abstract: With the projected population growth, the need to produce higher agricultural yield to meet projected demand is hindered by water scarcity. Out of many the approaches that could be implemented to meet the water gap, intensification of agriculture through adoption of advanced agricultural irrigation techniques is the focus for this research. Current high water consumption by agricultural sector in Arizona is due to historical dominance in the state economy and established water rights. Efficiency gained in agricultural water use in Arizona has the most potential to reduce the overall water consumption. This research studies the agricultural sector and water management of several counties in Arizona (Maricopa, Pinal, and Yuma). Several research approaches are employed: modeling of agricultural technology adoption using replicator dynamics, interview with water managers and farmers, and Arizona water management law and history review. Using systems thinking, the components of the local farming environment are documented through socio-ecological system/robustness lenses. The replicator dynamics model is employed to evaluate possible conditions in which water efficient agricultural irrigation systems proliferate. The evaluation of conditions that promote the shift towards advanced irrigation technology is conducted through a combination of literature review, interview data, and model analysis. Systematic shift from the currently dominant flood irrigation toward a more water efficient irrigation technologies could be attributed to the followings: the increase in advanced irrigation technology yield efficiency; the reduction of advanced irrigation technology implementation and maintenance cost; the change in growing higher value crop; and the change in growing/harvesting time where there is less competition from other states. Insights learned will further the knowledge useful for this arid state's agricultural policy decision making that will both adhere to the water management goals and meet the projected food production and demand gap. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Sustainability 2014

abstract: While more first-generation college (FGC) students are enrolling in college than ever before, these students still have poorer performance and higher rates of dropout than continuing-generation college (CGC) students. While many theories have predicted the academic performance of FGC students, few have taken into account the cultural transition to the university context. Similar to ethnic biculturals, FGC students must adjust to the middle-class culture of the university, and face challenges negotiating different cultural identities. I propose that FGC students who perceive their working- and middle-class identities as harmonious and compatible should have improved performance, compared to those that perceive their identities as incompatible. In three preliminary studies, I demonstrate that first-generation college students identify as social class bicultural, that integrated social class identities are positively related to well-being, health, and performance, that the effects of integrated identities on health and well-being are mediated by reduced acculturative stress. The current studies explore whether these effects persist across time and whether exposure to middle-class norms before college predict social class bicultural identity integration for FGC students. Results demonstrate that the effects of social class bicultural identity integration on depression and academic performance persist across time and that exposure to college graduates before college predicts social class bicultural identity integration. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Psychology 2017

abstract: In October, 2009, participants of the Arizona Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) began receiving monthly Cash Value Vouchers (CVV) worth between six and 10 dollars towards the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables. Data from the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) showed CVV redemption rates in the first two years of the program were lower than the national average of 77% redemption. In response, the ADHS WIC Food List was expanded to also include canned and frozen fruits and vegetables. More recent data from ADHS suggest that redemption rates are improving, but variably exist among different WIC sub-populations. The purpose of this project was to identify themes related to the ease or difficulty of WIC CVV use amongst different categories of low-redeeming WIC participants. A total of 8 focus groups were conducted, four at a clinic in each of two Valley cities: Surprise and Mesa. Each of the four focus groups comprised one of four targeted WIC participant categories: pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding, and children with participation ranging from 3-9 participants per group. Using the general inductive approach, recordings of the focus groups were transcribed, hand-coded and uploaded into qualitative analysis software resulting in four emergent themes including: interactions and shopping strategies, maximizing WIC value, redemption issues, and effect of rule change. Researchers identified twelve different subthemes related to the emergent theme of interactions and strategies to improve their experience, including economic considerations during redemption. Barriers related to interactions existed that made their purchase difficult, most notably anger from the cashier and other shoppers. However, participants made use of a number of strategies to facilitate WIC purchases or extract more value out of WIC benefits, such as pooling their CVV. Finally, it appears that the fruit and vegetable rule change was well received by those who were aware of the change. These data suggest a number of important avenues for future research, including verifying these themes are important within a larger, representative sample of Arizona WIC participants, and exploring strategies to minimize barriers identified by participants, such as use of electronic benefits transfer-style cards (EBT). / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Nutrition 2013

nÃo hà / A dissertaÃÃo teve como propÃsito analisar como a cultura de paz à promovida, a partir da compreensÃo dos sentidos polÃticos do trabalho inclusivo de sete professoras do atendimento educacional especializado. De modo especÃfico, a pesquisa buscou identificar os sentidos polÃticos que as professoras atribuem ao trabalho com a comunidade escolar; e, analisar a relaÃÃo estabelecida entre os sentidos polÃticos do trabalho inclusivo e os conceitos de paz positiva e conflito produtivo. O estudo parte da percepÃÃo de que a interlocuÃÃo entre a cultura de paz e a inclusÃo, por meio da dialÃgica, favorece a construÃÃo da autonomia, como ato de resistÃncia, desconstruindo o conceito de paz como passividade, diante do quadro de violÃncia estrutural presente na escola. A investigaÃÃo utilizou-se da abordagem qualitativa, com dados coletados por meio de grupo focal com sete docentes do atendimento educacional especializado, no lÃcus da formaÃÃo do Distrito de EducaÃÃoDistrito de EducaÃÃoDistrito de EducaÃÃoDistrito de EducaÃÃoDistrito de EducaÃÃo Distrito de EducaÃÃoDistrito de EducaÃÃo Distrito de EducaÃÃo Distrito de EducaÃÃoDistrito de EducaÃÃoDistrito de EducaÃÃo Distrito de EducaÃÃoDistrito de EducaÃÃoDistrito de EducaÃÃoDistrito de EducaÃÃo II, da Secretaria Municipal da EducaÃÃo de Fortaleza. Para identificaÃÃo dos sujeitos foi realizada uma observaÃÃo participante e um questionÃrio online. A anÃlise dos dados baseou-se em quatro categorias temÃticas prÃ-definidas: sentidos polÃticos da inclusÃo, dialÃgica, paz positiva e conflito produtivo. A fundamentaÃÃo teÃrica apoia-se em autores como Freire (1970, 1979, 1987, 2005), Matos (2002, 2006), Jares (2002, 2006, 2007), GuimarÃes (2011), Perrenoud (2001), Mantoan (2006, 2010), entre outros e revelou que os docentes atribuem dois sentidos polÃticos ao trabalho do AEE. O primeiro, como reflexo da regra jurÃdica, representado na formalidade das leis e na polÃtica tradicional, e o segundo referindo-se Ãs relaÃÃes intersubjetiva no cotidiano escolar. TambÃm revelou que o sentido polÃtico atribuÃdo Ãs relaÃÃes intersubjetivas contribui para o respeito Ãs diferenÃas e para a busca de parcerias (professores da sala comum, gestores, equipe multidisciplinar, famÃlias, tÃcnicas); a problematizaÃÃo da realidade da comunidade, a busca pelo comprometimento com a inclusÃo e a compreensÃo da gÃnese dos conflitos e de sua mediaÃÃo. Todos aspectos ligados à paz positiva e ao conflito produtivo defendidos no referencial teÃrico da cultura de paz. No entanto, apesar das docentes compreenderem essa relaÃÃo, nÃo lhes està caracterizado de forma clara que o trabalho dialÃgico com a comunidade à uma das suas atribuiÃÃes. No intento de engendrar essa cultura, torna-se necessÃrio visibilizar a Ãntima relaÃÃo entre o trabalho pedagÃgico do AEE e a polÃtica humanizadora, no esteio da educaÃÃo dialÃgica com a comunidade escolar. / This study aims to analyze how the culture of peace has been promoted, from the inclusive labor political meaning understanding of seven teachers who work in the special educational service in public schools in the Municipal System in Fortaleza. In a specific way, the research sought to identify the political dimension that the teachers attach to work with the educational community, and to analyze the established relation between the inclusive labor policy meanings and the positive peace and productive conflict concepts. The research begins with the perception that the interlocution between the culture of peace and inclusion, through dialogic, promotes the autonomy development, like act of resistance, deconstructing the peace concept as passivity, towards the structural violence at schools. A qualitative approach with collected data was used through the focus group with seven teachers, who work in the special educational service on the locus in the formation of the Education II district in the Municipal Department of Education in Fortaleza, besides the data records in field diary, bibliographic and documental researches. It was done a participant observation, an on-line questionnaire and the focal group involvement to work with the teachers. The data analyzes was based into four theme pre-defined categories, such as inclusion political meanings, dialogic, positive peace and productive conflict. The theoretical principles were based on well-known authors like Freire (1970,1979, 1987, 2005), Matos (2001, 2002, 2006), Jares (2002, 2006, 2007), GuimarÃes (2011), Perrenoud (2001), Mantoan (2006,2010), among others, and it was found out that the teachers grant two political meanings to the AEE work. The first one is seen as a legal rule reflection shown in the laws formality and in the traditional politics. The latter meaning points out the daily inter-subjective relations. It was also found out that the political meaning granted to the inter-subjective relations contributes to the respect for differences, the search for partnerships (teachers who work in related areas, public administrators, multidisciplinary team, families, and methods), the problematization about the reality of the community, the search for the inclusion commitment and the genesis of conflicts understanding and its mediation. Everything is connected to positive peace and to the productive conflict presented by the theoretic foundation of the culture of peace. However, although the teachers understand about this issue, it is not clearly characterized that the dialogic work com the community is one of its attributions. In order to engender this kind of culture, it is necessary to see the close relationship between the AEE pedagogical work and the humanizing policy in the dialogical education context with the school community.

Large dams represent complex social-ecological systems, perhaps the most complicated projects among large infrastructures. Nowadays, developing and developed countries consider large dams as a viable solution to provide low-cost energy production and flood control for agriculture production. However, the debate about dams is generally focused on technical arrangements, lacking of a holistic perspective of analysis, while their effects may be disruptive for a wider number of factors. The present paper proposes to study large dams within the theory of common-pool resources, focusing on the relation between water security and sustainability. The use of a social-ecological framework facilitates a dynamic analysis among different variables of large dams. What is more, it permits a cross-scale analysis, enabling one to understand the extreme complexity of social-ecological changes in a considered system. This research will focus on the Ethiopian large dam Gibe III, predicted to start functioning at the end of this year. It is already altering the downstream conditions of Omo River and Lake Turkana, shared by Ethiopia and Kenya, posing a threat to the livelihoods of thousand people. However, the current discussion about it still appears limited to technical solutions to the dam implementation. Arguing the opposite, the social-ecological framework enables one to include information sharing, climate change and collective-choice rules as important elements to be considered to bring the discussion at a broader level of understanding. From the analysis of Ethiopia, it is found that large dams cannot alone be the answer to water security if they are not connected to more vast social-economic reforms. The paper argues that the interpretation of large dams must be considered as part of the broader social, ecological and politico-economic situation, transcending from the mere local situation. The overall picture is not whether not to build them or not, as there is not a real choice, but how to foster instruments of analysis that preserve the environment and societies, while defeating poverty.

I. Purpose To place the Livre and its author in their historical setting, in order to evaluate their contribution to ideas on the education of women. II. Development 1. An outline of cultural influences in Mediaeval France. 2. A description of texts on the education of girls and women prior to the time of the Chevalier de La Tour Landry, noting changes in ideas. Contributions made by Vincent de Beauvais and Pierre Dubois. The influence of the Dicta Catonis, a little book of maxims. 3. The position and condition of women of noble families as a result of certain cultural influences such as that of Courtly Love. 4. An analysis of the examples contained in the Livre, giving an overall picture of the virtues which one could expect to find in an honourable woman with a Christian upbringing. III. Conclusion The Livre and its author in relation to the influences of their time and place. A defense against later critics. Definition of "enseignement,” and evaluation of the Livre and its author in the light of the meaning of this term. / Arts, Faculty of / Central Eastern Northern European Studies, Department of / Graduate

Nature and humans are intrinsic parts of the same system, called a social-ecological system (SES), wherein freshwater ecosystems form one of the important bases of the survival of all life. Human activities, such as land use and overconsumption, impact on freshwater systems; and freshwater systems also impact on the urban systems through which they flow. Changes in one part of the system, be it human or ecological, will impact on the other. If a freshwater ecosystem’s resilience is negatively affected and fails to retain its functional integrity, it will increase the vulnerability of the SES. Disregarding this connection can have a significant impact on the quality of an urban system. Throughout its history since 1855, the City of Tshwane SES has moved through different eras of change, which have altered the quality of the connection between the Apies River and the urban infrastructure through which it flows. These eras have been identified as: a) First era (1855–1909) Apies River as a natural system; b) Second era (1910–1970) Apies River becoming a hidden, polluted and disconnected freshwater system; and c) Third era (1971–2016), the era of attempts at beautification and to regenerate the Apies River freshwater system. The main goal of this study is to understand how changes in the connection between the built infrastructure in the City of Tshwane and the Apies River have affected the resilience of the Apies River’s system as an integral part of the Tshwane SES. The study achieved this by identifying the different changes, the drivers of change, and the effects that these changes have had on the resilience of the Apies River. This was carried out using the method of a historical narrative. It was concluded that the Apies River gained specific resilience but lost its general resilience and therefore its adaptive capacity. The main drivers behind the loss of general resilience of the Apies River system were: a) the lack of a local government structure to supply proper infrastructure and service delivery to the people of Pretoria, followed by an inflexible and largely unresponsive local government system lacking tightness of feedback and therefore not detecting the signals of crossing a threshold in time; and b) a lack of ecological awareness or the necessary understanding of how freshwater ecosystems function, in order to integrate natural freshwater ecosystems as a functional part of the urban infrastructure. / Dissertation (ML (Arch))--University of Pretoria, 2015. / National Research Foundation (NRF) supported this study as part of the program: Resiliency Strategies for Aspirational African Cities, through the research Grant no. 78649. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at, are those of the author and cannot necessarily be attributed to the NRF. / Architecture / ML (Arch) / Unrestricted

Hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) have been found to be related to various common childhood diseases, like otitis media, conjunctivitis, respiratory viral infections, and moreover asthma. However, the confounding effects of age, gender, body mass index (BMI), pubertal stage (Tanner stages), socioeconomic status (SES) as well as of some hair maintenance procedures on HCC are still not well examined. A cohort of 434 children aged between 5 and 18 years was examined for HCC between January 2012 and February 2015 in the context of the Leipzig LIFE Child study. Thereby anthropometric data, gender, BMI, SES and pubertal status were assessed. HCC was measured by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Hair maintenance procedures were evaluated by a questionnaire. In the total cohort HCC levels ranged between 0,95 pg/mg and 29,86 pg/mg. In prepuberty, boys showed significantly higher HCC than girls (6.54 vs. 3.73pg/mg, p<0.05). During puberty HCC values in both genders converge. Higher BMI was significantly associated with higher HCC in both genders. In girls, HCC did not differ depending on Tanner stages. In boys, HCC was significantly higher in Tanner stage 1 than in stages 2-5. After adjusting for pubertal status, there was no relation between HCC and age in either boys or girls. Measuring cortisol concentration in hair gives information about long term release of cortisol. We have found, that puberty, gender and BMI had a profound effect on HCC. As a result, further research should take into account the potentially confounding role of puberty, gender and BMI and may use the results of our study as a reference at determining values of HCC in healthy children.:1 Abkürzungsverzeichnis ...................................................................................... 1 2 Einleitung ........................................................................................................... 2 2.1 Problembereich und Forschungsstand ........................................................ 2 2.2 Pubertät ....................................................................................................... 6 2.2.1 Definition und hormoneller Ablauf ......................................................... 6 2.2.2 Tannerstadien und zeitlicher Ablauf ...................................................... 8 2.3 Cortisol....................................................................................................... 10 2.3.1 Bildung und Freisetzung ...................................................................... 10 2.3.2 Physiologie der Haarcortisolwerte ....................................................... 11 2.4 Die LIFE Child Studie ................................................................................ 12 2.4.1 Studiendesign und Ziele ...................................................................... 12 2.4.2 Anthropometrische Datenbestimmung bei Kindern in der LIFE Child Studie .................................................................................................. 13 2.5 Hypothesen, Frage- und Zielstellungen ..................................................... 14 3 Originalartikel ................................................................................................... 15 4 Zusammenfassung .......................................................................................... 24 5 Literatur ........................................................................................................... 28 6 Erklärung über eigenständige Abfassung der Arbeit ........................................ 32 7 Darstellung des eigenen Beitrages .................................................................. 33 8 Lebenslauf ....................................................................................................... 35 9 Danksagung..................................................................................................... 37

We will compare two different forecasting models with the forecasting model that was used in March 2014 by The Swedish Social Insurance Agency ("Försäkringskassan" in Swedish or "FK") in this degree project. The models are used for forecasting the number of cases. The two models that will be compared with the model used by FK are the Seasonal Exponential Smoothing model (SES) and Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model. The models will be used to predict case volumes for two types of benefits: General Child Allowance “Barnbidrag” or (BB_ABB), and Pregnancy Benefit “Graviditetspenning” (GP_ANS). The results compare the forecast errors at the short time horizon (22) months and at the long-time horizon (70) months for the different types of models. Forecast error is the difference between the actual and the forecast value of case numbers received every month. The ARIMA model used in this degree project for GP_ANS had forecast errors on short and long horizons that are lower than the forecasting model that was used by FK in March 2014. However, the absolute forecast error is lower in the actual used model than in the ARIMA and SES models for pregnancy benefit cases. The results also show that for BB_ABB the forecast errors were large in all models, but it was the lowest in the actual used model (even the absolute forecast error). This shows that random error due to laws, rules, and community changes is almost impossible to predict. Therefore, it is not feasible to predict the time series with tested models in the long-term. However, that mainly depends on what FK considers as accepted forecast errors and how those forecasts will be used. It is important to mention that the implementation of ARIMA differs across different software. The best model in the used software in this degree project SAS (Statistical Analysis System) is not necessarily the best in other software.

Thesis advisor: Thomas M. Crea / Thesis advisor: Oscar A. Martinez / Background: Substance use in adolescence is associated with a vast variety of behavioral and health problems contributing to a public health burden including engagement in risky sexual practices, unwanted pregnancies, increased morbidity and mortality, violent behaviors, and school dropout, among others. The use of alcohol and marijuana in adolescence and young adulthood are risk factors for subsequent substance-related adverse effects. Parents play a key role in the prevention of substance use. This study has the aim of analyzing the influence of parenting styles used during childhood and the rearing process on alcohol and marijuana use among adolescents over time through adulthood. Results will provide information to contribute to “Ensure healthy development for all youth” which is one of the 12 Social Work Grand Challenges introduced by the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare in January (2015). According to this initiative, every year, six million young people receive treatment for severe emotional, mental, or behavioral problems. Strong evidence is needed to show how to prevent problem before they emerge and by unleashing the power of prevention, and research can contribute to help youth to become healthy and productive adults (AASWSW, 2015). For the analysis, we use the typology developed by Diane Baumrid (1971) which defines four parenting styles considering the combination of warmth and control exerted by parents: authoritative, authoritarian, neglectful, and permissive. This framework emphasizes the mechanisms behind family contextual factors impacting youth development influencing substance use. Then, we explore the association of such parenting styles stratifying by race-ethnicity considering Whites and Mexican American adolescents. Material and methods: Multilevel, hierarchical regression analysis was conducted using three waves of the Add Health Survey data (Add Health Survey), a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of adolescents between 11 and 19 years old enrolled in grades 7-12 in the United States over four waves. We follow longitudinally the analytic sample of 12,143 participants where 1,640 were Mexican Americans and 10,583 were White Americans. We test the hypotheses of association of alcohol and marijuana use separately considering race-ethnicity, SES, and parenting styles and stratified analysis by parenting style and race-ethnicity for three waves collected in 1995, 2001 and 2008. Results: Alcohol use: Main outcomes for alcohol use were that Mexican American adolescents had no higher rates of alcohol use at baseline and were more likely to use alcohol at the 6 years follow up compared to White adolescents. The association between family SES level and alcohol use was no different at baseline (1995) but those kids in higher family SES level have higher odds of using alcohol than those low family SES in the following six and thirteen years. Regardless of race-ethnicity, adolescents from families with authoritarian parenting style were more likely to consume alcohol at baseline while those with permissive parents are less likely to use it. Adolescents from families with authoritarian parenting style used alcohol at a higher rate in the six years follow up, while those with permissive parents had lower odds of use. Stratified analysis showed that White children whose parents were authoritarian at baseline were more likely to consume alcohol compared to those with authoritative parenting. White adolescents with permissive parenting style had fewer odds of using alcohol at baseline. Mexican and White adolescents whose parents were authoritarian were more likely to use alcohol compared to those whose parents were authoritative at the six years follow up. Mexican American and White adolescents whose parents were permissive were less likely to use alcohol than those whose parents were authoritative at the six years follow up. Marijuana use: Mexican American adolescents have higher rates of use of marijuana compared to White adolescents at baseline and at the 6 years follow up. Independent of race-ethnicity, the association between family SES level and marijuana shows that those adolescents with high family SES showed higher odds of using marijuana at the 6 and 13 years follow up. In the stratified analysis, it was found that white adolescents with higher SES had more odds of using marijuana at six years and after 13 years. Independently of race-ethnicity, adolescents from families with authoritarian and neglectful parenting style were more likely to use marijuana at baseline and less likely to consume it if their parents were permissive compared to those with authoritative parenting style. Also, those youths, whose parents were authoritarian and neglectful at baseline, were more likely to use marijuana in the six years follow up compared to those with authoritative parenting style. However, those with permissive parents had fewer odds of using it in the six years follow up and at the thirteen years follow up compared to those with authoritative parenting styles. Authoritarian parenting style was associated with worse outcomes in terms of marijuana use for White adolescents at baseline and at the six years follow up. Permissive parenting styles was associated with less odds of marijuana use for White adolescents at baseline and at the six years follow up. Also, authoritarian parenting style was associated with higher odds of using marijuana in Mexican American adolescents at the six years follow up while permissive parenting styles was found to reduce the odds of use. The most important gap in terms of risk of using marijuana was found for Mexican American adolescents who were found to have high odds of using marijuana if their parents had been authoritarian or neglectful at baseline, at the six and thirteen years follow up. Findings may be beneficial to prevention specialists in developing programs targeting Mexican American youth to enhance parenting behaviors to deter alcohol and marijuana use. Actions need to be addressed to promote management of adequate parenting styles and better parent-youth relationship for both populations. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.