Previous literature leaves us unanswered questions about whether teaching behaviors mediate the relationship between teacher education level and experience with student science achievement. This study examined this question with 655 students from sixth to eighth grade and their 12 science teachers. Student science achievements were measured at the beginning and end of 2006-2007 school year. Given the cluster sampling of students nested in classrooms, which are nested in teachers, a two-level multilevel model was employed to disentangle the effects from teacher-level and student-level factors. Several findings were discovered in this study. Science teachers possessing of advanced degrees in science or education significantly and positively influenced student science achievement. However, years of teaching experience in science did not directly influence student science achievement. A significant interaction was detected between teachers possessing an advanced degree in science or education and years of teaching science, which was inversely associated to student science achievement. Better teaching behaviors were also positively related to student achievement in science directly, as well as mediated the relationship between student science achievement and both teacher education and experience. Additionally, when examined separately, each teaching behavior variable (teacher engagement, classroom management, and teaching strategies) served as a significant intermediary between both teacher education and experience and student science achievement. The findings of this study are intended to provide insights into the importance of hiring and developing qualified teachers who are better able to help students achieve in science, as well as to direct the emphases of ongoing teacher inservice training.

As the international community takes increasing action to mitigate the effects of climate change, increased focus has been placed on the topic of energy transitions in developing countries. This paper uses the multi-level perspective (MLP) framework to analyze the ongoing energy transition in Mongolia, specifically the integration of large-scale wind and solar energy systems. Attention is paid to the presence of transnational linkages and intermediaries that have substantially contributed to Mongolia’s success in diffusing renewable energy technology, as well as challenges Mongolia has faced as a result of limited technological and institutional capacity. The paper concludes that Mongolia’s transition shares many similarities with other developing countries’ transitions, in that transition dynamics are highly influenced by exogenous actors and interests, rather than traditional factors as described by the MLP.

Healthcare is an organizational field that has undergone profound change in the last few decades, an era characterized by market reform. Healthcare production has revealed both economic and quality problems in past eras, and reporting on these problems can be seen to have contributed to pressures for social reform. Yet, the move toward more market-oriented governance structures and design solutions also reflects a wider isomorphic institutional tendency for organizing social order.The conceptual frame work of this study takes a pessimistic stance on whether the market reform has achieved the intended goals with respect to advancing organizational quality performance. The framework draws on institutional theory and complementary collective action notions in organization theory concerned with boundedly rational decision-making to reason that healthcare evidences certain contextual characteristics that are not a good fit with the market enterprise model of organizing organizations. Specifically, hazards to the efficient market thesis were considered to include uncertain outcomes, a high degree of technical and coordination complexity, and the need to account for intertemporal process transformations of significant duration.A longitudinal design was used to test efficient market thesis propositions. Inpatient administrative data was used to develop two latent hospital quality performance variables, a Mortality quality indicator and an Errors quality indicator. The two latent variables were derived from three selected AHRQ patient safety indicators and an inpatient mortality rate. The measurement model was validated as evidencing significant systematic between-hospital variation. Audited survey data, along with inpatient discharge data was used to develop hospital economic performance variables and process control variables.A set of predictive supply-and-demand models were used to test: 1) whether there is evidence of any trend in quality performance, and how market competition relates to observations of improvement; 2) whether quality cost more; and, 3) whether preferences for better quality outcomes related to hospital economic performance. A hierarchical linear model growth-curve design was employed to assess the predicted relationships and to account for unmeasured organizational dependent relations determinant of hospital quality performance. The unaccounted for systematic between-hospital variance was taken to estimate an "unspecified" hospital-specific institutional effect, independent of material-resource factors. The measurement model results for each of the quality indicators selected evidenced construct validity for patient-level risk-adjustment. Each quality indicator demonstrated a significant systematic between-group variance component in all of the four years studied. The two latent hospital quality performance variables also demonstrated systematic between-hospital variance in growth trajectories in the linear growth-curve model.The predictive models evidenced no significant growth rate trend for either of the quality indicators, indicating the competitive bar on quality performance was unaffected during this period of market reform. Neither was there any evidence that pricing mechanism were able to price the utility of better outcomes, as higher quality did not cost more. Neither was there evidence that consumer preferences for better quality related to better hospital economic performance, as measured by hospital operating margins.

Students cannot benefit from what they do not experience. Multiple reasons exist for why an intervention may not be delivered as it was designed. In this era of educational accountability and limited dollars to go around, understanding how an intervention is delivered in the classroom is key to understanding program outcomes. In order to assess whether a program has been implemented as intended, an assessment of fidelity is needed. However assessing fidelity is complex given varying conceptual interpretations, which then fosters inconsistent application of methods to measure the construct. Additionally the methods for validating fidelity measures are still unclear. The current study evaluated the reliability and validity of the student Instructional Pedagogical (10 items) and Instructional Student Engagement (15 items) scores for use in assessing teachers' fidelity of implementation on the participant responsiveness component of fidelity. The sample consisted of over 5,000 responses from students and 242 teachers in Mathematics and Science across three school districts and 41 schools to an online fidelity of implementation questionnaire. Given that students were nested within teachers, the data structure was multilevel, which warranted that the psychometric analyses be conducted using a multilevel framework. Instructional Pedagogy is represented by 10 items that measure three factors. Multilevel confirmatory factor analysis was used to test a two-level model that had three factors at the student-level and three factors at the teacher-level. Instructional Student Engagement is represented by 15 items that measure four factors. Multilevel confirmatory factor analysis was used to test a two-level model that had four factors at the student-level and four factors at the teacher-level. The psychometric results of the student questionnaire assessing the student engagement components of fidelity were mixed. Support for the factorial validity of the multilevel student models was mixed, with model fit indicating that some of the measured variables did not load strongly on their respective factors and some of the factors lacked discriminant validity. Lastly, the correlations between students' and teachers' scores for both the observed and latent variables (ranging from -.15 to .72 in math; -.07 to .41 in science) displayed limited convergent validity.

<p>Natural stress and disturbances are important factors affecting the structure and function of ecosystems. However the magnitude of stress has escalated due to anthropogenic activities. Environmental monitoring and toxicity assessments try to protect ecosystems from unwanted human alterations. The aim of this Doctoral thesis was to increase the understanding of the complex effects that environmental stress has on individuals and invertebrate populations. The low saline environment in the Baltic Sea is perceived as stressful for most organisms living there. In Paper I, it was found that Baltic blue mussels living in the less saline northern Baltic Proper (~5 psu) had lower basal metabolism and were more susceptible to toxic exposure than the mussels in the south (~7 psu). There was no genetic differentiation between the mussels from the northern and southern areas while there were genetic differences between mussels from sites within the respective areas (Paper III), indicating that there is not a simple relationship between the health of the mussels and genetic diversity in the microsatellite loci studied. In Paper IV it was found that the heat tolerance of the intertidal dogwhelk <i>Nucella lapillus</i> is oxygen dependent. Increased oxygen levels resulted in higher survival rate. Protein expression profiles also became more similar to those of the controls, compared to the whelks exposed to high temperature and normal oxygen levels. In Paper V and VI it was found that exposure to a single toxicant for more than one generation decreased the genetic diversity in exposed copepod populations even though abundances remained unaltered. In Paper VI, exposure to naturally contaminated sediments, which contained of a mixture of toxicants, did not decrease genetic diversity. However the genetic divergence (<i>F</i><i>ST</i>) within the treatments was very high, probably due to small effective population sizes in the replicates. Likewise in Paper III, the very low blue mussel abundance in the north together with the stressful environment suggests a small effective population in the northern Baltic Proper. In conclusion, my studies show that, measuring effects on several levels, including both functional and structural endpoints will both increase the sensitivity of the tests and increase their ecological relevance. </p>

No description available.

<p>In the light of the debate on the future of the European Union, a debate on new and better governance has started. One of the subjects of this debate is the Open Method of Coordination (OMC). It was initiated at the Lisbon European Council in 2000 as one of the ways to reach the strategic goals set for the EU at the same summit. Policy coordination was however applied in European policy- making before the Lisbon European Council. In the area of employment these activities had been operating for some years, and the OMC was created with the European Employment Strategy (EES) as a model. Now the OMC is also operating in the area of social inclusion policy, and a number of other policy areas. As its use is being extended, scholars as well as practitioners are studying it to determine its role and functions in EU governance. </p><p>This thesis aims at examining the open method of coordination, in an effort to position it in the European governance structure and discuss if it can be a sign of an emerging new mode of European governance. </p><p>Using a comparative approach, this thesis combines three methodologies; documentation analysis, interviews and case-studies. The analytical framework consists of existing modes of governance, as defined by Helen Wallace (2000). These are complemented with one more mode of governance. A discussion on governance in general and European governance in particular is also part of the analytical framework. </p><p>The OMC is studied by its definition and is further discussed from the view of the different European institutions. Finally a case study of its application in employment policy and social inclusion policy is presented. These findings are then set in relation to the governance modes in the analytical framework, in order to define and explain the OMC. A discussion of the notions of democracy and legitimacy is also held. The conclusions hold that the OMC is an interesting mix of multi-level governance, intensive transgovernmentalism and policy coordination and benchmarking. It also has interesting features of the innovative mode of network governance. This concludes that the OMC does not only build on innovative governance, but is an interesting balance between multi-level and intergovernmental governance. It is also based on notions of legitimacy rather than democracy. </p><p>Based on the findings in this thesis, the OMC should be seen as a sign of a new way of thinking about European governance. Its role should however not be exaggerated as most actors are very clear on it not being an alternative to ordinary Community action, and it should be seen as a complement rather than a substitute. The fact that the Convention on the future of Europe did not include the OMC into the draft constitutional treaty shows a somewhat ambivalent position towards it. It is concluded that the specific mix of governance features in the OMC is best served outside the treaty at this point.</p>

We live in the Anthropocene – an age where humans dominate natural systems – and there is ample evidence that our current practices degrade the capacity of natural systems to provide us with natural resources. How we, as humans, organize and learn, in communities and among state and other societal actors, constitute a decisive factor for both local management of natural resources and the functioning of the planet Earth. In other words, the outcome of learning has become a matter of governance across multiple levels. This thesis studies the role of social learning in governance of natural resources, asking the following three overarching questions: i) What are the institutional barriers limiting better environmental governance at different scales? ii) Is there a causal connection between social learning and better environmental governance? iii) What are the normative challenges with better environmental governance or social-ecological resilience being linked to the adaptive capacity of actors to learn socially? The primary method is semi-structured in-depth interviews. Papers provide results on institutional barriers such as competency traps and show how customs and current practices and collaborations limit better environmental governance. It is found that social learning might, and might not, lead to better environmental governance, and the causal connection between social learning and better environmental governance is found to be rather weak, with both variables depending on other factors. Enabling policy, a mandate to make broad assessments, or an engaged leader facilitating social learning, are examples of factors that explain the existence of both social learning and outcomes in terms of better environmental governance. It is concluded that since conditions for, and facilitation of, social learning are so important, research should focus more on what initiates social learning and how social learning can be mainstreamed across multiple levels of governance / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Submitted: Paper 4: Submitted; Paper 5: Submitted.

In the light of the debate on the future of the European Union, a debate on new and better governance has started. One of the subjects of this debate is the Open Method of Coordination (OMC). It was initiated at the Lisbon European Council in 2000 as one of the ways to reach the strategic goals set for the EU at the same summit. Policy coordination was however applied in European policy- making before the Lisbon European Council. In the area of employment these activities had been operating for some years, and the OMC was created with the European Employment Strategy (EES) as a model. Now the OMC is also operating in the area of social inclusion policy, and a number of other policy areas. As its use is being extended, scholars as well as practitioners are studying it to determine its role and functions in EU governance. This thesis aims at examining the open method of coordination, in an effort to position it in the European governance structure and discuss if it can be a sign of an emerging new mode of European governance. Using a comparative approach, this thesis combines three methodologies; documentation analysis, interviews and case-studies. The analytical framework consists of existing modes of governance, as defined by Helen Wallace (2000). These are complemented with one more mode of governance. A discussion on governance in general and European governance in particular is also part of the analytical framework. The OMC is studied by its definition and is further discussed from the view of the different European institutions. Finally a case study of its application in employment policy and social inclusion policy is presented. These findings are then set in relation to the governance modes in the analytical framework, in order to define and explain the OMC. A discussion of the notions of democracy and legitimacy is also held. The conclusions hold that the OMC is an interesting mix of multi-level governance, intensive transgovernmentalism and policy coordination and benchmarking. It also has interesting features of the innovative mode of network governance. This concludes that the OMC does not only build on innovative governance, but is an interesting balance between multi-level and intergovernmental governance. It is also based on notions of legitimacy rather than democracy. Based on the findings in this thesis, the OMC should be seen as a sign of a new way of thinking about European governance. Its role should however not be exaggerated as most actors are very clear on it not being an alternative to ordinary Community action, and it should be seen as a complement rather than a substitute. The fact that the Convention on the future of Europe did not include the OMC into the draft constitutional treaty shows a somewhat ambivalent position towards it. It is concluded that the specific mix of governance features in the OMC is best served outside the treaty at this point.

Natural stress and disturbances are important factors affecting the structure and function of ecosystems. However the magnitude of stress has escalated due to anthropogenic activities. Environmental monitoring and toxicity assessments try to protect ecosystems from unwanted human alterations. The aim of this Doctoral thesis was to increase the understanding of the complex effects that environmental stress has on individuals and invertebrate populations. The low saline environment in the Baltic Sea is perceived as stressful for most organisms living there. In Paper I, it was found that Baltic blue mussels living in the less saline northern Baltic Proper (~5 psu) had lower basal metabolism and were more susceptible to toxic exposure than the mussels in the south (~7 psu). There was no genetic differentiation between the mussels from the northern and southern areas while there were genetic differences between mussels from sites within the respective areas (Paper III), indicating that there is not a simple relationship between the health of the mussels and genetic diversity in the microsatellite loci studied. In Paper IV it was found that the heat tolerance of the intertidal dogwhelk Nucella lapillus is oxygen dependent. Increased oxygen levels resulted in higher survival rate. Protein expression profiles also became more similar to those of the controls, compared to the whelks exposed to high temperature and normal oxygen levels. In Paper V and VI it was found that exposure to a single toxicant for more than one generation decreased the genetic diversity in exposed copepod populations even though abundances remained unaltered. In Paper VI, exposure to naturally contaminated sediments, which contained of a mixture of toxicants, did not decrease genetic diversity. However the genetic divergence (FST) within the treatments was very high, probably due to small effective population sizes in the replicates. Likewise in Paper III, the very low blue mussel abundance in the north together with the stressful environment suggests a small effective population in the northern Baltic Proper. In conclusion, my studies show that, measuring effects on several levels, including both functional and structural endpoints will both increase the sensitivity of the tests and increase their ecological relevance.