Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pennsylvania State University, 2009. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. Thesis advisor: Richard A. Walter.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-124). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes special study report entitled: Training environment for the deaf. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-163).

<p>In this paper I will review the literature concerning investigator digital forensics models and how they apply to field investigators. A brief history of community supervision and how offenders are supervised will be established. I will also cover the difference between community supervision standards and police standards concerning searches, evidence, standards of proof, and the difference between parole boards and courts. Currently, the burden for digital forensics for community supervision officers is placed on local or state law enforcement offices, with personnel trained in forensics, but may not place a high priority on outside cases. Forensic field training for community supervision officers could ease the caseloads of outside forensic specialists, and increase fiscal responsible by increasing efficiency and public safety in the field of community supervision. </p>

This study was designed to explore adolescents’ educational and career aspirations. The Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) was used as a framework, and the variables were selected with empirical and theoretical support for their possible significance to the career aspirations of Hong Kong high school students. Two separate studies were conducted. In study I, the Chinese Career Aspiration Scale (CAS) and Career-Related Parent Support Scale (CRPSS) were developed. In addition, the existing Academic Development Self-Efficacy Inventory (AD-SEI) and Career Development Self-Efficacy Inventory (CD-SEI) were simplified for this study. The four measures were validated using a sample of 677 Secondary Four students. The sample was randomly divided into two sub-sets. The first sub-set was used to explore the construct validity, while the second sub-set was used for further validation. The results of the exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis suggested that the Chinese CAS was an adequate indicator for assessing Chinese high school students’ educational and career aspirations. The Chinese CRPSS also could provide an adequate indicator for assessing career-related parental support of Chinese high school students. It was also found that the AD-SEI and CD-SEI measures could be adequately represented by the simplified versions. The reliability analyses showed that the total scale and subscales were internally consistent. In study II, data were collected from 729 Secondary Four students who were asked to complete the four measures developed and tested in study I, and to provide demographic information. Correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationships between predictor and outcome variables. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed to determine the significance of each predictor variable on students’ continuing education and career achievement aspirations. The results indicated that gender and family socio-economic status were not associated with continuing education aspirations or career achievement aspirations. The students’ perceived academic achievement influenced continuing education both directly and indirectly through academic self-efficacy or career self-efficacy. However, perceived academic achievement was not associated with career achievement aspirations. Career-related parental support influenced continuing education and career achievement aspirations both directly and indirectly through academic self-efficacy or career self-efficacy. The results of this study provided an in-depth view of the perceived influences on adolescents’ continuing education and career achievement aspirations. This knowledge can help educators design better targeted and individualized career interventions. The results also provide empirical evidence in support of Social Cognitive Career Theory, in terms of the impact of contextual factor (career-related parental support) and self-efficacy, in predicting continuing education and career achievement aspirations with a Chinese sample. In addition, the Chinese versions of Career-Related Parent Support Scale and Career Aspiration Scale are viable assessment tools for researchers and guidance professionals working in the careers field. Implications for future research and career guidance practices within the Hong Kong education context are also discussed. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Education

This study explores the nature of the policy gap – the discrepancy between intended and actual policy outcomes – resulting from the implementation of Practical School (PS) policy in four Hong Kong Practical Schools during the 1990s. The study closely examines the complexity of the policy formulation and implementation processes, and finds that a number of factors at different policy levels served to divert PS implementation from its intended outcome. These factors can be grouped into two main categories – those that were specific to individual policy levels (e.g., policy orientation at the Education Department (ED) level, institutional autonomy at the School Sponsoring Body (SSB) level, or principal leadership at the (school) level, and those relating to the interdependent relationships existing between and among the various levels. The factors in these categories interacted to shape and modify PS policy implementation, making the policy-practice relationship complex and unpredictable. Thus, this study suggests that policy gap can be seen as the outcome of the multilevel, intertwined interplay among policy implementation actors from various policy levels. This study also proposes that the observed policy gap was not necessarily undesirable; in fact, the modification of original implementation plans prevented, in some instances, overall policy failure. In the case of PS, modified policy implementation allowed all four Practical Schools to achieve certain policy goals, despite failing to achieve others. This study has found that whether a policy gap was perceived as desirable depended on how the modified implementation affected the interests of the various parties; thus, any given policy gap could be called undesirable, desirable, or both, depending on which party were asked. Finally, this study is particularly concerned with the views of policymakers, senior SSB administrators and principals, and their actions in response to policy demands. The study argues that policy gap varied depending on policymakers’ perceptions of the policy, the organizational characteristics of SSBs, and the contextual nature of the schools. In other words, whether implementation realized intended policy outcomes depended on how implementing actors interacted to steer policy either towards or away from its original course. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

<p> This study was initially planned to be a single study using the Principles of Adult Learning Scale (PALS) by Conti (1978), surveying students and alumni of a four-year university. These plans were redirected to conducting a meta-analysis, utilizing 30 years of dissertations that utilized the PALS instrument.</p><p> The motivation for this study was to determine if educators might be a collaborative resource to aid corporate trainers in developing a learner-centered training program. College instructors could become corporate consultants if they reinforced the learner-center approach. A learner-centered instructor would inquire and recognize the inconsistencies in the trainer&rsquo;s teacher-centered training materials. This motive was based on first-hand experience with Acme Corporation.</p><p> There were 108 dissertations identified. Eighteen were not retrieved, and 35 dissertations did not meet the inclusion criteria. Fifty-five dissertations were used with nearly 5,300 subjects. A complete list was provided by name and ProQuest number with exclusion reasons.</p><p> The retrieved dissertations were grouped: (a) four-year colleges; (b) two-year colleges; (c) other educators. The third group consists of educators with a Masters or a Doctorate degree and teaches adult students outside of the traditional college environment.</p><p> The results showed that PALS composite mean was statistically significant for each group, and within one standard deviation of the norm mean (<i> M</i> = 146). Conti and Welborn (1986) categorized these as intermediate teacher-centered. The seven factors were analyzed, and the mean was less than one standard deviation and teacher-centered and several factors were not significantly different from the factor&rsquo;s norm mean. No scores were found to be learner-centered. Linear regression analysis was performed over three decades of dissertations to determine if there was a trend towards learner-centered style. The results indicate no correlation exists.</p>

<p> Given the growing rates of youth and young adult unemployment today, particularly in urban contexts, this grant proposal seeks funding to support the development of a soft skills training program for youth ages 15-24 in the Baldwin Park area of Los Angeles County. Essential soft skills needed to help youth secure and retain successful employment can include the interpersonal skills of better communication with supervisors and co-workers the job, teamwork, conflict resolution, and the capacity to regulate time management. The goal of this program is to increase employability by giving these inner city youth an increasingly valued skill set in order to promote an increase in youth employability in this community. A comprehensive grant funding search identified the California Wellness Foundation as a potential funding source for the proposed program. The actual submission or funding of the grant was not a requirement for the successful completion of the grant proposal.</p>

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