Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 200-207).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-116). Also available via the Internet.

The aim of this work is to deal as fully as possible with the issue of ensuring the readiness of pupils, students, teachers and other pedagogical or non-pedagogical staff to pose a threat of attack by an active assailant in schools and school facilities. In order to achieve this, personal knowledge of the given issue, elaborated case studies, adopted legislation and methodological analysis of the questionnaires on the topic will be used. Attention is paid to all areas that may affect the behavior of people who find themselves in similar situations where the primary objective is to minimize the number of victims of such an attack. I progress here from the field of prevention, which includes a wide range of measures, from passive, solving questions of unauthorized access to schools, their authorization and identification, through education of pedagogic and non-pedagogical personnel in the field of the ability to solve unexpected and extraordinary situations to the personal readiness of all persons, moving in schools that can positively affect the situation caused by the activity of the active invader. I am personally involved in the issue in my entire career in the armed and security corps of the Czech Republic, as well as in my current position as the Chief Security Manager of a public institution. At present I am personally involved in the activities of the City of Prague, aiming at increasing the awareness of teachers and other school staff about the possibilities of preventive security measures in the field of emergency situations, with a primary focus on behavior in case of a conflict with the participation of an active striker. So I can continuously monitor the teachers' reactions to the lectured substance, use their feedback to further improve the education process in this area, and, last but not least, influence the composition of teaching materials. This work should be beneficial to the scientific community and to the professional public by its complexity and consistency in the knowledge of the topic, collected in one publication, and can contribute to the creation of further legislative procedures created by state administration bodies.

The purpose of this study was to review and explore the concept of lease purchase financing for the construction of new facilities in Texas. It sought to determine the impact of lease purchase financing and the characteristics of those districts that have utilized lease purchase financing for the purpose of new school construction. A two pronged approach was used for the study, both quantitative and qualitative. The study examined all school districts that utilized lease purchasing and examined various traits of the districts. Data was acquired from the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Bond Review Board. The qualitative portion of the study included interviews with superintendents of nine different Texas school districts that have utilized lease purchase financing. The study concluded that lease purchase districts were generally small school districts that were property poor and have high property tax rates. The study also concluded that the major reason for districts to use lease purchase financing was to avoid having to hold an election in order to gain approval for the sale of traditional general obligation bonds. Another factor identified was the availability of state funds through the state Instructional Facility Allotment. The study also concluded that while districts sought to provide better programs for their students through better facilities, that students actually suffer due to instructional funds being used for the payment of long term debt.

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This paper has been written primarily to emphasize the need of some pattern in school building and planning. The principles and practices herein contained are not complete in all aspects. Many of the specifications have been accepted by authorities specializing in this field. The county in which the writer is employed is about to embark upon a building program. It becomes a most opportune time to carry on a study concerned with the planning and construction of a practical building. Familiarization with accepted practices might well influence thinking of all concerned. To include community participation would establish a closer tie between two groups so dependent upon each other. / "June, 1953." / Typescript. / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science." / Advisor: H. W. Dean, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 60).

This dissertation contributes to the ongoing debate on how educational inputs make a difference and how to allocate them efficiently. Educational inputs could be broadly defined as any personnel inputs such as teachers and career service staff, learning environment that includes peers and school facilities, and policies that facilitate learning. This dissertation explores three topics: peer effects in higher education, the consequences of college expansion, and the impacts of school closures. Chapter I estimates the peer effects of non-cognitive skills. I show how peers’ non-cognitive skills influence students' academic outcomes and own non-cognitive skills. I use a unique dataset that includes information on student non-cognitive skills, course grades, and friendship from a university in China that randomly assigns students to dormitories. My first main finding is that peers’ non-cognitive skills affect students’ academic outcomes positively but differentially. All students benefit from exposure to “persistent” peers, while students with low baseline academic ability also benefit from exposure to “motivated” peers. My second main finding is that peers also affect the development of students’ self-control and willingness to socialize. These findings have important implications in evaluating the social returns to interventions that improve non-cognitive skills and education policies that change peer group composition. Chapter II summarizes the current literature on college expansions, which change the education resource for many students. Studies have explored the impact of College Expansions that happened worldwide and this chapter summarizes literature in the field of economics of education. This chapter pays special attention to studies that explore the impact on wages and employment and how current studies identify causal relationships. Meanwhile, this chapter reviews how current studies examine the impacts of college expansion in China starting from 1999, which was unparalleled in magnitude. Finally, I discuss how future studies could improve to identify causal effects of the impact of the tremendous college expansion in China. Chapter III, a joint work with Ying Xu, estimates the effect of school closures causedby wildfires. School closures are a common and disruptive feature of education systems when sudden shocks from weather, natural disasters, or infectious disease require that students remain at home rather than in the classroom. Indeed, since January 2020, school closures have happened all around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States, more than 50 million students are currently out of school due to COVID-related closures. This raises an important question: How do sudden school closures affect student development in the short and medium term? In this chapter, we use administrative data to examine the causal effect of unexpected school closures, exploiting sudden variations in these closures due to wildfires in California. We show that unexpected closures have negative effects on student test scores, and the loss of school time is one of the most important mechanisms of decline in student achievement. Meanwhile, minority students and students from school districts with low socioeconomic status experience larger negative effects from such unexpected closures. We argue that these results can help inform policy to identify and address the negative impacts of such closures.

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