Interest in ‘science-based targets’ (SBTs) as a means of helping the private sector achieve greater environmental sustainability has sharply increased in recent years. However, the significant ambiguity around what SBTs for Earth systems are and how they relate to broader sustainability issues has received little attention. This study adopts an interpretive approach to explore how different ‘framings’ of SBTs reflect very different storylines about sustainability problems and the role of SBTs in delivering solutions. It treats environmental governance not as a search for solutions to a pre-defined problem, but as a struggle over the definition of the environmental problem itself. In doing so, the study addresses deeper questions about whether sustainability science and practice should work within ‘the system’ to change it or critique it as part of the problem. It uses Q methodology to explore the perspectives of 22 scientists and practitioners engaged in SBTs for Earth systems. The results show two main framings of SBTs: ‘we need to develop science-based targets for the Earth system’ and ‘we need systemic economic, political and social change – and science-based targets.’ Results indicate that two distinctive storylines exist around SBTs, which emerge from reformist and radical environmental discourses. Alongside areas of consensus, they diverge on crucial issues regarding the nature of SBTs, sustainability problems and solutions, and the role of SBTs in transformation. The study suggests that the SBT is a boundary object; its ambiguity can both promote collaboration between diverse actors and conceal more radical discourse. It concludes that the plural interpretations of SBTs and their contribution to sustainability transformations have important implications. This highlights a need for greater reflexivity within sustainability science and practice, which could move them towards their sustainability aims.

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One of the main aims of inquiry is to engage students as active, not passive, participants in science. The purpose of this study is to describe science educators’ and students’ views about inquiry-based instruction in order to better understand and improve implementation of evidence-based teaching strategies. Inquiry-based techniques have been shown to improve student understanding of scientific concepts, yet, there continue to be challenges in implementing these techniques. This research project utilizes Q Methodology, a research method that captures both common and disparate measures of subjectivity, to identify commonalities and defining viewpoints about inquiry-based teaching and learning. Three significantly different viewpoints were identified and each viewpoint represents differences in teaching styles and classroom environments. Additionally, consensus items reveal students and instructors highly value relating science to everyday life; however, a lack of importance is placed upon peer learning and use of open-ended questions.

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Marine protected area (MPA) management requires local people’s participation for ecological and social benefits. This is crucial to avoid “paper parks” by encouraging self-regulation and to enhance social well-being among stakeholders. However, it is challenging to promote sustained participation by diverse stakeholders since different people have different opinions on the benefits of MPAs. Some of these opinions are associated with specific occupations and value preferences. A place-based case study was conducted for the Yonarasuido Strait in the Yaeyama region, Japan, which is covered by two MPAs: a government-led top-down national park and a fishermen-led bottom-up spawning ground reserve. This study investigated local people’s value preferences from instrumental, intrinsic, and relational perspectives using the Q-methodology and semi-structured interviews. To understand broader interactions among diverse marine users, the study focused on both marine tourism and fisheries. The Q-method analysis identified three groupings based on the values people emphasize for the MPAs. Based on the analysis, these groups were defined as (1) “Original Goals First,” characterized by the emphasis on initial objectives and fisheries resource management; (2) “Disconnected Stewards,” who expect nature conservation while being emotionally detached from the MPAs; and (3) “Tourism vs. Fisheries,” reflecting considerable division between fisheries and marine tourism. The results suggest that understanding the value preferences of a diverse range of stakeholders through a comprehensive lens can provide a more holistic picture of MPA management and the areas of consensus and disagreement in the governance system. Based on the findings, three recommendations for future MPA management are proposed regarding adaptive management, information dissemination, and just stakeholder involvement.

Remote control and management functions are widely utilized in multiple industries.The remote control and management functions has allowed for peopleto connect and interact to solve technical problems more efficiently. However,the healthcare organizations have not utilized the remote controlling and managementfunctions to a degree similar to other industries. Telephoning ande-mailing are still two mainstream ways of work when it comes to solvingtechnical support issues in-house. In order to understand what the technicalpersonnel and the clinical users at a hospital desires in new solutions, thismaster thesis project aimed at finding the existing needs in terms of remotecontrolling and management functions. To find these needs, Q-methodologywas applied for collection of subjective data from healthcare personnel abouta software device that aims at providing remote controlling and managementfunctions. In addition to finding and defining the needs, this thesis also aimedat examining how well such systems can address these needs. Performing this methodology three factors where found representing three differentattitudes regarding the needs for remote functions. The three factorsare "Technical Communication is Significant", "Functionality Appreciativeand Experienced" and "Do if fast!". These factors and their interpretationhelps to be aware of and to evaluate remote support solutions in a systematicway. / Tillämpningen av tekniska distanslösningar används i flertalet industrier i olika syften. Dessa tillämpningar har möjliggjort att människor kan ansluta och interagera med varandra för att på ett effektivt sätt lösa tekniska problem. Trots detta har inte vårdgivarorganisationer tillämpat dessa typer av lösningar i en liknande utsträckning jämfört med många andra industrier. Kommunikationskanaler som telefonsamtal och e-post är fortfarande vanliga när vårdpersonal bemöter tekniska problem som ska lösas internt. Syftet med denna uppsats är att hitta och definiera de befintliga behov som teknisk personal och kliniska användare upplever på sjukhus gällande tekniska distansl ösningar. För att hitta och definiera dessa behov har Q-methodology tillämpats för att systematiskt samla subjektiv data från vårdpersonal gällande ett nytt verktyg som ämnar till att leverera tekniska distanslösningar till sjukvården. Utöver detta har denna uppsats också undersökt hur väl denna typ av nya verktyg tillfredsställer de adresserade behov som beskrivits ovan.   Applicerandet av denna metodik resulterade i tre åsiktsgrupper som representerar tre olika attityder gällande behov för tekniska distanslösningar. Dessa tre åsiktsgrupper är "Technical Communication is Signficant", "Functionality Appreciative and Experienced" och "Do it fast! ". Vetskapen om dessa existerande_åsiktsgrupper bidrar till en större förståelse och en större förmåga att utvärdera tekniska distanslösningar.

Over the past decade, the number of individuals being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder has risen substantially. One byproduct of increased diagnosis is that more and more students with Autism Spectrum Disorder are applying and being accepted to colleges and universities (Graetz & Spampinato, 2008; Jones, 2012; Smith, 2007; Taylor, 2005; Zager, Alpern, McKeon, Maxam, & Mulvey, 2013; Longtin, 2013; Adreon & Durocher, 2007; Zager & Alpern, 2010). Research in the field of Autism and Higher Education is in its infancy, with a dearth of the research focusing on the challenges and struggles that degree-seeking students with ASD face within higher education. In an attempt to combat these challenges, many colleges and universities across the nation have begun to create post-secondary transition programs, but little is known from the perspective of the students participating in these programs (Adreon & Durocher, 2012). In this following study, Q Methodology was used to obtain information from 30 degree-seeking college students with Autism Spectrum Disorder on their best experiences within a higher education transition program.

The field of student affairs administration could benefit from research on how student affairs administrators perceive their duties, responsibilities, and obligations, as well as how such an understanding could contribute to organizational theory, practice, and policy. The purpose of this study was to examine how administrators in student affairs perceive their role in public higher education institutions in the United States. This study examined SAAs’ duties, obligations, and responsibilities (role) using Q methodology. Although there are perception studies using Q methodology in higher education, there are fewer empirical studies on how SAAs’ perceive their roles. Consequently, this study recruited forty professionals in student affairs from 12 public institutions of higher education. On a continuum from “least important” (-4) to “most important” (+4), they sorted 37 statements that represented their views on SAAs’ duties and responsibilities. The 40 sorts were then factor analyzed with PQMethod 2.33 a, freeware program. Four factors emerged that represent distinct viewpoints on the role of student affairs administrators in public tertiary institutions—Connective Leadership, Instructive Leadership, Supportive Leadership, and Constructive Leadership. These four factors—details of which are presented in the study—indicate that student affairs administrators view their roles through four different leadership lenses, but that each lens is modulated or modified by four major theories—self-perception theory, organizational role theory, and, more importantly, student development theory.

Although, the concept of instructional leadership is a not a new idea, it has become an increasingly popular term in education in recent years. Instructional leadership provides the foundation for teaching and learning within a school. Such federal educational initiatives as No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top have sought to improve student achievement have also changed the landscape of school leadership. As accountability and high-stakes testing measures continue to rise, the need to closely explore and understand the ideology of instructional leadership has become more prevalent. Qualified school leaders with a keen focus on instruction must be well-prepared to lead schools and meet the needs of 21st century students. Specifically, the role of assistant principal is called upon to expand in instructional leadership to help meet ever evolving school challenges. From a historical perspective, within the literature, little attention has been given to the development, selection, training, and support of assistant principals. This has led to the increasing marginalization of this group of school leaders. The purpose of this study is to explore the shared perceptions that secondary assistant principals hold toward their development as instructional leaders given the support from their principals’ leadership actions and transformational practices. Thirty-four secondary middle and high school assistant principals’ perspectives were explored using Q methodology. Participants performed a Q sort of thirty-eight statements to examine their subjective viewpoints toward their own development as instructional leaders. Four perspectives emerged from the study, Relational & Support, Coaching & Collective Collaboration, Data-Driven & Feedback, and Professional Development & Strategic Planning. Each perspective leads to a deeper understanding aligned with the development of the assistant principal as instructional leader.