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This research paper seeks to understand how and why practitioners of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) exercise rational and strategic forms of social control over their clients. Based on data gathered from semistructured interviews and myriad documents, I argue that practitioners frame (Goffinan, 1974) crime related risks in ways that render the application of CPTED a rational and prudent course of action while at the same time establishing the professional legitimacy of their expertise. Moreover, I argue that this dynamic not only reflects the socioeconomic conditions inherent in risk society, but also sheds light on contemporary forms of governmentality. I conclude by suggesting that CPTED may actually undermine our ability to engage those unlike ourselves in meaningful political dialogue while at the same time individualizing what is essentially a structural social problem. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Country risk is an important concern in international business. Country risk classification refers to determining the risk level at which a country will not repay its international debt. Traditionally, country risk classification resorts to statistics methods such as discriminant analysis. In the past two decades, the so-called multicriteria decision aid (MCDA) methods have been proved to enjoy better performance than the standard statistics methods. Nevertheless, the performance of the MCDA methods is still far away from satisfactory and can be improved significantly. The better performance of several MCDA methods, such as UTADIS (UTilités Additives DIScriminantes) and MHDIS (Multigroup Hierarchical Discrimination), is achieved by exploiting the rater’s background knowledge. In the standard MCDA model, we assume that the criterion function for every factor is monotone and all the factors are independent. Then, we approximate the impact of every factor and use the sum of the corresponding criterion functions to determine the risk level of a country. By discretizing the feasible domain of the factor, the MCDA method solves a linear program to find a classifier for country risk classification. This thesis tries to enhance the capability of MCDA methods by allowing a class of non-monotone criteria: the unimodal ones. For this purpose, we developed an integer quadratic (non-convex) program for general unimodal criteria. Further, if we restrict ourselves to convex or concave unimodal criteria, then we can still use a linear program to find a classifier. For the case where all the factors are correlated, a simple quadratic form of aggregation is proposed to deal with it. Compared with the original UTADIS model, our generalized model is more flexible and can deal with more complex scenarios. Finally, our generalized model is tested based on cross-validation and our experiment is carried out under the AMPL+sovers environment. Promising numeric results indicate that except for its theoretical advantages, our generalized model exhibits practical efficiency and robustness as well. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

Education should grow the delicate flowers of our emotional hearts and souls as well as the sturdy plants of our minds; it should awaken us to depths of which the mind alone is not capable. This study presents reasoning for the necessary nurturing of students as whole people. The style in which it is written is indicative of the content itself; unrestricted and constant in motion, much like a free verse poem, the study achieves its wholeness not by wild abandonment of form, but by the embracing of a particular design that is self-generated rather than regulated. The point is to show that just as our lives cannot fruitfully be assembled then categorized, neither can teaching which is linear and disembodied provide a meaning "full" education for teacher or student. The themes of risk and vulnerability, self-knowledge, self-reflection, and self-hood, the incredible necessity to see our lives as large rather than small, and the overwhelming challenge to open up to instead of shut out the sounds of our lives are the strains that are herein taken up. Another time, another space and the issues would have presented themselves in an entirely different, but just as meaningful light. Again, the point made is how the unforeseen element of creativity rises up when thought is allowed to intertwine itself with the experiences of our lives. When allowed to self-generate, it connects all things to form a whole that once could only have been imagined. It integrates the private unfolding of a person with the concern of the public message to bear new beginnings to the conduct of things. Though this study is about teachers and teaching, in its deepest moments it is equally about students. For without the active presence of students no study can begin to ask teachers to consider the on-going need to open not just their minds, but their hearts and souls to the young people with whom they daily interact. Without the active presence of students the spirit of a "poetic" life is reduced to the singular lyrical pieces of experience rather than the encompassing epic tale that we understand is the real truth of our educations. Without the active presence of students the work of a teacher is but an accounting ledger of isolated method, a reductive energy that in the end is much about product, but little about life. / Ph. D.

The identification of key health risks among the adolescent population allows Roanoke County to develop and implement a youth risk behavior prevention program that is tailored to the needs of the students. This study provides Roanoke County Schools with a large sample of student survey data regarding youth risk behavior. The final sample includes 6504 student surveys. The research tool that was used for the study is titled the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The instrument is designed to gather data in six categories: behaviors that contribute to unintentional and intentional injuries; tobacco use; alcohol and other drugs; sexual behavior; dietary behavior; and physical activity. Roanoke County students reported participating in at risk behavior more than their national counterparts in all six categories. Injuries, violence, drugs, and behaviors related to dieting, had the highest number of responses above percents reported in national YRBS data. Additional research is needed to determine the impact of prevention programs designed to deal with these problem behaviors. / Ph. D.

Resilient children are those who succeed in school and life even though they experience adverse conditions such as poverty, illness, or parental problems. Research on the topic identifies characteristics of these children, suggests ways to help them overcome adversity, and poses questions for further study. Using available current research on the subject, the writer examined a school setting to determine how well the staff was fostering success and helping children overcome the odds. Additionally, the researcher, along with a team of teachers using an action research method, modified a curriculum to meet the needs of at-risk children in order to foster success in a safe, comforting, and nurturing environment. / Ed. D.