Nonresident angler participation in Alaskan sport fisheries has increased at a higher rate than resident participation during the past decade. Popular sport fisheries have become crowded and stakeholder groups are increasingly concerned about the future direction of Alaska sport fisheries management. To address stakeholder concerns in an informed manner, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) commissioned a market segmentation study to collect baseline information for assessing the impacts of projects and strategies that provide benefits to the angling public. I developed a 24-page mail questionnaire that was sent to a stratified random sample of 15,000 Alaska nonresident fishing license holders. Information was collected on fishing participation, fishing experience, activity-specific attitudes, motivations for fishing, as well as species and locations fished. In addition, information on setting preferences, guide use, fish exportation, and opinions on several management proposals was also collected. The response rate was 54% (exclusive of surveys that were undeliverable). A two-stage empirical clustering approach, employing Ward's method and UPGMA hierarchical clustering followed by k-means partitioning, identified five nonresident angler clusters. A combination of seven specialization and four motivation variables were used to identify angler groups. The angler segments ranged in size from 15% to 24% of the sample and had diverse characteristics including differences in frequency of participation, fishing experience and preferences, as well as motivations for fishing. Significant differences existed among angler segments with regard to Alaska fishing characteristics, such as number of days and locations fished in Alaska, number of fish transported from Alaska, attributes important in fishery site selection, and likelihood of returning to Alaska to fish. Differences in fishing characteristics, resource dependency, and preferences with regard to fishery attributes also were found among anglers participating in selected Alaska sport fisheries, as well as anglers fishing for different species within a fishery location (e.g., Kenai River). Information provided by this study will allow ADF&G to assess the relative nonresident demand for different types of angling experiences in Alaska, estimate nonresident angler response to potential management actions, and focus planning and management activities in ways that are consistent with the interests of these different angler types. Results also demonstrate the potential for fishery-based segmentation to provide fisheries managers with a more detailed understanding of nonresident angler participation at the regional and fishery level. / Master of Science

This dissertation is a qualitative case study of three elementary teachers that currently teach at a school implementing a departmental structure in Northern California. Data was gathered by interviewing each participant individually and is presented in the form of a narrative for each participant. The purpose of this study was to explore the math self-efficacy of elementary teachers who teach in a school implementing a departmental structure. The research addressed the following question: How does a departmental structure influence the experiences, perceptions, and self-efficacy of elementary teachers as each relates to mathematics instruction? The results of this study demonstrate that, when implemented correctly, respecting teacher autonomy and choice, a departmental structure at the elementary level can provide a framework that has a positive impact on teacher professional math self-efficacy. The structure creates the opportunity for focused preparation and learning, teacher specialization based on subject strength, and perceptions that the teachers are respected and trusted as content and instructional experts. All three participants expressed that they feel they are better math teachers in the departmental structure than they were in the single classroom structure. They also each expressed that they experience greater job satisfaction and reduced stress in the departmental structure.

Handedness is a widely studied behavioral asymmetry that is commonly measured as a preference for using one hand over the other. Right hand preference in humans occurs at a ratio of 9:1, whereas left hand preference in rhesus monkeys has been estimated at 2:1. Despite differences in the direction and degree of hand preference, this dissertation investigated whether primates share common underlying factors for the development of handedness. Previous work in human infants has identified a predictive relationship between rightward supine head orientation and later right hand preference. Experiment 1 examined the relationship between neonatal head orientation and later hand use in rhesus monkey infants (N=16). A leftward supine head orientation bias was found that corresponded to greater left hand activity for hand-to-face movements while supine; however, neonatal head positioning did not predict later hand use preference for reaching or manipulation on a coordinated bimanual task. A supine posture is common for human infants, but not for rhesus monkey infants, indicating that differences in early posture experience may differentially shape the development of hand use preference. Movement quality is an additional factor that may affect how the hands are used in addition to neonatal experience. 2-D and 3-D kinematic analyses were used to examine the quality of reaching movements in rhesus monkey infants (N=16), human infants (N=73) and human adults (N=12). In rhesus monkey infants, left hand reaches were characterized as ballistic as compared to right hand reaches independent of hand use preference (Experiment 2). Left hand ballistic reaching in rhesus monkeys may be a carryover from earlier primates that relied on very fast reaches to capture insect prey. Unlike monkey infants, reach quality was a function of hand preference in human infants (Experiment 3). By contrast, a right hand advantage for reaching was observed in human adults regardless of left or right hand preference (Experiment 4). Differential hand experience due to hand preference in early infancy may in part be responsible for the hand preference effects on movement quality observed in human infants but not monkey infants. Motor control may become increasingly lateralized to the left hemisphere over human development leading to the right hand advantage for reaching observed in human adults, as well as over primate evolution leading to right hand use preferences in higher primates like chimpanzees. An underlying mechanism such as a right shift factor in humans and a left shift factor in rhesus monkeys may be a common basis for primate handedness. Environmental and experiential factors then differentially shape this mechanism, including species-typical development. Further work examining the ontogeny of hand preference and hemispheric specialization in various primate infants will lead to a greater understanding of how different factors interact in the development of hand use across primate species.

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The neurobehavioural organization of speech perception and production in persons with Down Syndrome (DS) is still not clearly understood. The current study investigated the cerebral specialization for speech production using a mouth asymmetry paradigm. In right handed, non-handicapped subjects the mouth asymmetry methodology has shown a facilitation on the right side of the mouth during expressive speech. The right mouth asymmetry is believed to reflect the dominance of the left hemisphere for speech production (Graves, Goodglass & Landis, 1982). In the present study the lateralization for the production of speech was investigated in 10 right handed participants with Down syndrome and 10 non-handicapped subjects. The results indicated that a tendency for a right mouth advantage (RMA) at the initiation and end of speech production occurred in both subject groups. Surprisingly, the degree of asymmetry did not differ, suggesting that the focal representation of speech production is lateralized similarly in both subject groups. Additionally, a high proportion of verbal errors were made by individuals with DS. These results are consistent with the model of biological dissociation (Elliott & Weeks, 1993), which asserts that individuals with DS are impaired on verbal-motor tasks due to the functional separation between speech perception centers in the right cerebral hemisphere, and speech production centers in the left cerebral hemisphere. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

Introduction: Generally, children and adolescents enjoy the practice of sports. However, increase number of competition and competitiveness in youth sports has been causing an increment in frequency and volume of training, leading to sport specialization. Even if sport specialization being a subject much discussed, there is no consensus about your consequences in school children. Aim: to estimate odds ratio of sport specialization in school athletic population. Methods: sample characterization instruments and specialization questionnaire were answered for 830 participants of different modalities. Participants were recruited from public and private school. The classification of the specialization was carried out based on the methods of self-classification and three points system. The data analysis was performed through the descriptive statistics, chi-square test and multinomial logistic regression analysis, p < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The analysis results showed that the most studies population is male. The points system ranked adolescents at levels: low, medium and high specialization, showed 61.8% (n=495), 29.5% (n=235), 8.7% (n=70), respectively, allocated in each category. Participants classified themselves how single (n=405, 50.6%) or multiple sports (n=396, 49.4%), through the self-classification system. The methods association (three points system and self-classification), showed statistically significant (p=0.001). Conclusion: the odds ratio of sport specialization is low. Age and school size variables were not decisive for influencing in school children specialization. Sport specialization is influenced by the type of school and sex. / INTRODUÇÃO: Em geral adolescentes desfrutam da prática esportiva. O crescimento do número de competições e competitividade nos esportes juvenis, vem causando um aumento na frequência e volume de treinamento, levando a especialização esportiva. Ainda que seja um tema bastante discutido na literatura, não existe um consenso sobre suas consequências em escolares. OBJETIVO: Estimar a chance de especialização esportiva precoce em uma população atlética escolar. MÉTODO: Os instrumentos para caracterização da amostra e o Questionário Sobre Especialização foram respondidos por 830 praticantes de modalidades distintas. Os participantes foram recrutados de escolas públicas e particulares. A classificação da especialização foi feita baseada nos métodos de autoclassificação e no sistema de três pontos. A análise dos dados foi realizada através da estatística descritiva, teste qui-quadrado e análise de regressão logística multinomial. Foram considerados estatisticamente significativos valores de p<0,05. RESULTADOS: Os resultados das análises mostraram que a maior parte da população estudada é do sexo masculino. O sistema de pontos classificou os adolescentes em níveis: baixa, média e alta especialização, mostrando 61,8% (n=495), 29,5% (n=235), 8,7% (n=70) respectivamente, alocados em cada categoria. Os participantes se classificaram como praticantes de um único (n=405, 50,6%), ou vários esportes (n=396, 49,4%) através do sistema de autoclassificação. A associação entre os métodos (sistema de 3 pontos e autoclassificação), mostrou-se significativa estatisticamente (p=0,001). CONCLUSÃO: A chance de um escolar ser especializado precocemente é baixa. As variáveis idade e tamanho da escola não foram determinantes para influenciar na especialização dos escolares. Contudo, a especialização esportiva parece ser influenciada pela sexo e tipo de escola. / São Cristóvão, SE

Cette thèse s’interroge sur les déterminants des divergences de performances commerciales au sein de la zone euro à travers quatre études empiriques. La première revient sur l’impact des spécialisations sur les performances à l’exportation, à l’aide d’une étude dynamique des avantages comparatifs et d’une analyse à parts de marché constantes. La seconde introduit une mesure élargie de la compétitivité structurelle dans la modélisation des équations d’exportation traditionnelles à travers l’étude d’un indicateur composite de compétitivité. La troisième étudie le lien entre investissements directs à l’étranger et performances commerciales dans les pays de la zone euro par le biais de tests de causalité en panel hétérogène et d’équations de gravité. Enfin, la dernière partie de cette thèse revient sur les stratégies d’internationalisation de la production et leurs conséquences sur les performances commerciales des pays à travers l’étude du comportement des constructeurs automobiles européens. Les meilleures performances de l’Allemagne ne proviennent pas uniquement de sa compétitivité-coût. L’innovation accrue de ses produits, ses infrastructures, sa politique visant à diminuer les coûts pour ses entreprises via un accès privilégié au crédit et une politique fiscale avantageuse couplées à l’accroissement de la fragmentation de sa production expliquent sa « surperformance » sur le marché mondial. Au contraire, les entreprises françaises ont souffert de la hausse des coûts salariaux dans le pays mais également du manque d’innovation de leurs produits et de leurs stratégies de délocalisation totale de la production. / This thesis is composed of four empirical studies investigating the determinants of export performance discrepancies in the Euro area. The first study evaluates the impact of specialization on export performances relying on a dynamic study of the comparative advantages and a constant market share analysis. A second chapter introduces a new enlarged measure of competitiveness in the traditional export equations based on the study of a composite competitiveness indicator. The third chapter examines the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and Euro area export performances using both causality tests in a heterogeneous panel and gravity equations. The final part of this thesis discusses the impact of internationalization of production’ strategies on country’s export performances focussing on an analysis of European car manufacturers’ behaviour. The strong German export performance does not only result from its cost competitiveness. The innovation of its products, its infrastructures, its policies aiming at reducing costs for its firms through access to credit and a favourable fiscal policy associated with the increasing fragmentation of its production explain its "over-performance" on the world market. On the contrary, rising labour costs, the lack of product innovation and a strategy of extensive production offshoring hurt the competitiveness of French firms.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Howard D. Hahn / Landscape architecture’s scope of knowledge and professional practice is continuously broadening. Formalized certification and certification standards do not exist to date; as a result, limiting the depth of knowledge in landscape architects. Beyond competency in core skills like natural systems, site planning and design, and visualization graphics, the general knowledge base of most landscape architects spans a variety of disciplines. This ability to “see the bigger picture” offers certain strengths when “placemaking”, interacting with allied professionals, and leading project teams; yet there are limited opportunities for landscape architects to formally develop a depth of expertise. An extensive literature search identified forty-one knowledge domains that exist in landscape architecture. This report identifies fourteen domains that landscape architects need in current and future work supported with identified core skills and knowledge in the profession. This report seeks to update the Council of Landscape Architecture Registration Board’s (CLARB) identification of knowledge domains by layering skills and knowledge found in sixty current job postings, literature search, and structured interviews. In addition, this report identifies future trends in the profession and marketplace and future dilemmas landscape architects must address in the next twenty years. Content analysis of certification programs offered to landscape architecture students at accredited schools was conducted. A certification precedent study was conducted to understand the range of certification standards that exist in order to propose a standardized certification program. Thirteen themes are identified in the structured interviews that are incorporated into themes of this report. Overall, professionals feel that landscape architecture’s strength as a generalist profession makes the profession unique from its allied professions. However, some professionals acknowledge that as a landscape architect progresses in his or her career, they tend toward areas of specialization. This report suggests that certifications be offered to graduate students and professionals, explains specialization in the profession, and identifies areas landscape architects need to increase their skills and knowledge in, to stay relevant.

The aim of this study is to examine, with background of the swedish specialized social service, how the client is formed in a process by categorizing and sorting in the receiving department of the financial support. Which factors professionals are perceived to be problematic in the management of cases and the social workers approach to meet the clients needs. The study was conducted with one qualitative semi-structured interview with the head of the department of financial support, and two focus group interviews with social workers at the department of financial support. The theoretical approach is Hasenfeld´s theory about human service organizations, Billquist´s theory about the sorting process and Johansson´s theory about the client construction process. The empirical results also relate to Johansson´s theory about mass handling of clients and Svensson, Johnsson and Laanemets theory about the social workers action space. The conclusion of this study is that a specialized social service is categorizing and sorting the client through all parts of the process in the receiving department of financial support. The result shows that several factors makes it problematic for the social workers to respond to the client needs in a specialized social service, causing the social workers to use their acion space.