The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity suggests that current policies and interventions have been inadequate to counteract the driving forces. Young adults attending college gain weight at a faster rate than the general population, without evidence of compensatory weight loss. Therefore, college may be an important stage for the primary prevention of obesity. We sought to identify weight gain mediators in college underclassmen using the social cognitive model for health behavior change. Eligible students living on-campus to underwent assessments of height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, habitual physical activity and dietary intake, and psychosocial determinants of health behavior change. We conducted elicitation interviews and focus group discussions to identify themes related to the diet and physical activity habits, attitudes, social norms, and experiences of the target population. Results found that students were generally physically fit and enjoyed a variety of physical activities, yet spent considerable amounts of time in sedentary activity and had difficulty exercising regularly. Healthy eating perceptions were instilled by parents; however, families are much less influential in college, and students almost always eat with friends. Healthy eating and exercise habits were secondary to several other responsibilities. Skills in planning, goal setting, and self-monitoring are necessary to overcome the social and environmental forces contributing to weight gain. These results will be used to develop a social cognitive theory-based intervention to improve health behaviors, and consequently prevent weight gain in young adults attending college. / Master of Science

The world is facing significant challenges as a result of societal practices. Many of those challenges are agricultural in nature and include worldwide food insecurity, intensified greenhouse gas emissions resulting in climate change, major losses in biodiversity, substantial pressure on natural resources, and increasingly antimicrobial-resistant pests and diseases. To address these challenges, the workforce of the agricultural system must continue improving, collaborating, innovating, and transforming at a global scale. The diversity of agricultural challenges calls for a diverse workforce with science skills as well as cultural competencies. Agricultural educators and practitioners are consistently concerned with strengthening the relationship of youth and agricultural career choice. The field of agricultural education is also working to ensure that youth who choose agriculture have the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary to address agricultural challenges. However, youth have steadily chosen careers outside of agriculture, leaving thousands of jobs available. Researchers have explored many reasons why youth may not choose agriculture, though few have considered aspects of identity or have explored factors that impact perceptions and thoughts of agriculture in depth. The overall purpose of this research was to explore how aspects of identity, including occupational identity status, inform agricultural career interest and choice; and to understand youth perceptions and thoughts of agriculture within a four-week agricultural education program. The purpose was achieved using research questions and objectives for each individual study. Data were collected using inventories, surveys, group interviews, and blog post assignments to describe participants. Data analysis included thematic analysis and descriptive statistical analysis. Findings show that the participants often had a more negative perception of agriculture prior to the program and expanded their view of agriculture after learning more about the industry. There are many factors that shape perceptions of agriculture, including identity characteristics, learning experiences, and contextual factors. The findings have implications for the field of agricultural education and the entire agricultural industry. At the conclusion of each study within this research, recommendations for agricultural educators, practitioners, and researchers were made. The recommendations include developing and implementing agricultural education programs that serve underrepresented populations in agriculture and conducting research to investigate ill-explored areas that emerged as findings from the research. / Doctor of Philosophy / The world is facing many problems in the agricultural industry. These problems relate to food, land, and climate – amongst others. These problems must be addressed; and to do so, there must be a workforce in the agriculture industry that is skilled and competent. Agricultural educators and practitioners are tasked with preparing the agricultural workforce and have a continuous mission to encourage youth to choose agricultural careers. A problem is that youth are largely not choosing agricultural careers, and many jobs in agriculture go unfilled. Researchers have explored reasons why youth largely choose careers in other industries; the reasons include different factors such as opinions of parents and the exposure to agricultural careers. This research explores additional reasons why youth may not choose a career in agriculture and explores previously known reasons in the context of the 2019 Virginia's Governor's School for Agriculture program. The overall purpose of this research is to explore additional reasons for career choice in agriculture, including aspects of identity. The overall purpose of this research was also to explore youths' perceptions and thoughts of agriculture in-depth. The purpose was achieved by asking a series of research questions and by stating a series of objectives. The research questions and objectives were addressed using data collection methods of group interviews, blog post assignments, inventories, and surveys. The data that was collected was analyzed using thematic analysis and descriptive statistical analysis. The findings from this research show that there are many reasons why youth who were participants of the 2019 Virginia's Governor's School for Agriculture program think about and perceive agriculture. The reasons relate to identity characteristics, learning experiences, and contextual factors. These reasons also influence how youth choose to be involved in agriculture. The findings have implications for the field of agricultural education and the entire agricultural industry. For each article within this research, recommendations for agricultural educators, practitioners, and researchers were made. These include expanding the reach of agricultural education and further exploring findings that emerged from the research.

Objective: The aims of our present study were to develop a valid and reliable survey framed around the social cognitive theory, which would evaluate internal and external factors associated with food insecurity from the student's perspective, and to test the survey with a multi-state population. Design: The College Perspectives around Food Insecurity (CPFI) survey was developed through several revision and improvement steps using a mixed methods approach. In Phase 1 (2018-2019), data were translated into survey items and assigned to a theoretical concept (personal, behavioral, or environmental) in the social cognitive theory. In Phase 2 (2019-2020), content validity testing occurred through two rounds of expert reviews. In Phase 3 (2021), researchers conducted two rounds of cognitive interviews with college students to evaluate face validity. In Phase 4 (2022), the survey underwent stability and internal consistency reliability testing. Participants: Three expert reviewers evaluated the initial survey draft during Phase 2. Participants for Phases 3 and 4 were college students at least 18 years old. Analysis: Descriptive statistics (means and frequencies) were used for expert reviewer scores, timing data, and demographics. Researchers used test-retest and Cronbach's alpha to measure survey reliability. Results: The initial survey contained 143 items: 54 personal, 52 behavioral and 37 environmental. After several testing and revision steps the final survey contained 95 items: 40 personal, 26 behavioral, and 29 environmental. Test/retest reliability was 0.989 and Cronbach's alpha scores were 0.47 for personal, 0.39 for behavioral, and 0.74 for environmental. Mean length of time to complete the full survey was 16.38 min (SD=8.88 min). Conclusions and Implications: The CPFI survey can be used to better understand internal and external factors associated with food insecurity in college students which could inform interventions aimed at assisting this population.

Yes / In electronic government (hereafter e-government), a large variety of technology adoption models are employed, which make researchers and policymakers puzzled about which one to use. In this research, nine well-known theoretical models of information technology adoption are evaluated and 29 different constructs are identified. A unified model of e-government adoption (UMEGA) is developed and validated using data gathered from 377 respondents from seven selected cities in India. The results indicate that the proposed unified model outperforms all other theoretical models, explaining the highest variance on behavioral intention, acceptable levels of fit indices, and significant relationships for each of the seven hypotheses. The UMEGA is a parsimonious model based on the e-government-specific context, whereas the constructs from the original technology adoption models were found to be inappropriate for the e-government context. By using the UMEGA, relevant e-government constructs were included. For further research, we recommend the development of e-government-specific scales.E-

Career development is a component of the work of both school counselors and counselor educators. A review of the literature found no existing comparison of between-rural differences in career self-efficacy and college outcome expectation when considering students from rural fringe, rural distant, and rural remote communities. Utilizing Social Cognitive Career Theory and Critical Pedagogy of Place as guiding theoretical frameworks, this study sought to examine between-rural differences in self-efficacy and outcome expectation. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze data collected from rural college students attending a large Appalachian research university. Regression and path analysis were used to make causal inferences from the data. The mixed-method exploratory study utilized a convergent design where qualitative data was concurrently collected and analyzed to provide context to the quantitative findings. The findings show that while no statistically significant between-group differences existed with outcome expectation, rural remote students had lower self-efficacy scores than other rural students, particularly relating to social skills. Large group social skills and social adjustment to college could be valuable areas of intervention for school counselors and higher education administrators looking to improve college outcomes for rural remote students. / Doctor of Philosophy / Career and college preparation are key components to the work of school counselors and higher education administrators. While a review of the literature shows that the career development needs of rural students are different than their non-rural peers, there has been no examination of the differences that exist between rural groups. This study looked at differences in career development among rural students who had grown up in various levels of remoteness. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to determine if any differences exist and what those differences are. The results showed that students from more remote areas had lower levels of confidence in their ability to succeed academically in college. Additionally, social skills were a common theme when exploring what areas of transition were difficult for rural students.

Collaborations to produce innovative models that link postsecondary education to workforce development initiatives have increased as multiple stakeholders respond to the call to develop a diverse, well-prepared STEM workforce. University and industry stakeholders in engineering agree that collaborating to share expertise and implement programs that aim to support the school-to-workforce transition for engineering graduates is critical. However, in light of existing efforts, a more nuanced view of university-industry partnerships from the student participant perspective is needed to provide data to engineering educators and professionals to support effective partnership design and use of resources. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to understand how experiences in the Co-op Development Program (CDP) influence student participants’ subsequent career decision-making with respect to pursuing engineering industry positions. Guided by Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), this study examined the role that cooperative education experiences have on how students view and act on the potential employment opportunities that university and industry partners anticipate. Semi-structured interviews with eight former CDP participants, employed in industry at the time of the study, served as the primary data source. Additionally, program related documents, a profile questionnaire, and a conference proceeding were utilized to provide in-depth context of the CDP. Results indicate that all participants voiced a desire to work in the aerospace industry to explore short-term interests or to accomplish longer-term career entry goals. Furthermore, participants most frequently discussed experiences that required them to employ a sense of selfagency to complete work tasks (e.g., guiding themselves through uncertainty, observations of the environments, and interactions with engineering professionals) as learning experiences. Finally, participants primarily connected their learning experiences to their beliefs about what work looks like as a full-time engineer, their abilities to perform in an engineering role, and perceptions of fit across different engineering roles and workplaces. Major contributions of this study include extending the analytic generalizability of Social Cognitive Career Theory, creating operationalized definitions of learning experiences, and linking those experiences to students’ beliefs of the engineering industry pathway / Ph. D. / Persistent calls to the field of engineering education to help develop diverse, well-prepared engineers for the STEM workforce have fostered collaborations across university and industry stakeholders. As stakeholders focus efforts on supporting student persistence at several critical junctures, there has been a renewed interest in supporting the school-to-workforce transition for engineering graduates. With calls to develop a more tech-savvy workforce, innovative approaches to supporting and preparing students to enter the workforce have become even more necessary; thus it is important to understand how university- industry partnerships generate experiences that contribute to students' eventual workforce entry. The structure of the Co-op Development Program and the perspective of eight former CDP participants addressed how learning experiences shaped the career decisions of engineering participants immediately following graduation. A qualitative single case study approach was used and Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) guided the study. Major contributions of this study include extending the analytic generalizability of Social Cognitive Career Theory, creating operationalized definitions of learning experiences embedded within that framework, and linking those experiences to how students’ beliefs were shaped on their pathway to an early career within engineering industry. The themes identified in this study can help CDP managers and university stakeholders better support co-op participants and potentially allocate resources that will serve as the basis for future co-op design recommendations. Stakeholders may also use findings to promote the role of university and industry partnerships in supporting the student workforce transition. Future researchers may extend the study design across multiple cases and leverage recommendations for qualitative and quantitative investigations to address some of the limitations embedded within this research design and further contribute to the discussion of preparing students for professional work environments through university-industry partnerships. Ultimately, findings of this study give voice to the student partner in university-industry partnerships as themes identified in this study help CDP managers and university stakeholders to establish interventions and serve as the basis for future co-op design recommendations.

Det här arbetet är en studie i hur jag bäst motiveras till att öva. Jag har testat olika metoder men framför allt utvecklat min egen modell men avstamp i Flow, Social-Cognitve theory, Self-determination theory och Goal-orientation theory. Motivation är anledningen till att vi kan bli framgångsrika musiker och att fostra sin egen motivation borde vara grundläggande för alla blivande musiker. / <p>Etude in e minor - Pius Cheung</p><p> </p><p>Ripple - Akira Miyoshi</p><p> </p><p>Purity 2 - Thomasz Golinski</p><p>Magical Sphere - Rodrigo F. Marques</p><p> </p><p>Asventuras - Alexej Gerrasimez</p><p> </p><p>Octabones - Adi Morag</p><p>Tango Suite for two Guitars, Nr. 2 - Astor Piazzolla</p><p> </p><p>Annanstans - Erik Natanael</p><p> </p><p>Lemuria, the Fallen Civilization - Csaba Marján</p><p>Prelude in g minor - Sergei Rachmaninoff</p><p></p><p>Medverkande :</p><p>Elias Gustafsson</p><p>Rasmus Hansson Jönsson</p><p>Filmen är min Examenskonsert</p><p></p><p>Inspelningen av konserten startar först efter några minuter.</p>

Background and Research Questions: The purpose of this study is to investigate and understand the motivations, experiences, and decision-making processes of a group of professional engineers who decided to switch their career pathway from the engineering industry to education and teaching during their mid-age. Based on the Social Cognitive Career and Motivation Theory and Self-Efficacy Theory, the study was guided by a research question, why would professional engineers decide to switch their career pathway from the engineering industry to education and teaching during their mid-age, particularly in Australia? What are their motivations?  Methodology: In line with the general inductive approach, focus group activity, remarkable item sharing, and member-checking interviews were used to collect in-depth sharing and stories from six participants via the online platform during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the guidelines of the grounded theory approach, three themes and six subthemes were yielded.  Findings: Personal consideration, surrounding environments and individuals, and interests in career development are the main themes in order to answer the research questions. More importantly, the findings indicated that the sense of belonging, behaviours of others, politics, the COVID-19 pandemic, and career development played significant roles in the motivations, experiences, and decision-making processes of a group of professional engineers who decided to switch their career pathway from the engineering industry to education and teaching during their mid-age.  Contribution to the Practice and Values: This study outlined the motivations, experiences, and decision-making processes of professional engineers who decided to switch careers from the engineering industry to education and teaching during their mid-age. The results of this study would fill the research gaps in human resources and workforce management for university lecturers. University leaders, government agencies, human resources planners, and researchers may use this study as the blueprint to reform and upgrade the current policies in teachers’ shortages.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Margaret G. Shroyer / The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to examine the impact of lesson study professional development on teacher self-efficacy and outcome expectancy using Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory as a framework (1977). The focus of this lesson study was implementing Common Core State Standards for mathematics. Thirteen K-6 teachers participated in the lesson study professional development, completed a pre/post Mathematics Teaching Efficacy and Expectancy Beliefs Inventory (MTEEBI) and completed ongoing journaling prompts while the researcher conducted observations throughout the process. Qualitative and quantitative data gathered in this research indicated the lesson study professional development had a positive impact on both self-efficacy and outcome expectancy of the teacher participants. Though the teachers possessed a satisfactory level of self-efficacy and outcome expectancy at the onset of the study, a measurable gain was evident. Comparison of the pre and post MTEEBI surveys, through statistical analysis using a Paired-Samples t-test, indicated a significant positive change in both self-efficacy and outcome expectancy scores. Though growth for both constructs was significant at the .05 level of probability, self-efficacy growth was greater than outcome expectancy. This finding is supported in historical research of the challenge of yielding outcome expectancy growth. The qualitative analysis of observations and journal prompts corroborated the MTEEBI results, indicating a majority of the teachers’ self-efficacy and outcome expectancy beliefs were positively impacted by the lesson study professional development. Bandura’s four sources of efficacy (mastery experiences, modeling, verbal/social persuasion, physiological responses) positively impacted personal self-efficacy, while three of the four sources (mastery experiences, modeling, physiological responses) impacted outcome expectancy. Qualitative data indicated mastery experiences were most critical for both constructs. Lesson study professional development is a natural catalyst for addressing Bandura’s four sources of efficacy and thus building self-efficacy and outcome expectancy. Given the demands of rigorous educational reform, lesson study professional development is a promising approach to positively impact teacher self-efficacy and outcome expectancy, through engaging Bandura’s four sources of efficacy to develop and strengthen these beliefs. Therefore lesson study ought to be a more frequent component of teacher professional development and teacher preparation.

Bakgrund: Befolkningen blir allt äldre och ökad ålder medför funktionsnedsättningar som minskad muskelmassa och balans. Det påverkar gången negativt, men genom att träna funktionellt eller träna upp muskelstyrkan och balansen kan äldres gångförmåga förbättras. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur äldres gångförmåga, self-efficacy och eventuell oro inför att gå påverkas av två olika åttaveckors interventioner med träning inom kommunal verksamhet, samt hur följsamhet till träning påverkas av self-efficacy och eventuell oro. Metod: Studiedesignen är en experimentell design i form av pretest-posttest control group som är en form av RCT. Nitton deltagare ≥65 år rekryterades via konsekutivt urval. Testresultat från TUG, självvald gånghastighet och skattningar på oro och self-efficacy inför att gå samlades in. Resultat: Ingen signifikant skillnad (p&gt;0,05) förekom mellan eller inom grupperna med avseende på testvariablerna. Korrelationsanalyserna visade på ingen, låga och moderata korrelationer, både positiva och negativa men inga signifikanta korrelationer observerades. Slutsats: Resultatet i studien kan inte generaliseras till en större population, men kan vara till grund för ytterligare studier med ett större stickprov som randomiseras utifrån populationen. Ytterligare studier krävs med syfte att undersöka om enbart gångträning är effektivt för att utveckla gångförmågan. / Background:  Since the population is aging the decrease in muscle function and balance impairments leads to increased disable. Which has a negative impact on walking ability, though through functional training, by training muscle strength and balance can enhance walking ability in elderly. Aim: The purpose of the study is to investigate how elderly people walking ability, self-efficacy and any anxiety about going, influenced by two different eight-week interventions within municipal operations, and how adherence to exercise is influenced by self-efficacy and anxiety. Method: The study design is an experimental variant of the pretest-posttest control group design. Nineteen participants’ ≥65 years recruited consecutively through selection. Test results from TUG, self-selected walking speed, and estimates on anxiety and self-efficacy before going was collected. Result: No significant difference (p&gt;0, 05) occurred between or within groups for the test variables. The correlation analysis showed none, low, moderate correlation, both positive and negative but no significant correlations was observed. Conclusion: The results of the study can’t be generalized to a larger population, but can be the basis for further studies with a larger sample to be randomized on the basis of population.  More studies are needed to investigate if only walking exercise is effective for developing the walking ability.