果發現，Intel能夠成功適當地運用企業原有的內部核心競爭力（資產能力和管理制度）並能夠建構新的核心競爭力而能夠有能力延伸到新的網路無線通訊市場領域。Intel的企業優勢主要為能夠繼續投資創新研發在晶圓廠和半導體製程，領先競爭對手的研發製程技術，擁有經濟規模而有產業規格制定的能力來主導市場，能夠提供完整平台解決方案的能力，‘Intel Inside’行銷策略的成功，領導者和管理制度及企業文化價值觀的結合。當外部環境朝向無線網路通訊新領域發展時，Intel仍然繼續投資新的研發技術以開發新產品並降低成本，並且運用行銷策略聯盟、併購及轉投資新技術和成立新事業部的方式來建構及延伸其核心競爭力而進入新的無線網路通訊領域。 　　在微處理器市場的競爭，Intel是先佔廠商，採用的是大幅躍進在製程、速度及效能表現上大幅超越競爭對手的方式。而面對已有先佔廠商且許多新規格仍未明確的無線通訊網路市場，Intel是利用自行研發和外部取得新技術加上原有的研發創新製程技術以及配合原有的內部核心競爭力繼續建構成為新的核心競爭力而延伸到新的市場。 / The source of future corporate competitive advantages must come from their own existing core competence and also from building new core competences. Some scholars have already explored the meaning, source and process of the core competence, but when the outside environment changes, few scholars have studied how a corporation continually uses its original core competence and how it builds new core competences. Therefore, this thesis is a case study of Intel Corporation, which is a corporation with innovation R&D, manufacturing technology, speed, scale and flexibility. This thesis will focus on how Intel extends its original core competence, leverages resources and capability to build new, long-lasting core competences, thus seizing the opportunity of entering new markets facing today's competitive environment and future potential markets, including broadband, wireless communication and IA field. We could summarize this thesis to the following findings: 　　1. The corporation's R&D department may spend their R&D expenditures on the commercialization of technology in order to accumulate resources and also to increase and strengthen the corporation's inner core competence. 　　2. The extension of the core competence can help forecast the next generation of product and technology by a future perspective instead of past experience. 　　3. The establishment of the industry standards and continuous investment can help build and strengthen the corporation's core competence, and as a result, gives the corporation the chance to extend original core competences to the next new market and set up new industry standards. 　　4. The market factor of the product specification is a key success factor of core technology development. 　　5. Core competence is extensive, and the creation and accumulation of the core competence is based on effective leverage and sharing of corporate inner resources. 　　6. The building of the core competence is based more on the accumulation of long time learning than leapfrog inventions. 　　7. The vision and values of the corporate leader, the management style and the organizational culture all have great effect on extending the corporation's core competence. 　　8. The higher the extent of path dependence, the easier the knowledge spreading and transferring. 　　9. In the new future business, forming a new business group is an important method of building new core competence. 　　This thesis finds that Intel not only is able to successfully use its original core competence, it is also able to build new core competences enabling Intel to expand its market realm to broadband and wireless communication fields. Intel's corporate advantages mainly lie in continuous investment of IC and wafer manufacturing technologies; leading R&D and manufacturing processes; scale of economy; the establishment of industry standards therefore giving Intel the ability to dominate the industry; the capability of providing a total solution platform; the success of the “Intel Inside” marketing strategy; and the perfect combination of leader vision/value, management systems and corporate culture. When the outside environment changes and wireless communication seems to be the next gold mine, Intel continues to invest in new technology and new product development, cut down costs, extending core competences and entering new markets using various means including strategic alliances, merge & acquisitions, investing in new technology fields, and forming new business units or groups. 　　Intel is a first-mover and a dominant firm in the CPU market, and it stays on the edge by substantially staying ahead of competitors in manufacturing technologies, speed and efficiency performances. While facing the new wireless communication market, which already has a dominant firm but not yet a dominant industry standard, Intel chooses to use internally developed inventions and externally obtained technology, in coordination with existing advantages in manufacturing processes and original core competences, thus extend to the new markets.

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