This study investigates the relationship of student engagement with the design of structured group learning experiences (SGLEs) implemented by increasing numbers of community colleges. Using data from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) and the Community College Institutional Survey (CCIS), I employ Vygotsky's activity systems theory as a framework for interpreting the results of hierarchical linear models where student engagement measures are outcome variables, and the several covariates selected in terms of SGLEs as a social activity system. The results provide evidence that, among 24 different curricular elements of SGLEs, engagement is positively related to only a few of them, in particular co-curricular and community activities (campus or community service project(s), participation in campus activities/events outside the classroom, and service learning). There was limited evidence that engagement is related to duration and intensity of the programs; instead the evidence suggests that the people involved, both the personnel that teach and facilitate the programs, and the characteristics of the student participants, matter most to engagement. Even as this study provides the first views of the contours of student engagement within high-impact practices on a national scale, it also suggests that what may be important for engagement is that the programs bring people together for a purposeful experience at all. The results suggest the need for increased attention to co-curricular and community activities and professional development by practitioners; and for research, they propose hypotheses for further research such as the relative import of participation vis-à-vis program design, and they suggest new conceptual approaches to the study of high-impact practices generally. / text

English learners (ELs) across the United States have aspirations to continue their education and pursue careers in the English language. Because community colleges are educational institutions that not only generally provide open enrollment but are also more accessible and affordable than universities, they are a feasible option for many ELs. Community colleges often have an English as a Second Language (ESL) program available to ELs to help them reach the proficiency needed to study in the English language. This study explores how these programs are structured, who is administering and teaching in these programs, and if these programs track their students' academic success. Thirty- five different community colleges from 8 states in the U.S. participated in this study by answering 10 survey questions. The present study reports on the descriptive data gathered from these questions and then compares the results to observations from the previous literature on community college ESL programs. This study reports on data pertaining to topics of program type, funding, credit vs. non-credit bearing programs, teacher and administrator credentials, part-time vs. full-time positions, difficulty of hiring qualified employees, student enrollment, and tracking student academic success. This data contributes and inspires further conversations about community college ESL programs and areas of improvement.

Nous proposons une approche de gestion des processus métier configurables (cBP) offrant une vue consolidée des variantes de ces processus. Une variante est le résultat de l'ajustement d'un cBP en réponse à des besoins fonctionnels et / ou structurels. Cette approche utilise une base de connaissances pour suivre les spécificités de chaque variante représentée sous la forme d'arborescence de structure de processus configurable (cPST). Une implémentation de l'approche consistant à générer un cPST à partir d'un cBP est proposée. Nous appliquons cette approche pour calculer la complexité des processus métier configurables et prouver son avantage pour améliorer la qualité du cBP / We propose an approach for managing configurable Business Processes (cBP) that offer a consolidated view over these processes’ variants. A variant is the result of adjusting a BP in response to functional and/or structural needs. The approach uses a knowledge base to track the specificities of each variant that is represented as configurable Process Structure Tree (cPST). An implementation of the approach that consists of generating a cPST from a cBP is proposed. We apply this approach to compute configurable business process complexity and to prove its advantage for improving cBP quality

This diploma thesis describes the policy of economic and social cohesion, its development, objectives, principles, its instruments, legislative and institutional framework. Its concrete focus is on the methods of strategic planning and programming. The main task is to evaluate cohesion policy, find mistakes relating to its implementation in the Czech Republic in the period 2004 -- 2006 and explore whether the Czech Republic is to avoid these mistakes in the period 2007 -- 2013.

Despite recognition that reductions in fossil-fuel usage are necessary to reduce environmental harm, energy consumption continues to rise globally. There is a growing need to understand how to effectively influence individuals to reduce their energy consumption, particularly of fossil-fuels. Pro-environmental behaviour is the subset of consumer behaviour that is oriented towards reducing environmental impact compared to other options. It is widely agreed that due to a multiplicity of influencers, pro-environmental behaviour is best analysed using an integrated approach that allows the inclusion of different disciplinary perspectives, and seeks to identify the most important influences in the system under study. This dissertation sought to address the broader challenge of how to better design programs and policies that result in behaviour that is more sustainable. The objective of this dissertation was to assess the importance and effects of program structure and advice-giving on the pro-environmental behaviour of participating in a home energy evaluation program that encouraged homeowners to implement energy efficiency retrofits. Program structure was defined as the combination of the price of the evaluation, the financial reward structure, the level of government support, and the focus on influencing eight specific decisions within a specified timeframe. Advice-giving occurred during the initial evaluation with a home energy advisor and with the delivery of the report that contained a set of recommendations. A convergent mixed methods research design was employed to assess the relative importance of the two factors on participation and advice-following, where advice-following was considered as the matching of decisions to recommendations. The quantitative dataset was made up of files that detailed the 13,429 initial and the 6,123 follow-up evaluations conducted by advisors of the Residential Energy Efficiency Project (REEP) in the Region of Waterloo between 1999 and 2011. The qualitative data were gathered through 12 interviews with home energy advisors, eight of whom had worked for REEP and had conducted more than half of the home energy evaluations contained in the quantitative dataset. A natural quasi-experimental intervention that measured self-selection in response to varying program structure was employed to examine for variations in participation, material characteristics of houses, recommendations, and advice-following. To extend our understanding of the process of participation and decision making patterns, other analyses focused on relationships between the number of recommendations, the time between initial and follow-up evaluations, the number and types of decisions made, and the prioritization of decisions. The interviews assessed for differences in styles of advice-giving, and for their impact through comparison with the quantitative data that detailed the recommendations and decisions taken by the homeowners. The results of the effects of both factors were interpreted jointly and compared to previous studies about REEP or the EnerGuide for Houses and program as it was delivered nationally. This dissertation confirmed that an integrated approach to examining pro-environmental behaviour is supported as a useful framework for analysis. The findings support a process-based definition of pro-environmental behaviour as a useful model and form of integration. A convergent mixed methods research design is supported as a valuable and rigorous approach to examine the impact of various influences simultaneously. The delineation of multiple stages in the decision making process greatly enhanced the quality of analyses and findings. The two main factors of program structure and advice-giving affected advice-following. One factor influenced the other, as the program structure affected the receptiveness of homeowners as perceived by advisors, which affected advice-giving. The findings support the importance of both behaviourist and social learning approaches in influencing pro-environmental behaviour, and that their importance varies depending on the stage of the decision process. The findings show that behaviourist interventions, such as the program structure, were associated with variations in participation, and that different subsets of the population of houses from the Region of Waterloo were attracted to the different program structures. Indeed, in each program structure, the decision to return was influenced by different decisions. A critical finding of this study was that these programs were not sufficient to alter the path dependence of energy consumption or of energy systems as the program participants usually did not implement the most effective retrofits, and if they did, the retrofits did not achieve adequate depth of reductions to energy consumption in a timely manner. According to the home energy advisors, many homeowners had pre-conceived ideas upon entering the program of replacing their heating systems and windows. The interpretation of the qualitative and quantitative data showed that these intentions were often not altered, particularly in the case of windows, the decision that advisors believed to be the least effective of energy decisions.

Despite recognition that reductions in fossil-fuel usage are necessary to reduce environmental harm, energy consumption continues to rise globally. There is a growing need to understand how to effectively influence individuals to reduce their energy consumption, particularly of fossil-fuels. Pro-environmental behaviour is the subset of consumer behaviour that is oriented towards reducing environmental impact compared to other options. It is widely agreed that due to a multiplicity of influencers, pro-environmental behaviour is best analysed using an integrated approach that allows the inclusion of different disciplinary perspectives, and seeks to identify the most important influences in the system under study. This dissertation sought to address the broader challenge of how to better design programs and policies that result in behaviour that is more sustainable. The objective of this dissertation was to assess the importance and effects of program structure and advice-giving on the pro-environmental behaviour of participating in a home energy evaluation program that encouraged homeowners to implement energy efficiency retrofits. Program structure was defined as the combination of the price of the evaluation, the financial reward structure, the level of government support, and the focus on influencing eight specific decisions within a specified timeframe. Advice-giving occurred during the initial evaluation with a home energy advisor and with the delivery of the report that contained a set of recommendations. A convergent mixed methods research design was employed to assess the relative importance of the two factors on participation and advice-following, where advice-following was considered as the matching of decisions to recommendations. The quantitative dataset was made up of files that detailed the 13,429 initial and the 6,123 follow-up evaluations conducted by advisors of the Residential Energy Efficiency Project (REEP) in the Region of Waterloo between 1999 and 2011. The qualitative data were gathered through 12 interviews with home energy advisors, eight of whom had worked for REEP and had conducted more than half of the home energy evaluations contained in the quantitative dataset. A natural quasi-experimental intervention that measured self-selection in response to varying program structure was employed to examine for variations in participation, material characteristics of houses, recommendations, and advice-following. To extend our understanding of the process of participation and decision making patterns, other analyses focused on relationships between the number of recommendations, the time between initial and follow-up evaluations, the number and types of decisions made, and the prioritization of decisions. The interviews assessed for differences in styles of advice-giving, and for their impact through comparison with the quantitative data that detailed the recommendations and decisions taken by the homeowners. The results of the effects of both factors were interpreted jointly and compared to previous studies about REEP or the EnerGuide for Houses and program as it was delivered nationally. This dissertation confirmed that an integrated approach to examining pro-environmental behaviour is supported as a useful framework for analysis. The findings support a process-based definition of pro-environmental behaviour as a useful model and form of integration. A convergent mixed methods research design is supported as a valuable and rigorous approach to examine the impact of various influences simultaneously. The delineation of multiple stages in the decision making process greatly enhanced the quality of analyses and findings. The two main factors of program structure and advice-giving affected advice-following. One factor influenced the other, as the program structure affected the receptiveness of homeowners as perceived by advisors, which affected advice-giving. The findings support the importance of both behaviourist and social learning approaches in influencing pro-environmental behaviour, and that their importance varies depending on the stage of the decision process. The findings show that behaviourist interventions, such as the program structure, were associated with variations in participation, and that different subsets of the population of houses from the Region of Waterloo were attracted to the different program structures. Indeed, in each program structure, the decision to return was influenced by different decisions. A critical finding of this study was that these programs were not sufficient to alter the path dependence of energy consumption or of energy systems as the program participants usually did not implement the most effective retrofits, and if they did, the retrofits did not achieve adequate depth of reductions to energy consumption in a timely manner. According to the home energy advisors, many homeowners had pre-conceived ideas upon entering the program of replacing their heating systems and windows. The interpretation of the qualitative and quantitative data showed that these intentions were often not altered, particularly in the case of windows, the decision that advisors believed to be the least effective of energy decisions.

This thesis deals with design and implementation of programming structure of game web portal. The web portal will serve as a communication and information center to simplify coordination among players and allow them to gain new experience. In the thesis are analyzed the needs of players, existing solutions and their drawbacks. The results of this analysis are used to design individual functions of the portal. Implementation of the most important parts of the website has been described, the implementation of these parts were evaluated and some enhancemets were eventually suggested. In the end of this thesis several functionalities were suggested, which could extend the portal in the future.