Urban centers and smaller communities across Canada are witnessing an increase in youth gang activity. But, determining both the level and nature of youth gang involvement/activity is problematic, in part because of varied interpretations of what it means to be a gang. Many Canadians believe that a gang is a structured organization with crime as their main objective. However, youth gangs can range from associations involving a loosely organized collective of friends that come together to protect their neighborhood to that of the hardcore gangs who have political agendas and are structurally organized. It is much more difficult to determine the level and nature of youth gang activity because they are ever changing entities depending on factors such as race, socio-economic status, and community. Youth gangs become a burden to society financially, emotionally, and mentally. Costs are incurred due to vandalism and an increase in crime: while anguish and a heightened sense of fear/anxiety speak to the emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects resulting from gang activities.<p> This study is a qualitative analysis that focuses on how agencies in Saskatoon define youth gang activities and behaviors. The agencies involved constitute community based organizations, permanent and part-time holding residences, justice and city officials. Grounded theory analysis was utilized to maintain the original interviewees own voices from interviews to the final product. The final analysis is divided into three sections that focus on: characteristics of Saskatoon youth gangs, implications of defining, and programming. By analyzing these themes we begin to see that defining youth gangs becomes a very political issue and that agencies who work with youth have difficulty in coming to terms in creating a common definition of youth gangs for Saskatoon.

This thesis assesses the underlying political and financial reasons of the recent budgetary crisis of the European Union. It aims to discuss the possible reform alternatives for the European Union budget in order to improve it to better serve for the objectives of the enlarged Union and to enable the Member States to share the budget burden more fairly. To this purpose, the thesis first analyzes the budget of the European Union in terms of its aims, evolution and structure of revenue and expenditure items and than presents a general overview of the shortcomings of the present own resources system. In general, the thesis discusses possible reform areas, in which the reform process could take place. The thesis also shows how the Union overcame the policy challenges, and particularly the budgetary implications brought out with the inclusion of Central and Eastern European countries and how its financial perspectives covering the 2000-06 and 2007-2013 periods were finalized.

The availability of new treatments for a disease depends on the success of clinical trials. In order for a clinical trial to be successful and approved, medical researchers must first recruit patients with a specific set of conditions in order to test the effectiveness of the proposed treatment. In the past, the accrual process was tedious and time-consuming. Since accruals rely heavily on the ability of physicians and their staff to be familiar with the protocol eligibility criteria, candidates tend to be missed. This can result and has resulted in unsuccessful trials.A recent project at the University of South Florida aimed to assist research physicians at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida, with a screening process by utilizing a web-based expert system, Moffitt Expedited Accrual Network System (MEANS). This system allows physicians to determine the eligibility of a patient for several clinical trials simultaneously.We have implemented this web-based expert system at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Gastroenterology (GI) Clinic. Based on our findings and staff feedback, the system has undergone many optimizations. We used data mining techniques to analyze the medical data of current gastrointestinal patients. The use of the Apriori algorithm allowed us to discover new rules (implications) in the patient data. All of the discovered implications were checked for medical validity by a physician, and those that were determined to be valid were entered into the expert system. Additional analysis of the data allowed us to streamline the system and decrease the number of mouse clicks required for screening. We also used a probability-based method to reorder the questions, which decreased the amount of data entry required to determine a patient's ineligibility.

Value-added models are complex statistical formulas that aim to isolate the effect a teacher has on student learning. States and districts across the nation are adopting laws and policies that will evaluate teachers, in part, using the results provided by value-added models. In many states and districts, these evaluations will be used to inform high-stakes decisions about teacher salary and retention. However, value-added models are imperfect tools for assessing teacher effectiveness, and many scholars have argued that they are not appropriate for use in high-stakes decisions. This Article provides a brief history of the use of value-added models in public education and summarizes the major criticisms of using value-added models. In this context, the Article analyzes and evaluates the extent to which substantive due process claims brought by teachers adversely affected by the results of value-added models will be successful. The Article concludes that while the system as a whole is rationally related to the objective of improving the overall effectiveness of the teaching workforce, in certain cases, individual teachers will be able to successfully claim that the results of their value-added model led to a termination that was arbitrary and capricious. Finally, the paper offers some recommendations to states and school districts on how to implement an evaluation system using value-added models to avoid substantive due process violations. / text

Modern DBMSes are designed to support many transactions running simultaneously. DBMS thrashing is indicated by the existence of a sharp drop in transaction throughput. The thrashing behavior in DBMSes is a serious concern to DBAs engaged in on-line transaction processing (OLTP) and on-line analytical processing (OLAP) systems, as well as to DBMS implementors developing technologies related to concurrency control. If thrashing is prevalent in a DBMS, thousands of transactions may be aborted, resulting in little progress in transaction throughput over time. From an engineering perspective, therefore, it is of critical importance to understand the factors of DBMS thrashing. However, understanding the origin of modern DBMSes' thrashing is challenging, due to many factors that may interact. The existing literature on thrashing exhibits the following weaknesses: (i) methodologies have been based on simulation and analytical studies, rather than on empirical analysis on real DBMSes, (ii) scant attention has been paid to the associations between factors, and (iii) studies have been restricted to one specific DBMS rather than across multiple DBMSes. This dissertation aims at better understanding the thrashing phenomenon across multiple DBMSes. We identify the underlying causes and propose a novel structural causal model to explicate the relationships between various factors contributing to DBMS thrashing. Our model derives a number of specific hypotheses to be subsequently tested across DBMSes, providing empirical support for this model as well as engineering implications for fundamental improvements in transaction processing. Our model also guides database researchers to refine this causal model, by looking into other unknown factors.

Salmon aquaculture can be a potential solution to bridge the gap between declining capture fisheries and increasing seafood demand. However, the environmental impacts it creates have generated criticism. The overall objectives of this dissertation are to examine the economic consequences of environmental issues associated with salmon aquaculture, and to explore policy implications and recommendations for reducing environmental impacts. These objectives are addressed in five main analyses. The growth of salmon aquaculture is analyzed based on farmed salmon production in the four leading producing countries and the sector as a whole. Analyses indicate that salmon aquaculture is unlikely to continue to grow at its current pace. A joint production function approach is used to estimate pollution abatement costs for the salmon aquaculture industry. Results reveal that pollution abatement costs vary among observations and models. On average, pollution abatement cost is estimated at 3.5% in terms of total farmed salmon production, and 6.5% in terms of total revenue of farmed salmon. The ecological and economic impacts of sea lice from salmon farms on wild salmon population and fisheries are also studied. Analyses suggest that these effects are minor when the sea lice induced mortality rate is below 20%, while they can be severe if the mortality is greater than 30%. Sea lice have greater ecological and economic impacts on pink salmon than on chum salmon. These effects are greater under a fixed exploitation rate than under a target escapement policy. The economic performance of open netcage and sea-bag production systems for salmon aquaculture is compared. Netcage systems appear to be more economically profitable than sea-bag systems when environmental costs are either not or only partially included. Sea-bag systems can be financially profitable only when the salmon they produce can achieve a price premium. Finally, policy implications are explored and recommendations are made for sustaining salmon aquaculture in a holistic manner based on the results from previous chapters. Technologies, economic-based instruments and more stringent environmental policies can be employed to reduce environmental impacts. However, there is no single solution to solve these environmental impacts, and a combination of policy options is needed.

This thesis examines the historical evolution of the credit transfer policy and its implications on the roles and interplay between colleges and universities. This in-depth analysis of credit transfer evaluates the establishment of College of Applied Arts and Technology (CAATs) in the 1960s, to present day initiatives in place to create a system wide credit transfer system between colleges and universities. The theoretical framework is comprised of two major components: firstly, through an examination of policy tools used over the years, this thesis provides a basis to understand measures that have been employed to address the issue of credit transfer. Secondly, through the organization adaptation approach and resource dependency theory, the credit transfer discussion contextualizes the overall impact on the relationship between colleges and universities. The findings conclude that although higher educational institutions are proactively responding to credit transfer demands, the hierarchical structure between universities and colleges is still prevalent.

This thesis examines the historical evolution of the credit transfer policy and its implications on the roles and interplay between colleges and universities. This in-depth analysis of credit transfer evaluates the establishment of College of Applied Arts and Technology (CAATs) in the 1960s, to present day initiatives in place to create a system wide credit transfer system between colleges and universities. The theoretical framework is comprised of two major components: firstly, through an examination of policy tools used over the years, this thesis provides a basis to understand measures that have been employed to address the issue of credit transfer. Secondly, through the organization adaptation approach and resource dependency theory, the credit transfer discussion contextualizes the overall impact on the relationship between colleges and universities. The findings conclude that although higher educational institutions are proactively responding to credit transfer demands, the hierarchical structure between universities and colleges is still prevalent.

This research project investigated girls' perceptions of specialist computer courses in secondary schools. Literature both international and in New Zealand indicate a dwindling number of females pursuing study and careers in ICT. This project identified some of the factors influencing girls' choices to take computer courses; their perceptions on computer careers and the implications for teachers and schools. The research was based on a collective case study with embedded cases. Data was collected from a survey using a mind map and questionnaire, as well as semi-structured face-to-face interviews. A descriptive narrative derived from the interviews with five of the participants is presented as well as cross case analysis for more than five participants. Overall the students' accounts revealed complex, inter-related and disparate data regarding their perceptions of computing. The data revealed confusion with language and terminology; a perception of variance in levels of knowledge and abilities in specific courses; stereotypical perceptions of computing; and differences in experience, relevance and choices within the computing context. The study highlights issues related to the association of computing with science and mathematics; girls' perceptions of the relevance and content of computer courses; genderrelated issues with computing; apparent lack of knowledge of computer careers and how schools label and describe their computer courses. It also puts forward some implications for schools and suggests some actions that schools could take as a starting point to try and break down some of the stereotypes and myths that seem to be discouraging girls into specialist computer courses.

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