Disruptive classroom behavior has led many schools to implement positive behavioral strategies intended to create orderly learning environments. Despite initiation of such a strategy, an elementary school in the mid-Atlantic region still experienced an increase in office referrals and a decline in student achievement. The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to investigate the connections between a blended behavior program and student behavior and academic achievement, as well as staff perceptions about their experience with the program, and the degree to which the practices were implemented with fidelity. Skinner's behavioral theory served as the theoretical basis for the investigation. Office referrals and standardized math scores of 72 students were analyzed across 3 years, including the year before and the 2 years following the implementation of the blended behavior program, to determine whether significant differences existed within-subjects. Interviews were conducted with 9 teachers, representing kindergarten-6th grade, to explore staff perceptions of the blended behavior program. Quantitative results indicated a reduction in referrals after the 1st year of implementing the blended program and an improvement in math achievement after the 2nd year. While a decline in math scores occurred the 1st year of implementation and an increase the 2nd year, the difference in net performance rendered the results inconclusive to determine the influence of the program on achievement. Qualitative results revealed inconsistencies in the way teachers implemented the program initiatives. This study contributes to positive social change by providing stakeholders a deeper understanding of the blended program and increasing staff capacity to manage challenging behaviors.

Most scientists agree that the earth's temperature continues to rise. The heat gain is more pronounced in urban areas due to a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect. The urban heat island effect is a seemingly inevitable result of urban development, which has far reaching consequences. With energy costs skyrocketing and the destruction of the environment at risk, urban structures and buildings must do more to make our urban settings more environmentally friendly. So far, there are two well known ways to combat these effects. First, the heat island can be slightly be negated by adding well-watered vegetation to a site. Second, is to use building materials and systems that reflect the light, thus increasing the overall albedo of an urban area. Albedo is the ratio of the light energy is reflected compared that of which is absorbed. The combinations of these two practices are some of the components in green architecture. To Date, the United States has been slow to adopt policies that reduce the urban heat gain. Likewise, developers have been hesitant to construct these buildings due to implied cost and lack of knowledge. The intent of this project is to show that there are many strategies and design features that can be implemented to combat the urban heat island effect, even in the most challenging locations. The project will also employ green architecture methods in a commercial sector that has yet to fully grasp the potential to reduce heat gain and lower the urban heat island effects. To aid in the research, this project will detail buildings that are already addressing the urban heat island. The document will identify the most effective and inexpensive ways to solve this problem. It will also describe what can be done to reduce heat waste generated by lighting and cooling. In doing so, the information garnered should lead to design strategies that new buildings can utilize to reduce the urban heat island effect.

Abstract In New Zealand's compulsory education sector quality assurance is undertaken by the Education Review Office (ERO). When a school is found to be less effective than is acceptable through the triennial review process, ERO may return to review that school within six or twelve months. This Supplementary Review is identified to the Ministry of Education (MOE) which has several levels of intervention at its disposal which can be employed singularly or in concert to improve the school. Despite the support and interventions funded and/or managed by MOE, some schools have consecutive Supplementary Reviews and some remain under Statutory Intervention for several years. Commonalities among these schools that repeatedly or consistently present as 'at risk' may indicate a need for greater or different support or intervention. Self managing schools, while effective for many schools, may not be a workable and sustainable proposition for others. This may well be particularly true for those schools identified as 'at risk'. This paper considers ERO's process to identify schools 'at risk' and subsequent interventions employed by MOE to support the Principal and Board of Trustees in addressing improvements required within the school. Statistics and document analysis were used to extract data from documents with findings presented as a series of tables. It seeks a match between what is identified by ERO and the Statutory Intervention engaged by MOE. It explores the commonalities of schools under Statutory Intervention and on Supplementary Review. Practice in other countries is also considered in an effort to understand and contextualise the ideas and beliefs that support these approaches. While there is evidence ERO identifies teacher and Principal performance as major areas of concern, lead issues for Statutory Interventions in the same schools focus on the performance of the Board of Trustees as those with the responsibility of governing the school. The focus on governance to improve school performance is not working for some schools, more or different support may be necessary to effect positive change. The balance between capacity building, incentives and accountability for all involved in schools with Statutory Interventions, appears necessary for those with the capacity to improve.

We are currently at a point in time in Australia where questions concerning how to govern police have never been more pressing or more fluid. Systemic corruption has been identified in several states; a range of new accountability mechanisms have been established internal and external to police and in Victoria police corruption has been linked with a violent 'gangland war'. This thesis locates these contemporary developments within a broader analysis of the historical circumstances shaping the changing techniques for governing state police. More specifically, this thesis engages in a detailed comparative study of the changing techniques of governing police in Queensland and Victoria. The theoretical tools to conduct this analysis are drawn from 'governmentality studies'. This refers to a broad grouping of theoretical scholarship concerned with the changing ideas - or 'political rationalities' - on how to govern some thing or some activity, and the underlying reasoning, justifications and ambitions contained within the practical tools or 'techniques' used to govern. Central to the thesis is an argument that a new politics of policing has emerged recently, one that extends the dyad of the old accountability - 'police powers' and 'external accountability' - to a pluralisation of accountability processes and structures. The thesis argues that governmentality studies offer new insights into ways of analysing the techniques for governing state police, increasingly shaped by the managerialisation of governing and embodying efforts to make police innovative, risk-taking problems-solvers. This is what I refer to as an open-ended normative project for re-making the entrepreneurial officer. However, a detailed examination of the development of governmental techniques for 'making up' the entrepreneurial officer indicates that such a governmental project is not implemented unproblematically. Nonetheless, the thesis concludes that the attempts to remake the entrepreneurial officer through the managerialisation of governing presents distinct possibilities for a new 'politics of policing' that fosters deliberative, reflective police practice within a new framework of police accountabilities.

The main aim of this thesis centred on what made effective professional development programs. As a particular case study data was collected on those programs sponsored by the Melbourne Catholic Education Office. Teachers from three schools in the North Western Metropolitan Zone of Melbourne, Australia, the principals from the three participating schools and training staff from the Catholic Education Office in Melbourne became the subjects of the study. The data collected from questionnaires was analysed in order to ascertain whether there were any common trends as to what the teachers thought was needed in effective professional development programs. The interviews with the participating principals and training staff were taped and later analysed in order to determine what they believed was the purpose of professional development and whether the programs currently being offered were effective. In addition, a list of characteristics of effective professional development was developed from the relevant research literature. The analysis of the above data was used to develop a model of effective professional development. The design of this model is cyclical. A main characteristic of the model promotes the reflection by both the participants and the training providers on what has occurred during the program and this process of reflection contributes in later development of programs in similar areas. It was also concluded that the needs and expectations from professional development of teachers and principals were different to what has been expected in past research projects. Both the teachers and principals expected that they would not be solely immersed in theory or in activities that may be used in the classroom. Instead they hoped to gain a knowledge of activities that are based on theory and develop an understanding of how these activities may be used and how they will assist in student learning. Hence, the link between the theory and its application was believed by teachers and principals to be of primary importance in professional development in order to maintain high teaching practices and in turn result in improved student learning.

The Catholic Education Office (CEO) Sydney is a large non-government education authority which administers the systemic, Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Sydney, Australia. The system consists of 148 primary and secondary schools with an enrolment of some 62,000 students. The major research question was: What characteristics of a learning organization can be identified in the Catholic Education Office (CEO) Sydney and are these perceived to raise standards in systemic schools of the Archdiocese of Sydney? Like all western education systems the CEO Sydney is immersed in constant change and is expected to account for improving educational standards within the system. The learning organization with its emphasis on adaptability and continuous improvement was considered an appropriate framework within which to conduct this research. The study consisted of two main parts the first investigated the CEO Sydney as a learning organization using a survey questionnaire distributed, using a dedicated web site, to a sample of primary and secondary principals in the system and a smaller number of senior CEO Sydney personnel. The response rate was 91%. This was complemented by examination of relevant CEO Sydney documentation and policies. The definition of the learning organization adopted for the study consisted of eight characteristics each of which formed a scale in the questionnaire. The eight characteristics adopted were: ‘Systemic Thinking and Mental Models’, ‘Continuous Improvement of Work’, ‘Taking Initiatives and Risks’, ‘Ongoing Professional Development’, ‘Trusting and Collaborative Climate’, ‘Shared and Monitored Vision/Mission’, ‘Effective Communication Channels’ and ‘Team Work and Team Learning’. This part of the study was essentially a quantitative one, with the data subjected to descriptive, statistical analysis complemented by some clarifying and contextualising qualitative data. The second part of the study investigated the perceived relationship between the CEO Sydney and its learning organization characteristics and the standards in three curriculum outcome areas (religious education, literacy and numeracy). This part of the study was also quantitative using descriptive statistics complemented by Pearson correlation, multiple regression and canonical correlational analyses. Once again some relevant contextualising qualitative data was gathered. Five demographic groups (gender, role, region (principals only), years of experience as a principal and age) were examined to see if there were any differences in the extent to which the various learning organization characteristics and curriculum outcomes were identified by each group. The results of this study indicated that the CEO Sydney exhibited many of the characteristics of a learning organization with particular strengths in ‘Continuous Improvement of Work’, ‘Systemic Thinking and Mental Models’ and ‘Shared and Monitored Vision/Mission’. The weakest characteristic was ‘Taking Initiatives and Risks’. Demographic group analysis of this data revealed that there were no statistically significant differences in the responses of the different demographic groups. The results also indicated that there were correlations between the CEO Sydney as a learning organization and raising standards particularly in religious education and literacy and less so in numeracy. Finally, the study made a number of recommendations for the further development of the CEO Sydney as a learning organization and ways that it can further raise standards in the schools of the system.

Buildings have a significant impact on the environment due to the energy required for the manufacture of construction materials. The method of assessing the energy embodied in a product is known as energy analysis. Detailed office building embodied energy case studies are very rare. However, there is evidence to suggest that the energy requirements for the construction phase of commercial buildings, including the energy embodied in materials, is a significant component of the life cycle energy requirements. This thesis sets out to examine the current state of energy analysis, determine the national average energy intensities < i.e. embodied energy rates < for building materials and assess the significance of using national average energy intensities for the energy analysis of a case study office building. Likely ranges of variation in the building material embodied energy rates from the national averages are estimated and the resulting distribution for total embodied energy in the case study building simulated. Strategies for improving the energy analysis methods and data are suggested. Detailed energy analysis is shown to be a useful indicative method of quantifying the energy required for the construction of buildings.

This study originated from a professional interest of the researcher in competency standards and their implementation in the professions. The study was conducted with the aim of informing policy development and implementation in Namibia in this area by drawing lessons from the Australian experience. It set out to identify the factors that influenced the implementation of this policy in Australia, the importance of these factors and the strategies employed by implementors to enhance successful implementation. The study is grounded in policy implementation theory. Twenty professions have been involved in developing and implementing competency standards in Australia under the guidance and with the support of a national government organisation called the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR). The main objectives of the Australian government in implementing this policy were the improvement of migrant skills recognition and the achievement of recognition for professional qualifications across state and territory borders. Time and budgetary constraints would not allow the involvement of all the professional groups in this study, so four groups were selected based on their size and progress made in developing and implementing the standards. The groups ranged from a very large professional group (more than 250 000 members) to a very small professional group (approximately 3 500 members). Eleven respondents from NOOSR and the professional groups participated in the study. Data was gathered by structured interview, a rating schedule and document analysis. The study found that there were seventeen factors that influenced this process as perceived by the respondents. These factors were classified into five categories: technical, political, economic, administrative and political, and then placed on a matrix with the levels at which they exerted their greatest pressure: external, internal to the professional body, and on the steering group. This classification of factors gave indications of the types of strategies and the level of intervention which may address implementation problems best. The study compiled a list of the factors in order of importance as rated by the respondents. This ranking showed that leadership was the most important factor, followed by experience and expertise of the steering group and the need for and appropriateness of the standards for the professions. The study also found that the Australian government employed inducement, capacity building and facilitation strategies to enhance the successful vii implementation of the standards, while the professional bodies employed mainly staff development and training as strategies. The study concluded that Namibian policy makers and implementors can draw the following lessons from the Australian experience: 1. there is a need for a balance between pressure and support from government; 2. there is a role for a national implementation plan; 3. the main attraction of national competency standards is still the many uses it can be put to and the many purposes it serves for different organisations; 4. assessment strategies need to be considered from the beginning; 5. the methodology of using a representative steering group to lead standards development is one of the best features of the Australian approach; 6. Over time, the original objectives of the policy became low priority for NOOSR and the government; 7. the classification matrix can be used as a planning tool; and 8. the ranking of the factors indicates the importance of organisational, technical and economic factors.

近年來大量的就業人口都是利用辦公室的生產者，例如美國在70年代有25%的新進工作人員在辦公室進行工作，而至80年代更提高至27%。在此種狀況下，就臺灣地區而言，大型現代化辦公大樓的需求必然會逐漸強烈，尤其在跨國性的旅行、信託（保險）公司、專業服務性公司的不斷地在台灣設立分據點之後，對高品質辦公大樓的需求必然會持續增加，另外在國際性企業大量「進出」台灣後，未來不動產市場的兩大趨勢：一是大型現代化辦公大樓勢將不足，特別是擁有自動化系統的辦公大樓將嚴重缺乏；二是申小型及老舊的辦公市場將會停滯。特別是臺北都會區為臺灣地區的政經中心，具有吸引辦公大樓集中此地的客觀要件。，況且辦公大樓的供需有時間落差，一旦不動產市場景氣有所變化，辦公大樓的供需便產生失調，使得空閒率上升或是供不應求，形成資源浪費，因此制定合理的供需模式，進行都會區的前程規劃，使有限的土地資源得以合理的利用，以維持都會的成長。 　　本論文共有六章，內含二十一節，相關內容如下： 　　第壹章：含研究動機、目的、流程、方法及研究範圍之說明。 　　第貳章：針對辦公大樓與聚集經濟以及國外研究辦公大樓供需模式之相關文獻予收集整理，以為理論分析之基礎。 　　第參章：將辦公大樓市場運作的過程進行模擬，並對影響辦公大樓供需之因子分別加以探討，配合存貨調整模型，解決理想與期望之間的差益。 　　第肆章：將目前台北都會區辦公大樓之實況予清析之描述，使理論與實際狀況互相調整其差益異點。 　　第伍章：由理論模式之觀點截取所須之市場性資料，配合VAR之動態迴歸模型進行辦公大樓的實證分析。 　　第陸章：綜合前文之分析，提出本研究之結論與建議。 / In recent years,many new employees are work in office.For ex ample,in American there are 25% new employees are work in office in 70',and in 80',the office's employment rate became 27% . In T aiwan ,modern office building's demand will become graduate stro ng year for year. Because many international cooperation set bra nches in Taiwan. In future, office building' s development has fa ce tow conditions;the first is modern and large scale office wil l lack of the necessary ,the others is old type office will rebu ilt or depreciation. Especial Taipei is the capital of Taiwan an d lack of land, In these years, real estate's price arise too hi gh. Many manufacturing plant can not offer higher rent so plant move out. This situation make damage to Taiwan's economy develop ment, so the urban planning department need preplanning with oth er land use. In order to get the goal of equal rughts.

This research seeks to find a design solution for reducing the energy usage in high-rise office buildings in Singapore. There are numerous methods and techniques that could be employed to achieve the purpose of designing energy efficient buildings. The Thesis explores the viability of double-skin fa??ades (DSF) to provide natural ventilation as an energy efficient solution for office buildings in hot and humid environment by using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations and case study methodologies. CFD simulations were used to examine various types of DSF used in office buildings and the behaviour of airflow and thermal transfer through the DSF; the internal thermal comfort levels of each office spaces were analyzed and compared; and an optimization methodology was developed to explore the best DSF configuration to be used in high-rise office buildings in the tropics. The correlation between the fa??ade configurations, the thermal comfort parameters, and the internal office space energy consumption through the DSF is studied and presented. The research outcome of the Thesis has found that significant energy saving is possible if natural ventilation strategies could be exploited with the use of DSF. A prototype DSF configuration which will be best suited for the tropical environment in terms of its energy efficiency through cross ventilation strategy is proposed in this Thesis. A series of comprehensive and user-friendly nomograms for design optimization in selecting the most appropriate double-skin fa??ade configurations with considerations of various orientations for the use in high-rise office buildings in the tropics were also presented.