This paper analyses the sources of income measurement error in surveys with a unique dataset.We use the Austrian 2008-2011 waves of EU-SILC which provide individual information on wages,pensions and unemployment benefits from survey interviews and officially linked administrativerecords. Thus, we do not have to fall back on complex two-sample matching procedures likerelated studies. We empirically investigate four sources of measurement error, namely (i) socialdesirability, (ii) socio-demographic characteristics of the respondent, (iii) the survey design, and(iv) the presence of learning effects. We find strong evidence for a social desirability bias inincome reporting, while the presence of learning effects is mixed and depends on the income typeunder consideration. An Owen value decomposition reveals that social desirability is a majorexplanation of misreporting in wages and pensions, whereas socio-demographic characteristicsare most relevant for mismatches in unemployment benefits. / Series: INEQ Working Paper Series

Thesis advisor: Henry Braun / This study evaluates the accuracy, precision, and stability of three different methods of cross-survey analysis in order to determine their suitability for estimating the proportions of low-incidence populations. Population parameters of size and demographic distribution are necessary for planning and policy development. The estimation of these parameters for low-incidence populations poses a number of methodological challenges. Cross-survey analysis methodologies offer an alternative to generate useful, low-incidence population estimates not readily available in today's census without conducting targeted, costly surveys to estimate group size directly. The cross-survey methods evaluated in the study are meta-analysis of complex surveys (MACS), pooled design-based cross-survey (PDCS), and Bayesian multilevel regression with post-stratification (BMRP). The accuracy and precision of these methods were assessed by comparing the estimates of the proportion of the adult Jewish population in Canada generated by each method with benchmark estimates. The stability of the estimates, in turn, was determined by cross-validating estimates obtained with data from two random stratified subsamples drawn from a large pool of US surveys. The findings of the study indicate that, under the right conditions, cross-survey methods have the potential to produce very accurate and precise estimates of low-incidence populations. The study did find that the level of accuracy and precision of these estimates varied depending on the cross-survey method used and on the conditions under which the estimates were produced. The estimates obtained with PDCS and BMRP methodologies were more accurate than the ones generated by the MACS approach. The BMRP approach generated the most accurate estimates. The pooled design-based cross-survey method generated relatively accurate estimates across all the scenarios included in the study. The precision of the estimates was found to be related to the number of surveys considered in the analyses. Overall, the findings clearly show that cross-survey analysis methods provide a useful alternative for estimation of low-incidence populations. More research is needed to fully understand the factors that affect the accuracy and precision of estimates generated by these cross-survey methods. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation.

Counting stars as a means of studying the structure of the Milky Way has a long history, which has progressed significantly with the undertaking of large-area surveys. Photographic surveys have been supplanted with the advent of CCD technology by digital surveys, which provide improved data quality allowing better calibration and fainter limits to be probed reliably. The INT/WFC Photometric H Survey of the Northern Galactic Plane (IPHAS) provides broad-band r0 and i0 photometry down to 20th magnitude at Galactic latitudes jbj < 5 . In this work I make use of the opportunity that IPHAS photometry provides to create stellar number density maps of the Northern Galactic Plane. I produce preliminary maps which are used to identify and exclude poor quality data during the preparation of the second data release of the survey (DR2). By crossmatching IPHAS against the AAVSO Photometric All-Sky Survey (APASS), I derive transformations between the two photometric systems, and measure the per-IPHAS- field magnitude shifts needed to bring the two surveys in line before a global calibration can be applied. Repeating the crossmatching approach between IPHAS and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), I derive transformations between the two surveys and assess their agreement before and after global photometric calibration, in order to gauge the improvement achieved. The effects of incompleteness begin to affect the fainter end of any photometric survey as a consequence of confusion and sensitivity limits. I present the application of artificial source insertion on every broad-band IPHAS DR2 image in order to measure the impact of incompleteness across the entire survey. These measurements are used to construct incompleteness-corrected density maps down to magnitude limits of r0 . 19 and i0 . 18 at an angular resolution of 1 arcminute. These maps represent a unique data product which has applications in studies of Galactic structure and extinction. I perform a cluster search on the i0-band density map, which in addition to returning 71 known clusters, identifies 29 overdensities unassociated with any known clusters. I compare the stellar densities given by my maps to those in simulated versions of the Milky Way generated by models of Galactic population synthesis. I examine the Gaia Universe Model Snapshot (GUMS), a catalogue which predicts the sky as may be observed by the Gaia mission. In order to make meaningful comparisons between GUMS and IPHAS I determine transformations between the two photometric surveys. The results of the comparison are mixed. I also make use of the 2003 Besan con model of Galactic population synthesis to generate catalogues of synthetic photometry along three sightlines in the IPHAS footprint in order to test different 3D extinction prescriptions. The lowest Galactic longitudes (` 30 ) prove to be particularly challenging to emulate, suggesting 3D mapping of optical extinction in the Galactic Plane is not yet a mature art. The main problem appears to be one of underprediction of the obscuration.

No description available.

Employee surveys are often used to support organizational development (OD), and particularly the follow-up process after surveys, including action planning, is important. Nevertheless, this process is oftentimes neglected in practice, and research on it is limited as well. In this article, we first define the employee survey follow-up process and differentiate it from other common feedback practices. Second, we develop a comprehensive conceptual framework that integrates the relevant variables of this process. Third, we describe the methods and results of a systematic review that synthesizes the literature on the follow-up process based on the conceptual framework with the purpose of discussing remaining research gaps. Overall, this paper contributes to a better understanding of the organizational and human factors that affect this process. This is useful for practitioners, as it provides guidance for the successful implementation of this human resource practice. For example, research suggests that it is important to enable managers as change agents and to provide them with sufficient resources.

Master of Music / Department of Music / Steven Maxwell / This report is intended for teachers to use when preparing euphonium solo literature with their students. The solos selected for this report encompass a wide variety of styles and technical abilities, with each solo studied in four sections: Historical Background, Theoretical and Technical Considerations, Suggested Practice, and Educational Gains and Values. The solos studied in this report include Conqueror by Leonard B. Smith, In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg, Allerseelen by Richard Strauss, Pearl by H.A. Vandercook, Andante et Allegro by J. Ed. Barat, Andante et Allegro by J. Guy Ropartz, and Morceau Symphonique by Alexandre Guilmant.

Conference tourism is a young and vibrant industry, which is growing and developing at a prompt rate (Rogers, 2013). The rapid growth of conference tourism and its importance (e.g. economic benefits for destinations) caused a significant academic interest in this topic in 1990's (Yoo &amp; Weber, 2005). Witt et al (1995) argued that the concrete conference theme and the conference destination are likely to make an impact on an individual’s decision, but it is still not clear if a destination or a conference per se attracts people the most. Hence, the aim of this study is to investigate variables that are the most and the least important for attendees of conferences from Sweden when they decide which conference they will attend. Moreover, it will focus particularly on the leisure motivations of conference participants, for instance, destination choice, and their importance for conference attendees.  The empirical study of Yoo and Chon (2008) about the measurement scale of factors affecting convention participation decision-making proved that the ‘destination stimuli’ factor is the first among conference participants from the US, the UK and Australia. This study will partly replicate the study of Yoo and Chon (2008), but at the same time, makes its own contribution to the field of the conference participation decision making process. Firstly, it broadens the geographical scope of the studies within the conference participation decision making process, as have been suggested by Yoo and Weber (2005). Moreover, Yi and Park (2003) argued that culture difference might have impact on decision making process, so it is worth to test if there are any difference between Scandinavian and British, American and Australian conference participants.  The study has been conducted using the quantitative method, particularly, survey method, which have been sent out using the Internet Survey Monkey tool in order to increase the response. Overall, we received 143 valid replies that helped us to make a conclusion that for academics from Umeå University in Sweden the ’educational opportunities’ are the most important factor, while ‘destination stimuli’ one does not affect their decision to go to some conference at all. So, it is worth to test if the difference in the results between Yoo and Chon (2008) study and the current one are caused by the cultural difference or by any other feature. Moreover, it is recommend to extend the geographical scope of the studies within the conference participation decision making process.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.