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Thesis advisor: Karen D. Arnold / Master's education is the largest segment of graduate education in the United States yet there is a paucity of research about how master's students experience their programs. Empirical research on student engagement - defined as the time and effort students devote to activities that are linked to educational outcomes and what institutions do to promote student participation in these activities - is discussed in the literature as a mostly undergraduate phenomenon (Kuh, 2001; 2003; Kuh et al., 2007a). This quantitative study extended engagement research to master's students using an instrument called the Master's Survey of Student Engagement (MSSE), which was adapted from the Law School Survey of Student Engagement. The MSSE was administered to 1,539 students enrolled in a master's program in arts and sciences, business, or education at a mid-sized research University in the Northeast. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to examine the internal structure of the MSSE. Following the factor analysis, five multiple regression analyses were conducted; each multiple regression analysis examined the relationship between a particular engagement dimension (as the dependent variable) and the student characteristics of academic discipline, gender, age, enrollment status, children status, marital status, and international status (as the independent variables). While the findings suggest at least five dimensions of engagement for master's students, three of these dimensions are more strongly associated with student characteristics, including academic discipline. The findings also showed that master's students in business and education are more likely to experience a supportive campus environment than are students in arts and sciences. The findings also suggested that arts and sciences students have a more rigorous intellectual experience and engage more with faculty than do students in education or business. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

A l’aide de la télédétection, de la géomatique et des enquêtes de terrain, nous avons confirmé l’existence d’un reverdissement du Sahel, durant la période 1981 à 2006, même si il est loin d’être homogène. Ces différences spatiales ne peuvent s’expliquer uniquement par des facteurs naturels. La croissance démographique ne permet pas non plus, seule, d’expliquer ces différences à l’échelle du Sahel. L’approche multiscalaire des changements du couvert végétal sur plus de cinquante ans, au sein des six ateliers appartenant à trois pays différents, montre que la présence de plus en plus importante de l’homme n’engendre pas systématiquement la disparition des arbres. L’expansion agricole observée semble avoir entraîné un « déplacement » des arbres de la savane arborée vers les zones de cultures et les villages, les sociétés rurales sahéliennes façonnant le couvert arboré en fonction de leurs besoins (agriculture, défrichement, coupe, bois énergie). L’analyse du discours des personnes rencontrées a montré que l’implication de « facilitateurs » locaux est indispensable à la réussite de projets de replantation et de sauvegarde du patrimoine forestier de chaque village. Le recours à des analyses géo-textométriques du discours a permis de mettre en évidence l’opposition « Utilisateurs-Gestionnaires » mais aussi les différences entre sites le long du gradient bioclimatique nord-sud. Néanmoins les générations futures ont une représentation de leur environnement qui pourrait aller de pair avec une préoccupation pour sa préservation. / Using remote sensing, geomatics and field surveys, we confirmed the existence of Sahelian regreening during the period 1981 to 2006, even though it is far from homogeneous. These spatial differences can not be explained solely by natural factors. Population growth alone does not explain these differences across the Sahel. The multiscale approach to changes in plant cover over more than 50 years, in the six workshops belonging to three different countries, shows that the increasing presence of man does not systematically cause the disappearance of trees. The observed agricultural expansion seems to have led to the "displacement" of trees from the savannah to the cultivated areas and villages, the rural Sahelian societies shaping tree cover according to their needs (agriculture, clearing, cutting, energy wood). The analysis of the speeches of the people we met showed that the involvement of local "facilitators" is essential to the success of replanting projects and safeguarding the forest heritage of each village. The use of geo-textometric analyzes of the discourse made it possible to highlight the opposition "Users-Managers" but also the differences between sites along the north-south bioclimatic gradient. Nevertheless, future generations have a representation of their environment that could go hand in hand with a concern for its preservation

This essay explores current methods, procedures and philosophies surrounding oboe reed-making via a survey conducted in 2009 amongst college-level oboe professors. By relying on the results of the survey, it seeks to identify a unifying approach to American reed-making pedagogy by establishing common concerns and experiences of educators and presenting a snapshot of the development of oboe reed design in American universities and colleges with particular attention given to developments during the tenure of those surveyed ending with 2009.

Understanding the relationship between public relations practitioners and journalists is of paramount importance to practicing effective media relations. This study explores that relationship using depth interviews and a survey to gauge perceptions of the relationship for both journalists and public relations practitioners in the state of Florida. It concludes that there has been little change in the relationship between public relations practitioners and journalists over the past 17 years, and offers suggestions as to why that is the case.

A web-based and mail-out survey instrument was created to gather information on camelids in Texas. Information on management, nutrition, diseases, and reproductive problems was collected. The objectives of this research study were: (1) to establish prevalence of various diseases in alpaca and llama populations in Texas; (2) to evaluate association between potential management/nutrition risk factors and specific diseases/reproductive problems; (3) to determine how many camelids are kept in Texas and what their use is; (4) to determine possible disease clustering through spatial analysis. The survey results included 2,079 camelids on 125 farms within Texas. The top five camelid diseases in this sample were intestinal parasites, incisor overgrowth, mites, heat stress, and colic. Univariate analysis and multivariable modeling found associations between potential risk factors and these diseases.

During the summers of 2003 and 2004, a small team of graduate students initiated an underwater archaeological survey off the coast of Cyprus as part of the University of Cincinnati excavations at Episkopi-Bamboula. With the support of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology (INA) at Texas A&M University and RPM Nautical Foundation, the project explored the seabed south and west of the Akrotiri Peninsula at Episkopi Bay. The overall aim of this ongoing diachronic survey is to determine the extent and nature of maritime contacts at Episkopi-Bamboula and its Greco-Roman successor, Kourion, from the Bronze Age through the Byzantine period. Efforts during these first two seasons concentrated on simple visual inspection of several promising areas near dangerous cliffs, offshore rocks and shallow reefs, as well as potential harbors and anchorages. The team recorded substantial pottery and anchor assemblages at Dreamer?s Bay, Cape Zevgari, and Avdimou Bay, including at least three shipwreck sites. Throughout the area, amphoras and anchors attest to varying levels of maritime activity over the past three millennia.The underwater material record reveals a modest level of Classical trade, followed by a respectable increase during the Hellenistic era. While very little material thus far can be attributed to the earlier Imperial centuries, the greatest quantities in terms of both individual sherds and coherent assemblages speaks strongly to intense trade during the Late Roman (Early Byzantine) period, from the fourth through the seventh century. Not surprisingly, this rapid floruit in maritime trade parallels the expansion of settlement throughout the island, including its eventual collapse in the middle of the seventh century.

A web-based and mail-out survey instrument was created to gather information on camelids in Texas. Information on management, nutrition, diseases, and reproductive problems was collected. The objectives of this research study were: (1) to establish prevalence of various diseases in alpaca and llama populations in Texas; (2) to evaluate association between potential management/nutrition risk factors and specific diseases/reproductive problems; (3) to determine how many camelids are kept in Texas and what their use is; (4) to determine possible disease clustering through spatial analysis. The survey results included 2,079 camelids on 125 farms within Texas. The top five camelid diseases in this sample were intestinal parasites, incisor overgrowth, mites, heat stress, and colic. Univariate analysis and multivariable modeling found associations between potential risk factors and these diseases.

Customer load characteristics plays the ndamental role for more reliable load forecasting. It can also be used to enhance the system expansion planning and economic dispatch more effectively. Besides, the system capacity shortage due to peak loading can be relieved by the strategy of energy conservation and load management with customer load models. A systematic procedure is proposed in this thesis to study the effect of temperature change to the power system load demand by using the typical load patterns of customer classes. The billing data of all service customers are retrieved to derive the daily load profile of the selected Taipower district. To verify the accuracy of the estimated load composition, the simulation results are compared to the actual load profile collected by the SCADA system. The sensitivity analysis of load demand with respect to the temperature change for each customer class is performed by statistic regression according to the actual customer power consumption and temperature data. With temperature rise, the load contribution by each customer class is updated by the corresponding temperature sensitivity and integrated together to form the new load profile of the service district. In the future, the load research will play more important role for power utility companies. Load data will be utilized to a greater extent by various departments in utility companies. For instance, the proposed load survey system can solve the customer load characteristics more accurately to support various applications. By refer the temperature sensitivity analysis based on the customer load research, can evaluate the potential of air conditioner load management to reduce the system peak loading can be inhibit. With this information, the proper incentive of cycling control of air conditioners can be designed to achieve more effective load management.