Household economic value for southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest protection may be sensitive to changes in the forest's physical condition. Further, different recreation groups may hold significantly dissimilar values for forest protection. Household and recreation group willingness to pay for southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest protection was estimated using responses from a mail-out referendum style contingent valuation survey. To test the hypothesis that willingness to pay for forest protection is not sensitive to the condition of the forest's physical condition, 1,000 southeastern households were randomly assigned one of two different forest protection scenarios. Households in the first sample were asked to value a protection program for a forest showing no visible sign of impact from insect or atmospheric disturbance. Households in the second sample were asked to value a protection program for a forest already experiencing impact from insect infestation and air pollution. Logit analysis of the two samples revealed no statistically significant difference in willingness to pay between the two forest protection programs. These results suggest that, over the range of forest conditions tested, a household's value for forest protection may be insensitive to the forest's physical condition. / Master of Science

As the IEC 61850 digital substation standard becomes progressively adopted by utilities throughout the world, entirely computerized methods will completely replace traditional strategies for monitoring the power system. Although newer techniques offer enhanced efficiency and controllability, their reliability is not as established as that of conventional practices. Modern approaches require extensive validation and analysis before they can be implemented on a widespread basis. One specific area of interest is the performance of protection systems that utilize voltage and current samples digitized directly at their source. This research presents a complete test bench for evaluating sampled values-based protection schemes and measures their efficacy under several different operating conditions. It is shown that the novel system operates correctly for the situations it is expected to, with minimal latency compared to traditional practices. / Master of Science / Power system infrastrcutures are changing rapidly from analog arrangements to entirely digital methods. This offers numeous benefits such as increased efficiency, lower cost, higher accuracy, and even improved safety. However, digital implementations do not have an as proven track record as compared to conventional practices, leading to concerns about their reliaiblity. This research tests the performance an en entirely digital protection scheme by using various hardware components. The results are analyzed and show that the novel scheme operates correctly, albeit with a slight delay as compared to traditional methods.

The purpose of this study was to investigate on a national scale the baseline level of p-value fluency of future researchers (i.e., doctoral students). To that end, two research questions were investigated. The first research question, Can a sufficiently reliable and valid measure of p-value misinterpretations (in a research context) be constructed?, was addressed via the development and validation of the Keller P-value Misinterpretation Inventory instrument (KPVMI). An iterative process of expert review, pilot testing, and field testing resulted in an adequately reliable measure (Alpha = .8030) of p-value fluency as assessed across 18 misinterpretations and 2 process levels as well as an independently validated sub-measure of p-value fluency in context as assessed across 18 misinterpretations (Alpha = .8298). The second research question, What do the results of the KPVMI administration tell us about the current level of p-value fluency among doctoral students nationally?, was addressed via analysis of a subset of the field test data (n = 147) with respect to performance on the subset of items considered sufficiently validated as developed in Phases I-III (KPVMI-1). The median score was 10/18 items answered correctly indicating that future researchers on the aggregate struggle to properly interpret and report p-values in context; furthermore, there was insufficient evidence to indicate training and experience are positively correlated with performance. These results aligned with the extant literature regarding the p-value misinterpretations of practicing researchers. / Doctor of Philosophy / The purpose of this study was to investigate on a national scale the baseline level of p-value fluency of future researchers (i.e., doctoral students). To that end, two research questions were investigated. The first research question, Can a sufficiently reliable and valid measure of p-value misinterpretations (in a research context) be constructed?, was addressed via the development and validation of the Keller P-value Misinterpretation Inventory instrument (KPVMI). The second research question, What do the results of the KPVMI administration tell us about the current level of p-value fluency among doctoral students nationally?, was addressed via analysis of a subset of the field test data (n = 147) with respect to performance on the subset of items considered sufficiently validated as developed in Phases I-III (KPVMI-1). Results indicate that future researchers on the aggregate struggle to properly interpret and report p-values in context; furthermore, there was insufficient evidence to indicate training and experience are positively correlated with performance. These results aligned with the extant literature regarding the p-value misinterpretations of practicing researchers.

Over the last 20 years, "engineering for good" has grown into a widespread phenomenon premised on the belief that engineers can and should combine technical expertise with the desire to make positive change. In the United States and abroad, many organizations conduct projects that enroll over ten thousand engineering students, faculty, and professionals. These engineers pursue their "doing good" efforts in the context of the history of Christian missions and colonialism, failed development efforts, and often competing individual and institutional values. These individual and institutional values are entangled in religious analogies and engineers' desire to fit into an overwhelmingly "secularized" profession. Given these nuanced dynamics, what do engineers mean when they say they want to "do good"? In this dissertation, I ask, what is engineering for good? Further, how do different individual and institutional values impact what engineering for good is and does? To answer these questions, I use three case studies of engineers for good being trained in institutions of higher education: Colorado School of Mines (CSM), Baylor University, and University of San Diego (USD)—a public (secular), Baptist, and Catholic university, respectively. I connect the training and practice of engineers for good to three larger social, cultural, and political movements—international development, humanitarian service, and social justice. I argue that engineers for good navigate complex dimensions of assessing and assigning need as they decide what it means to do their work well. These new humanitarians do not simply engage in pro bono efforts done for new users that cannot afford their traditional services. They are creating a new type of engineering to address newly recognized forms of need. Those involved in engineering for good redefine what engineering can and should be used for by drawing on larger values to pursue their purpose and reconcile this purpose with their professional identity. I conclude by showing what the formation of the engineering for good movement illuminates about good engineering. A close examination of the movement reveals engineers reformulating their relationship to notions of technological and moral progress. I show how differing values impact engineering pedagogy and practice. I argue that these engineers are remaking development, their identities, and the engineering profession itself. These findings are core not only to science and technology studies scholars, but historians, political scientists, religious studies scholars, and practitioners—in academia, the non-profit sector, and government aid work— just trying to "do good." / Doctor of Philosophy / Over the last 20 years, "engineering for good" has grown into a widespread phenomenon premised on the belief that engineers can and should combine technical expertise with the desire to make positive change. In the United States and abroad, many organizations conduct projects that enroll over ten thousand engineering students, faculty, and professionals. These engineers pursue their "doing good" efforts in the context of the history of Christian missions and colonialism, failed development efforts, and often competing individual and institutional values. These individual and institutional values are entangled in religious analogies and engineers' desire to fit into an overwhelmingly "secularized" profession. Given these nuanced dynamics, what do engineers mean when they say they want to "do good"? In this dissertation, I ask, what is engineering for good? Further, how do different individual and institutional values impact what engineering for good is and does? To answer these questions, I use three case studies of engineers for good being trained in institutions of higher education: Colorado School of Mines (CSM), Baylor University, and University of San Diego (USD)—a public (secular), Baptist, and Catholic university, respectively. I connect the training and practice of engineers for good to three larger social, cultural, and political movements—international development, humanitarian service, and social justice. I argue that engineers for good navigate complex dimensions of assessing and assigning need as they decide what it means to do their work well. These new humanitarians do not simply engage in pro bono efforts done for new users that cannot afford their traditional services. They are creating a new type of engineering to address newly recognized forms of need. Those involved in engineering for good redefine what engineering can and should be used for by drawing on larger values to pursue their purpose and reconcile this purpose with their professional identity.

No description available.

The aim of this study is to contribute knowledge of how preschool teachers work with equal value. My questions has been about how preschool teachers do to show children every humans equal value and how they do to meet all children based of this idea. I have used individual qualitative interviews whit 4 preschool teachers as the method for this study. In my result I have found that the preschool teachers worked a lot with equal values. Some preschool teachers worked in different ways every day using different methods like valuational and themelike activities. Common for all the preschool teachers is that they all say that it is extremely important to use the everyday interactions with the children to make them learn the importance of and meaning of every humans equal rights. Previous research and literature shows that it is important to work as a role model for the children. This is something that the preschool teachers I interviewed talk about as well. / Syftet med detta arbete är att bidra med kunskap om hur förskollärare arbetar med allas lika värde. Mina frågeställningar har handlat om hur förskollärare gör för att visa på allas lika värde samt hur förskollärarna gör för att bemöta barnen utifrån denna tanke. Jag har använt mig av kvalitativa intervjuer med 4 förskollärare som metod för arbetet. I mitt resultat fann jag att förskollärarna arbetade mycket med allas lika värde, på några av avdelningarna dagligen med hjälp av bland annat värderings- och temainriktade aktiviteter. Gemensamt för mitt resultat är att förskollärarna på alla avdelningar betonar vikten av samspelet med barnen för att få ut kunskap om allas lika värde. Att vara en förebild är även något jag kan se förskollärarna jag intervjuat och tidigare forskning samt litteratur jag läst lägger stort fokus vid.

In this study, our aim is to problematize the curriculum's core values through practical examples drawn from observations in children’s recreation centers. We want to examine the premises and common assumptions that are written up in the elementary school, pre-school and recreation center curriculum (Lgr11), in relation to current values on the ideal pupil and how these can be problematized. We do this by focusing on how children's acting space is limited by normative processes in the recreation center from a power perspective. Our empirical work consists of three excerpts in the Lgr11 values that we argue contains utopian premises and common assumptions; transferring basic values, articulate and convey, and from one generation to the next. We also point out two examples from the observations in a recreation center we have done for our B-level, where we indicate what we believe exemplifies the discrepancy we see between the school's practical activities and curriculum formulations. Through our theoretical framework consisting of conceptions in relation to age, power and democratic intentions, we have analyzed our material and found that the premises and common assumptions that are projected promote and maintain an asymmetric power relation in the relationship between teachers and students. The analysis also shows the importance of students' participation in values-oriented work, and the importance of discussing the meaning of the values that are put forward. / I detta självständiga arbete är vårt syfte är att problematisera läroplanens värdegrund genom praktiska exempel hämtade från observationer i fritidshemmet. Vi vill undersöka vilka premisser och förgivettaganden som uttrycks i Lgr11 gällande värderingar kring den ideala eleven och hur dessa kan problematiseras. Detta gör vi med fokus på hur barns handlingsutrymme begränsas via normativa processer i fritidshemmet utifrån ett maktperspektiv. Vår empiri består av tre utdrag ur Lgr11s värdegrund som vi menar innehåller utopiska premisser och förgivettaganden; överföra grundläggande värden, gestalta och förmedla samt från en generation till nästa, vilket vi kommer pröva med en teoretisk begreppsanalys. Vi redogör även för två exempel ur de observationer i ett fritidshem vi tidigare gjort till vår B-uppsats, där vi lyfter den diskrepans vi uppfattar finns mellan skolans praktiska verksamhet och läroplanens formuleringar. Genom vår teoretiska ram bestående av begrepp i relation till ålder, makt och demokratiska intentioner har vi analyserat vårt material och funnit att de premisser och förgivettaganden som uttrycks främjar och upprätthåller en asymmetrisk maktbalans i relationen mellan pedagoger och elever. Analysen visar även på vikten av elevers delaktighet vid värdegrundsarbete samt vikten av att diskutera innebörden i de värden som anses ska gälla.

The research studies school heads’ perception of the implementation of the new Moral and Civic Education (MCE) curriculum in Hong Kong primary schools. The MCE curriculum is positioned as a key task in curriculum reform since 2001. The present study recognises school leadership role in steering curriculum delivery in which school heads’ perception is one of the determinants in shaping curriculum execution. Qualitative approach is adopted to uncover the factors affecting the perception of school heads and subsequent implementation strategies. Purposive sampling of six primary school heads is identified for interview to collect data. Content analysis is employed to make inferences from the data reviewing how school heads’ personal belief and values orientation affect the delivery of the curriculum. The MCE curriculum, resting on virtue ethics projecting desirable values to be promoted, is appealing to the school heads. The MCE curriculum designed as values education, resonates Chinese culture emphasizing cultivation of virtue through education while at the same time addressing the societal expectation of the call for promoting national identity with the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997. Given the social and political context of Hong Kong, positive attitude is exhibited by all the sample school heads but they respond differently to the curricular role, reflecting a wide spectrum of understanding of the curriculum and pedagogical competency. The research findings propose the importance of a heightened awareness of school heads’ cognition of the curriculum but their attitude towards the curriculum is deterministic how the curriculum is implemented. The attitude taken hinges on the values and belief of school heads vis a vis organisation values of the school. A model portraying school heads’ awareness, attitude and action for curriculum implementation is recommended to further study school leadership with implications for theory building and practice.

The term emerging adulthood was coined during the 21st century to describe human development between adolescence and adulthood, during the ages of 18-25 (Arnett, 2000). During this stage, individuals can explore life areas. Emerging adults beginning college have a unique opportunity to form their identities and develop value systems (Hauser & Greene, 1991). With increasing autonomy, college students have possibilities for positive development and risk; values may be imperative in that differentiation. Furthermore, value systems are believed to play a major role in decision-making (Schwartz, 1992). Parents are influential in values development (Simpson, 2001; Steinberg & Sheffield Morris, 2001). During emerging adulthood, individuals have opportunities to notice discrepancies between their parents’ value system and society. Thus, emerging adults evaluate and choose personal values, which may or may not be similar to those of their parents, peers, or broader culture. Findings from this study indicate female caregivers’ parenting styles and closeness of the parent-child relationship have significant direct effects on the degree to which values are freely chosen. Specifically, Authoritarian parenting style (β = -.43 B = -1.70, p < .001), Authoritative parenting style (β = .12, B = .53, p < .001), and Emotional Support (β = .30, B = 6.80, p < .001) significantly predicted the degree to which values are intrinsically chosen. Only one significant relationship was found for male caregivers; there was a significant positive relationship between the authoritative parenting style and quality of the parent-child relationship (β = .64, B = .10, p < .001).

Given the importance of client characteristics and preferences, and therapist expertise to evidence-based practice in psychology, the current study sought to contribute to the literature concerning the role of values in psychotherapy. Personal values of clients and trainee therapists in 29 dyads were examined for relationships between client and therapist values and associations with working alliance and outcomes. Although previous literature in this area has suggested that successful therapy is characterized by an increase in similarity of client and therapist values, the current study did not replicate this finding. However, client perceptions of therapist values were found to be important to working alliance and outcome. Findings are discussed in terms of suggestions for future research as well as implications for clinical practice, including the importance of discussing expectations and preferences with clients.