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The main aim of this study is to explain adolescent offending variety by their parental country of birth. In doing so, the independent effect size and proportion of variance of two core elements of Situational Action Theory (SAT) – propensity and lifestyle risk – on offending variety are examined by immigrant background and gender. Although previous studies produced plenty of support to key assumption of SAT, no study so far measured offending variety as dependent variable. Analyses are based on self-reported data collected for Malmö Individual and Neighborhood Development Study (MINDS) during 2011-12, when the adolescent attained the age between 16 and 17. Ordinary least square (OLS) regression is run to examine the magnitude of effect and proportion of variance. Strong relation of offending variety separately with propensity and lifestyle risk was identified. Contrary to current scholarship on immigrant crime in Sweden, adolescent with immigrant parents are found at no more risk to engage in self-reported delinquency than the natives. Gender difference remains as a strong predictor of offending variety, especially for the immigrant group. This research reveals similarities in magnitude of effects of criminal propensity and lifestyle risks on offending variety, regardless of adolescents’ parental country of birth. Yet, propensity is a stronger predictor for delinquency variety than the lifestyle risks. This confirms applicability of the core elements of SAT, regardless of adolescents’ parental country of birth.

In this thesis, the development of a structure for use in an educational CubeSat kit is explored. The potential uses of this kit include augmenting existing curricula with aspects of hands on learning, developing new ways of training students on proper space systems engineering practices, and overall contributing to academic capacity building at Cal Poly and its collaborators. The design improves on existing CubeSat kit structures by increasing accessibility to internal components by implementing a modular backplane system, as well as adding the ability to be environmentally tested. Manufacturing of the structure is completed with both additive (Fused Deposition Modeling with ABS polymer and Selective Laser Melting with AlSi10Mg metal) and subtractive (milling with Al-6061) technologies. Modal, harmonic, and random vibration analyses and tests are done to ensure the structure passes vibration testing qualification loads, as outlined by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s General Environmental Standards. Successful testing of the structure, defined as deforming less than 0.5 millimeters and maintaining a factor of safety above 2, is achieved with all materials of interest. Thus, the structure becomes the first publicly available CubeSat kit designed to survive environmental testing. Achieving this goal with a structure made of the cheap, widely available material ABS showcases the potential usability of 3D-printed polymers in CubeSat structures.

With the algorithm’s suitability for exploiting current petascale and next-generation exascale supercomputers, stable and structure-preserving properties are necessary to develop predictive computational tools. In this dissertation, summation-by-parts (SBP) operators and a new relaxation Runge–Kutta (RRK) scheme are used to construct mimetic and structure-preserving full discretization for non-reactive compressible computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and reaction-diffusion models. In the first chapter, we provide the necessary background and a literature survey that forms the basis of this dissertation. Next, we provide a short overview of entropy stability for general conservation laws. The second chapter covers the analysis of the Eulerian model for compressible and heat-conducting flows. We provide the necessary background of the new system of parabolic partial differential equation (PDE). Then, we present the entropy stability analysis of the model at the continuous level. Subsequently, using the SBP, we construct an entropy-stable discretization of any order for unstructured grids with tensor-product elements. The third chapter discusses the implementation of RRK methods. We start by reviewing the RRK scheme constructed to guarantee conservation or stability with respect to any inner-product norm. Then, we present the extension and generalization of RRK schemes to general convex functionals and their application to compressible fluid flow problems. The final chapter demonstrates the far-reaching capabilities of the SBP operators and RRK schemes presenting the development of a novel fully discrete Lyapunov stable discretization for reaction models with spatial diffusion. Finally, we conclude this dissertation with an overview of our achievements and future research directions.

Much attention in recent years has gone to the evaluation of teacher effectiveness, and some scholars have developed conceptual models to evaluate the effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to compare three teacher evaluation models – the Texas Professional Development Appraisal System (PDAS), the teacher index model (TI), and the value-added model (VAM) – to determine teacher effectiveness using student demographic and longitudinal academic data. Predictive data from students included economic disadvantage status, ethnicity, gender, participation in special education, limited English proficiency, and performance on Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). Data serving as dependent variables were scores from Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT®) verbal/critical reasoning and mathematics. These data came from 1,714 students who were 9.7% Hispanic, 9.2% African American, and 81.2% White. The models were tested for 64 English language arts teachers and 109 mathematics teachers, using student examination scores from the SAT® verbal/critical reasoning and mathematics. The data were aligned for specific faculty members and the students whom they taught during the year of the study. The results of the study indicated that the TI and VAM explained approximately 42% of the variance in college entrance exam scores from the SAT® verbal/critical reasoning and mathematics (R2 = 0.418) across mathematics and English language arts teachers, whereas the TI model explained approximately 40% of the variance in the SAT® scores (R2 = 0.402). The difference, however, in the R-squared values between the VAM and the TI model was not statistically significant (t (169) = 1.84, p > 0.05), suggesting that both models provided similar results. The least effective model used to predict student success on college entrance exams was the PDAS, which is a state-adopted model currently in use in over 1,000 school districts in Texas, The teacher PDAS scores explained approximately 36% of the variance in student success on the SAT® (R2 = 0.359). The study provides school leadership with information about alternative methods of evaluating teacher effectiveness without difficult formulas or high costs associated with hiring statisticians. In addition, results indicate that the models vary significantly in the extent to which they can predict which teachers are most effective in preparing students for college. This study also emphasizes the critical need to provide teacher evaluations that align with student achievement on college entrance exams.

Although many colleges and universities use a wide range of criteria to evaluate and select admissions applicants, much of the variance in college student success remains unexplained. Thus, success in college, as defined by academic performance and student retention, may be related to other variables or combinations of variables beyond those traditionally used in college admissions (high school grade point average and standardized test scores). The current study investigated the predictive validity of a measure of motivational-developmental dimensions as a predictor of the academic achievement and persistence of college students as measured by cumulative undergraduate grade point average and retention. These dimensions are based on social-cognitive (self-concept, self-set goals, causal attributions, and coping strategies) and developmental-constructivist (self-awareness and self-authorship) perspectives. Motivational-developmental constructs are under-explored in terms of the predictive potential derived from their use in evaluating admission applicants’ ability to succeed and persevere despite the academic and social challenges presented by postsecondary participation. Therefore, the current study aimed to generate new understandings to benefit the participating institution and other institutions of higher education that seek new methodologies for evaluating and selecting college admission applicants. This dissertation describes two studies conducted at a large, urban public university located in the Northeastern United States. Participants included 10,149 undergraduate students who enrolled as first-time freshmen for the Fall 2015 (Study 1) and Fall 2016 (Study 2) semesters. Prior to matriculation, participants applied for admission using one of two methods: standard admissions or test-optional admissions. Standard admission applicants submitted standardized test scores (e.g., SAT) whereas test-optional applicants responded to four short-answer essay questions, each of which measured a subset of the motivational-developmental dimensions examined in the current study. Trained readers evaluated the essays to produce a “test-optional essay rating score,” which served as the primary predictor variable in the current study. Quantitative analyses were conducted to investigate the predictive validity of the “test-optional essay rating score” and its relationship to cumulative undergraduate grade point average and retention, which served as the outcome variables in the current study. The results revealed statistically significant group differences between test-optional applicants and standard applicants. Test-optional admission applicants are more likely to be female, of lower socioeconomic status, and ethnic minorities as compared to standard admission applicants. Given these group differences, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were computed to determine whether the test-optional essay rating score differentially predicted success across racial and gender subgroups. There was inconclusive evidence regarding whether the test-optional essay rating score differentially predicts cumulative undergraduate grade point average and retention across student subgroups. The results revealed a weak correlation between the test-optional essay rating score and cumulative undergraduate grade point average (Study 1: r = .11, p < .01; Study 2: r = .07, p < .05) and retention (Study 1: r = .08, p < .05; Study 2: r = .10, p < .01), particularly in comparison to the relationship between these outcome variables and the criteria most commonly considered in college admissions (high school grade point average, SAT Verbal, SAT Quantitative, and SAT Writing). Despite these findings, the test-optional essay rating score contributed nominal value (R2 = .07) in predicting academic achievement and persistence beyond the explanation provided by traditional admissions criteria. Additionally, a ROC analysis determined that the test-optional essay rating score does not predict student retention in a way that is meaningfully different than chance and therefore is not an accurate binary classifier of retention. Further research should investigate the validity of other motivational-developmental dimensions and the fidelity of other methods for measuring them in an attempt to account for a greater proportion of variance in college student success. / Educational Leadership

The National Council for Accrediting of Teacher Education (NCATE) revised its standards in 1986. Included in this revision was a new entrance criterion for teacher education units: a 2.5 grade point average (GPA). Research indicated that GPA was not a good measure of aptitude or achievement when it was used to compare students. The large error variance involved in using GPA as a measure of aptitude could eliminate many capable teacher candidates. The researcher determined to create a system which would identify students who would not be likely to achieve the 2.5 GPA and which would also suggest methods for motivated students to increase their chances of achieving the 2.5 GPA. A sample was identified: industry and technology students at Millersville University who were sophomores from the fall of 1981 to the fall of 1986. This sample was randomly divided into two groups for the purpose of cross-validation. Multiple regression was used for both the overall group and the two subgroups to create equations which predicted sophomore GPA, using the following independent variables: SAT scores, high school rank, age, sex, race and human social capital. Students who were over 23 years old when they entered the program were eliminated from the study because SAT scores or high school ranks were not available for most of them. Predictors with a significance level of 0.05 had the following squared correlations to sophomore GPA: 1) high school rank: 0.2098, 2) SAT-math: 0.1960, 3) SAT-verbal: 0.1385, 4) special entrance: 0.0566, 5) admission age: 0.0298. Predictors which remained significant when loaded into a multiple prediction equation are listed in order of predictive power with their incremental squared correlation coefficients: 1) high school class rank: 0.2098, 2) SAT-math: 0.0969, 3)admission age: 0.0421, 4) SAT- verbal: 0.0188. The total squared multiple correlation coefficient for the prediction equation was 0.3676. The equation correctly predicted 71.4% of the admission decisions (based on a 2.5 sophomore GPA). Double cross-validation resulted in an average acceptance prediction accuracy of 72.2%. The prediction equation reduced the error of prediction and was recommended for use. / Ph. D.

To improve quality of software systems, change-based fault prediction and scope-bounded checking have been used to predict or detect faults during software development. In fault prediction, changes to program source code, such as added lines or deleted lines, are used to predict potential faults. In fault detection, scope-bounded checking of programs is an effective technique for finding subtle faults. The central idea is to check all program executions up to a given bound. The technique takes two basic forms: scope-bounded static checking, where all bounded executions of a program are transformed into a formula that represents the violation of a correctness property and any solution to the formula represents a counterexample; or scope-bounded testing where a program is tested against all (small) inputs up to a given bound on the input size. Although the accuracies of change-based fault prediction and scope-bounded checking have been evaluated with experiments, both of them have effectiveness and efficiency limitations. Previous change-based fault predictions only consider the code modified by a change while ignoring the code impacted by a change. Scope-bounded testing only concerns the correctness specifications, and the internal structure of a program is ignored. Although scope-bounded static checking considers the internal structure of programs, formulae translated from structurally complex programs might choke the backend analyzer and fail to give a result within a reasonable time. To improve effectiveness and efficiency of these approaches, we introduce local semantic analysis into change-based fault prediction and scope-bounded checking. We use data-flow analysis to disclose internal dependencies within a program. Based on these dependencies, we identify code segments impacted by a change and apply fault prediction metrics on impacted code. Empirical studies with real data showed that semantic analysis is effective and efficient in predicting faults in large-size changes or short-interval changes. While generating inputs for scope-bounded testing, we use control-flow to guide test generation so that code coverage can be achieved with minimal tests. To increase the scalability of scope-bounded checking, we split a bounded program into smaller sub-programs according to data-flow and control-flow analysis. Thus the problem of scope-bounded checking for the given program reduces to several sub-problems, where each sub-problem requires the constraint solver to check a less complex formula, thereby likely reducing the solver’s overall workload. Experimental results show that our approach provides significant speed-ups over the traditional approach. / text

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:29:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fabio Batista de Medeiros.pdf: 914549 bytes, checksum: 240bf18a4427cb9279ff7c48b8ddd5d8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-11-03 / This paper is mainly destined to cover, with scientific accuracy, the issue of financing the special retirement plan and the social security benefits arising from work-related accidents, an issue that purely depends on the notion of risk causing the need for social security protection. The financing of the special retirement and the social security benefits arising from work-related accidents, commonly referred to as contribution for the work-related accident insurance or simply SAT , is a kind of financing of the social security, a division of the social security system. Accordingly, it features a significant importance, as it involves the inflow of revenues that allow maintaining the social security portions destined to protect the society from social contingencies caused by work, such as the risks of illnesses, disability arising from accidents and acceleration of human s natural aging process, all of which are the origin of negative influences to men s work capability. Based on that, this paper seeks to properly identify, as regards the issue, its legal nature, its constitutional grounds, its own characteristics and those possibly shared with the other segments of the Social Security Law, exploring the legal interpretation of the rules taken from Statutory Law, particularly Federal Constitution, article 22, II of Law no. 8,212/1991 and paragraphs 6 and 7 of Law no. 8,213/1991 / O presente trabalho tem como objetivo principal abordar, com precisão e rigor científico, o tema do custeio da aposentadoria especial e dos benefícios previdenciários decorrentes de acidentes de trabalho, tema que tem dependência pura à noção de risco gerador da necessidade de proteção previdenciária. O custeio da aposentadoria especial e dos benefícios previdenciários decorrentes de acidentes de trabalho, comumente chamado de contribuição para o seguro acidente de trabalho ou simplesmente SAT , é espécie de custeio da previdência social, ramo da seguridade social. Assim, este se apresenta com destacada importância, pois envolve o ingresso de receitas que proporcionam a manutenção das prestações previdenciárias destinadas a proteger a sociedade de contingências sociais causadas pelo trabalho, como os riscos de doenças, invalidez por acidentes e aceleração do envelhecimento natural do homem, todos causadores de reflexos negativos à capacidade do homem trabalhar. Desta forma, o presente trabalho busca identificar corretamente, em relação ao tema, sua natureza jurídica, seus fundamentos constitucionais, suas características próprias e aquelas eventualmente compartilhadas com os demais caracteres do Direito Previdenciário, tendo como campo de exploração para interpretação jurídica as normas extraídas do Direito Positivo, especialmente a Constituição Federal, o art. 22, II da Lei 8.212/1991 e os §§ 6º e 7º da Lei 8.213/1991

ASICs estruturados com leiautes regulares representam uma das soluções para a perda de rendimento de fabricação de circuitos integrados em tecnologias nanométricas causada pela distorção de fotolitografia. Um método de projeto de circuitos integrados ainda mais restritivo resulta em ASICs estruturados configuráveis apenas pelas camadas de vias, que são compostos pela repetição do mesmo modelo de bloco em todas as camadas do leiaute, exceto as camadas de vias. A escolha do modelo de bloco tem grande influência nas características do circuito final, criando a demanda por novas ferramentas de CAD que possam avaliar e comparar tais modelos em seus diversos aspectos. Esta tese descreve um ambiente de CAD baseado em SAT, capaz de avaliar o aspecto de capacidade lógica em padrões de blocos configuráveis por vias. O ambiente proposto é genérico, podendo tratar quaisquer padrões de bloco definido pelo usuário, e se comporta de maneira eficiente quando aplicado aos principais padrões já publicados na literatura. / Structured ASICs with regular layouts comprise a design-based solution for IC manufacturing yield loss in nanometer technologies caused by photolithography distortions. Via-configurable structured ASICs is even a more restrictive digital IC design method, based on the repetition of a block template comprising all layout layers except the vias one. The choice of such a design strategy impacts greatly the final circuit characteristics, arising the need for specific CAD tools to allow template evaluation and comparison in different aspects. This work presents a SAT-based CAD environment for evaluating the logical capacity aspect of via-configurable block templates. The proposed environment is able to support any user-defined template, and behaves efficiently when applied to block templates presented in related literature.