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Poor student achievement at some community colleges results in low retention and graduation rates. Addressing the problem of unpreparedness for college with good academic advising may help to improve student achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in the academic achievement of 1st year full-time (FYFT) community college students, based on having received 1 semester of any of 4 different academic advising methods (prescriptive, developmental, intrusive, proactive) while controlling for high school grade point average (GPA). Bandura's social learning theory was used as the theoretical framework. A quantitative research method, deploying 1 research question and 5 hypotheses, was used to guide the examination of a sample of 349 archived data records of Fall 2016 FYFT students at a community college in the northeastern United States. The study included a categorical (factor) and a metric (covariate) measures of variables; therefore, a 1-way ANCOVA was used to estimate the effect of the academic advising method on student achievement. The findings showed no significant difference in FYFT student GPA, based on having received academic advising in general or any method of academic advising, during the 1st semester of enrollment. Despite these findings, the literature supports academic advising as critical for improving GPA, implying that further research is needed to adequately determine trends in student achievement related to advising over more than 1 semester at the college studied. By understanding the difference in the academic achievement of FYFT students based on having received academic advising consistently, academic advisors will have information that can potentially enhance student achievement and increase students' chances of graduating, thus promoting positive social change.

Body objectification theories propose that humans have an innate desire to compare themselves with others. When self-objectification is influenced by media exposure to idealized body images, results may be unrealistic self-perceptions and increased risk of depression, eating pathology, and overexercising. Although considerable work has been done to study these processes among women, much less is known about effects of media exposure on adult men. In response to this gap, this quantitative research study examined effects of exposure to an idealized man's body image on men observers' body dissatisfaction and related behaviors. A convenience sample of 119 freshman and sophomore community college men ranging in ages 18 to 29 was assigned to 1 of 2 conditions where they were exposed to images of male models with idealized bodies or to a neutral landscape image (independent variable). They completed questions to assess their body dissatisfaction, drive for muscularity, disordered eating, and depression. BMI and workout frequency also were assessed as covariates. It was predicted that body dissatisfaction, drive for muscularity, disordered eating, and depression scores would be higher for the group exposed to the idealized body images, as compared with neutral images. The research hypotheses were tested using ANCOVA analyses. No statistically significant between-group differences were found for any of the dependent variables. Design limitations and suggestions for further research are discussed. This study has social significance as it helps to keep the focus of researchers and mental health providers on media exposure as a risk factor among males for negative body image and related behaviors.

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Submitted by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2018-06-20T18:39:36Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertação_finalizada.pdf: 1987710 bytes, checksum: 46c6e0b1f07f99706e86684cdd0bd406 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2018-06-20T18:39:46Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertação_finalizada.pdf: 1987710 bytes, checksum: 46c6e0b1f07f99706e86684cdd0bd406 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-20T18:39:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertação_finalizada.pdf: 1987710 bytes, checksum: 46c6e0b1f07f99706e86684cdd0bd406 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-04-23 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / In the Central Amazon, the fisheries are artisanal in character, being practiced by fishermen in rivers and flooded areas. Thus, the main issue addressed in the study is to verify how the hydrological cycle influences the catches of species, considering that the landing is made up of species with different feeding strategies. Firstly, we carried out a previous characterization of the fisheries, in order to determine the main environments and species exploited, as well as, more productive and attractive periods for the fishing activity. We also list the fishing gear used by fishermen with the target species. The characterization indicated that the lake environments are more exploited by the fishermen, however, most of the catches come from the river channels. In relation to the composition of the landing, a total of 34 species were landed, being the jaraqui coarse scale (Semaprochilodus taenirus) and the jaraqui fine scale (Semaprochilodus insignis) the most exploited species. The period of flood presented a significant difference in the catch values per unit of effort (CPUE) when compared to the other hydrological periods. The fishing gear varied according to the environment where the fishing occurred and the species to be exploited. Later, we used generalized linear models (Covariance Analysis - ANCOVA) to determine the influence of the river level on the fisheries in the Lower Solimões River. The analysis of covariance for the flood period showed that all species were influenced by river level, and by fishing effort, there was still a positive interaction between fishing effort and detritus species. During the flood period, the fishing effort positively influenced all species, there was also a positive interaction between fishing effort, detritivorous and herbivorous species and a positive effort in river environments. In the ebb period, only the fishing effort was significant, with a negative interaction between the fishing environment and the effort. In the dry season, only the omnivorous species were influenced by the fishing effort and the level of the river, with negative interaction between fishing effort and omnivorous species. The results found may contribute to the generation of knowledge about fishing activities, providing information for the construction of public policies related to fisheries management in the state of Amazonas. / Na Amazônia Central as pescarias possuem caráter artesanal, sendo praticadas por pescadores em rios e áreas alagadas, sendo altamente influenciadas pela variação do nível do rio. Desse modo, a principal questão abordada no estudo é verificar como o ciclo hidrológico influencia nas capturas de espécies, considerando que o desembarque é constituído de espécies com diferentes estratégias alimentares. Primeiramente, realizamos uma caracterização prévia das pescarias, no intuito de determinar os principais ambientes e espécies explotados, bem como, períodos mais produtivos e atrativos para a atividade pesqueira. Também relacionamos os apetrechos de pesca utilizados pelos pescadores com as espécies alvo. A caracterização indicou que os ambientes de lago são mais explotados pelos pescadores, no entanto, a maior parte das capturas é oriunda dos canais de rios. Em relação à composição do desembarque, foram desembarcadas um total de 34 espécies, sendo o jaraqui escama grossa (Semaprochilodus taenirus) e o jaraqui escama fina (Semaprochilodus insignis) as espécies mais explotadas. O período de cheia apresentou valores positivos na captura por unidade de esforço (CPUE) quando comparado aos demais períodos hidrológicos. As artes de pesca variaram de acordo com o ambiente onde ocorreu a pesca e as espécies a serem explotadas. Posteriormente, utilizamos modelos lineares generalizados (Análise de covariância – ANCOVA) para determinar a influencia do nível do rio sobre as pescarias no Baixo Rio Solimões. A análise de covariância para o período de enchente mostrou que todas as espécies foram influenciadas pelo nível do rio, e pelo esforço de pesca, houve ainda uma interação positiva entre o esforço de pesca e espécies detritívoras. No período de cheia, o esforço de pesca influenciou positivamente todas as espécies, houve ainda uma interação positiva entre o esforço de pesca, espécies detritívoras e herbívoras e um esforço positivo nos ambientes de rio. No período de vazante, apenas o esforço de pesca foi significativo, com uma interação negativa entre o ambiente de pesca e o esforço. No período de seca, apenas as espécies onívoras foram influenciadas pelo esforço de pesca e o nível do rio, com interação negativa entre o esforço de pesca e espécies onívoras. Os resultados encontrados contribuem para a geração de conhecimento sobre atividades de pesca, fornecendo informações para a construção de políticas públicas relacionadas à gestão da pesca no estado do Amazonas.

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Orthotropic steel deck has been widely used over the decades especially on long-span bridges due to its light weight and fast construction. However fatigue cracking problems on the welds have been observed in many countries. Rib-to-deck welds need special care since they are directly under wheel loads, which cause large local stress variations and stress reversals. Currently the only requirement by AASHTO bridge code is that the rib-to-deck welds need to be fabricated as one-sided partial penetration welds with minimum penetration of 80% into the rib wall thickness. However considering the thin rib plate thickness, it is very difficult to achieve this penetration without a "melt-through" or "blow-through" defect. Large cost has been caused for the repair. However recent research has found that the fatigue performance of the rib-to-deck weld is not directly related to its penetration. Other factors contribute to the fatigue performance as well. Therefore, alternative requirements which are more cost-effective and rational are desired. The objective of this research is to provide recommendations to the design and fabrication of rib-to-deck welds by investigating their fatigue performance with different weld dimensions, penetrations, and welding processes. Fatigue tests were performed to 95 full-scale single-rib deck segments in 8 specimen series fabricated with different welding processes and root gap openness. Specimens were tested under cyclic loads till failure. Three failure modes were observed on both weld toes and the weld root. Test results showed that the fatigue performance was more affected by other factors such as failure mode, R-ratio and root gap openness, rather than the weld penetration. The failure cycles were recorded for the following S-N curve analysis. Finite element analysis was performed to determine the stress state on the fatigue cracking locations. Special considerations were made for the application of hot-spot stress methodology, which post-processes the FEA results to calculate the stress values at cracking locations with the structural configuration taken into account. The hot-spot stress range values were derived and adjusted accounting for the fabrication and test error. Hot-spot S-N curves were established for each specimen series. Statistical analyses were performed to study in depth the effect of weld dimensions and test scenarios. Multiple linear regression (MLR) was performed to investigate the effects of different weld dimensions; and multi-way analysis of covariance (Multi-way ANCOVA) for the effects of specimen series, failure mode, R-ratio and weld root gap. It was found that the weld toe size was more relevant to the fatigue performance, other than the weld penetration. The failure mode and R-ratio were very influential on the fatigue performance. Recommendations to the weld geometry were proposed based on the MLR model fitting. S-N data were re-categorized based on ANCOVA results and the lower-bound S-N curve was established. AASHTO C curve was recommended for the deck design. / Master of Science

Villages occur in many Czech and central European large protected areas (LPA). Some inhabitants and local politicians occasionally publish, that occurrence of the LPA can inhibit regional development and cause negative demographic and socioeconomic changes in the region. This diploma thesis tests this assumption and studies the effect of existence and establishment of the LPA on socioeconomic parameters of villages and their inhabitants. The case study was conducted in the south-west border region of the Czech Republic, the area of high o ser atio alue. The Šu a a Natio al Park i side of alread e isti g Šu a a Protected La ds ape Area, PLA a d Český les PLA ere esta lished 99 a d 5, respectively. Also Novohradské hory PLA was proposed several times but have not been proofed till now. Statistical analysis (ANCOVA) for selected socioeconomic and demographic parameters of 39 villages and their cadasters were used to study development of the region between years 1991 - 2011. The results found the village size (number of permanent residents living in the village) to be more significant predictor for most of studied parameters than occurrence of the village in/out of the LPA. The results are discussed with results of similar studies conducted in other protected areas. Peripheral character of the border...