Without academic intervention, such as tutoring, at-risk students may not pass their courses. This study examined differences between the final grades of at-risk students and tutoring methods, such as self-determined tutoring, academic advisor scheduled tutoring, group tutoring, one-to-one tutoring, peer tutoring, and professional tutoring. This study drew from cognitive learning theory and humanistic theory for its conceptual framework. A quantitative, ex post facto research design was used. Archived data supplied by the Registrar's Office and the Academic Enrichment Coordinator included records of 95 male and female students conditionally enrolled at Methodist University in the Academic Enrichment Program during the 2007 to 2009 academic years. The results of an independent samples t test determined there was a significant difference between final grades of students who had self-determined tutoring compared to those who had academic advisor determined tutoring. Results of a one-way analysis of variance determined there were significant differences in final grades of students who received group tutoring compared to one-to-one tutoring and peer tutoring compared to professional tutoring. The preliminary results raised questions of the importance of tutor status in a group or one-to-one setting. A post hoc analysis using a paired-samples t test revealed a statistically significant difference in final grades of students in group settings but not in one-to-one settings. The results of this study offer the potential for positive social change to those in higher education by advancing the understanding of how to support and provide intervention programs, such as tutoring for at-risk students, in order to reduce their risk of academic failure during college.

The significant standpoint in this study was that schools’ key role was to educate and yet this process would be severely impeded when a student receiving the education was at-risk. Agencies external to the school provide support in various forms to these individuals with the view of decreasing their at-risk status, thus providing an environment conducive to learning. Communication was posited to be a fundamental process essential to the provision of support and education to these at-risk individuals. The conceptual framework in this study acknowledged the complexity of school and organisational environments and was founded upon four key theoretical perspectives; organisational communication theory; a psychological orientation provided by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; a social reconstructionist perspective; and constructs underpinning at-risk status causal factors. This research study sought to identify communication patterns existing within a selected school, and between the school (in this case) and associated agencies that were supporting the at-risk individuals. The results of this study, derived from in-depth interviews and questionnaires with agency personnel and school staff, demonstrated that although formal patterns of communication did exist they were inefficient and cumbersome. Formal patterns of communication were subsidiary to informal networks between colleagues. In this study, the school was frequently excluded from informal and formal agency communication patterns. Intra-agency and intra-school communication patterns were characterised by a top-down orientation with administrators tending to control the flow of information. A major finding was that there were considerable barriers to developing more effective communication patterns. / The greatest impediment to communication was case workers’ fear of breaching the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988, even when dealing with such serious issues as children’s safety. Other less serious, but still substantial barriers, included agency territorialism, poor marketing of services, and individuals’ biases against particular support agencies. A surprising finding was that case workers’ and educators’ conceptualisations of the causal factors which contribute to an at-risk status were well aligned. The family factors, which included drug addicted, alcoholic, violent, criminal, disinterested and/or neglectful parents, problematic siblings, and coming from an English-as-a-second-language background were deemed to have the most significant influence towards creating an at-risk status. School-based factors such as stressed, intolerant, inexperienced, and/or non-supportive teachers, an inadequate and/or violent school environment, and a lack of individualised support were deemed to have the least impact on developing an at-risk status. As a result of this research a model has been proposed which outlines the creation of a State Support Brokerage Authority whose mandate would be to centralise, coordinate, and ensure quality of service to at-risk individuals across the state. This body would utilise a technological solution to enhance and coordinate the communication patterns between all potential stakeholders to facilitate appropriate and timely interventions.

The current study examined the link between early language ability and literacy and behavioral outcomes in children prenatally exposed to cocaine. Prenatal exposure to cocaine places children at risk for language delays and early language problems are linked to both literacy and behavior problems in elementary school (Bandstra, 2002; Beitchman et al., 2001; Cantwell & Baker, 1977). Participants included 141 primarily African-American children from low SES backgrounds who were enrolled in a birth through three intervention program. Children were followed through first and second grade to evaluate the impact early language ability had on literacy and behavior in elementary school. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that after controlling for gender, treatment group, cognitive ability, and behavior at age three, receptive language at age three was a significant predictor of picture vocabulary in elementary school (F(4, 125)=6.76, p<.01, beta= .42, p<.01). Receptive language was also a significant predictor of Parent-reported prosocial behavior (F(7, 72) beta= 2.24, p<.05, beta =-.03 , p<.05). Contrary to previous findings, early language did not significantly predict parent reported problem behavior in elementary school in this high risk sample. Future studies should explore risk and resiliency in this sample, along with increasing sample size to allow for more advanced statistical analyses. Findings support the importance of early language experiences on both later literacy and behavioral outcomes for children.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the effects of executive functions on school readiness outcomes were mediated by approaches to learning in Head Start preschoolers. Executive functions are cognitive skills, including inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and working memory, that are involved in learning as well as regulating behavior (Blair, Granger, & Razza, 2005; Espy, McDiarmid, Cwik, Stalets, Hamby, & Senn, 2004). Approaches to learning include important learning-to-learn skills such as persistence, initiative, and motivation (Fantuzzo, Perry, & McDermott, 2004). Based on previous literature, it was hypothesized that strong executive functions would support the development of positive approaches to learning, which in turn would lead to increased school readiness. To test this, data were collected on 179 four-year-old Head Start preschoolers. Children were assessed on executive functions (cognitive inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and working memory), approaches to learning (using both a teacher rating scale and a direct observation), school readiness, and verbal ability. Results indicated that approaches to learning partially mediated the relationship between executive functions and school readiness, providing support for the study's main hypothesis. Results are discussed in the context of preparing at-risk preschool children for success in school.

As a result of recent social and political pressure and an increase in academic standards, there is a call to address academic and behavioral needs of at-risk students at the secondary level. Currently, many secondary schools are struggling to provide research-based interventions for these students. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a school-based mentoring program utilizing existing school staff and functioning within the constraints of a typical high school schedule, on at-risk students. The study aimed to add to the body of research on interventions in secondary settings and extend research on mentoring. Five at-risk high school students participated in the study which took place during the 2008-09 school year. All of the students received basic mentoring procedures, and three were identified for more advanced mentoring procedures half-way through the school year. Data was collected on academic and social outcomes and the viability of the intervention in the secondary setting. Overall, results of the study were mixed but indicated that the intervention was mildly effective for almost all students in at least one of the areas studied. Limitations of the study and implications for future research and practice are identified and discussed.

Value-at-Risk (VaR ) is an industrial standard for monitoring market risk in an investment portfolio. It measures potential osses within a given confidence level. VaR was first used by major financial institutions in the early 1990’s, and widely developed after the release of J.P. Morgan’s Riskmetrics Technical Document in 1996. The efficient calculation, implementation, interpretation and optimization of VaR are a challenge in the practice of risk management when the number of market factors in the portfolio is high. In this thesis, we are concerned with the quadratic analytical estimation of VaR and we present a methodology for an approximation to VaR that is based on the principal components of a sensitivity-adjusted covariance matrix. The result is an explicit expression in terms of portfolio deltas, gammas, and the mean and covariance matrix. It can be viewed as a non-linear extension of the linear model given by the delta-normal-VaR of RiskMetrics, a standard calculation for the risk in the financial sector. We obtain an asymptotic expansion for VaR in the limit when the confidence level approaches 1 and precise estimates of the reminder. We then optimize the approximated VaR with respect to the gradient or delta of the portfolio, a quantity which can be changed by trading the underlying assets (stocks), without entering into any derivative transactions. This analysis provides an optimal trading strategy of the portfolio that minimizes the risk.

This thesis contributes to the ongoing conversation on at-risk youth intervention programs as a site of struggle for, resistance to, and negotiation of the cultural politics of youth. Thinking with Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice, particularly his concepts of doxa and field, I pose new questions that trouble youth as truth to suggest an alternate way of imagining youth as a struggle. A case study of one at-risk youth intervention program serves to make visible the ways in which historical and political narratives of youth(s) and truth(s) inform, pressure, constrain, shape at-risk youth intervention programs by implicitly defining and redefining the problem, prescribing the solution, recommending best practice, and works to draw connections between youth(s), truth(s), and social space.

This thesis contributes to the ongoing conversation on at-risk youth intervention programs as a site of struggle for, resistance to, and negotiation of the cultural politics of youth. Thinking with Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice, particularly his concepts of doxa and field, I pose new questions that trouble youth as truth to suggest an alternate way of imagining youth as a struggle. A case study of one at-risk youth intervention program serves to make visible the ways in which historical and political narratives of youth(s) and truth(s) inform, pressure, constrain, shape at-risk youth intervention programs by implicitly defining and redefining the problem, prescribing the solution, recommending best practice, and works to draw connections between youth(s), truth(s), and social space.

Value-at-Risk (VaR ) is an industrial standard for monitoring market risk in an investment portfolio. It measures potential osses within a given confidence level. VaR was first used by major financial institutions in the early 1990’s, and widely developed after the release of J.P. Morgan’s Riskmetrics Technical Document in 1996. The efficient calculation, implementation, interpretation and optimization of VaR are a challenge in the practice of risk management when the number of market factors in the portfolio is high. In this thesis, we are concerned with the quadratic analytical estimation of VaR and we present a methodology for an approximation to VaR that is based on the principal components of a sensitivity-adjusted covariance matrix. The result is an explicit expression in terms of portfolio deltas, gammas, and the mean and covariance matrix. It can be viewed as a non-linear extension of the linear model given by the delta-normal-VaR of RiskMetrics, a standard calculation for the risk in the financial sector. We obtain an asymptotic expansion for VaR in the limit when the confidence level approaches 1 and precise estimates of the reminder. We then optimize the approximated VaR with respect to the gradient or delta of the portfolio, a quantity which can be changed by trading the underlying assets (stocks), without entering into any derivative transactions. This analysis provides an optimal trading strategy of the portfolio that minimizes the risk.

There is a growing trend to use public-private partnerships (PPP) for infrastructure project delivery due to lack of budget and inefficiency of public sector. The most popular PPP option is a concession-based type such as build-operate-transfer (BOT). However, construction delay, costs overrun, and disastrous financial performance in the early operation phase are not rarely seen in large BOT projects. The case of Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) is the evidence. The problem lies in over-optimism in financial feasibility analysis and under-estimation in risk exposure evaluation. Based on information of Case Project - Kaohsiung Intercontinental Terminal (KIT), which started its Phase One Plan in 2007 at a cost of about NT$42.89 billions in land procurement, peripheral public infrastructure and construction and facilities of the terminal, I will apply traditional capital investment methodology to evaluate its financial feasibility. This is done by calculating key financial indexes from Total Investment Point of View and Equity Point of View and determine whether this project is acceptable or not by conventional criteria from three main participants¡¦ position, including government agency, financial institutions, and private investors. However, we can not realize risk exposure of Case Project from traditional methods. Therefore, ideas of Value-at-Risk (VAR) that commonly used in evaluating risk exposure of financial assets are brought in. The VAR concepts are used in four financial indexes, including self-liquidation ratio (SLR), net present value (NPV), debt coverage ratio (DCR) and times interest earned (TIE), which are regarded as critical in decision by government agency, private investors, and financial institutions. This is done by applying Monte Carlo Simulation, which involves 1,000 iterations of sampling based on parameter settings of risk factors and consideration of correlations in risk factors. Volatility of key risk factor is analyzed to further realize comprehensively risk exposure in terms of VARs of financial indexes. Evidences show that, while parameter settings of risk factors are critical to simulations results, consideration of correlations of risk factors will also diverge results from that of ignoring. In addition, sensitivity analysis in terms of volatility in key risk factors presents full-scale financial risk exposure, which is helpful in reaching final decision. Of all three participants in Case Project, while private investors face greatest risk exposure due to high financial leverage employed, financial institutions confront relatively low risk in terms of loan repayment. From government agency¡¦s view, probability of fully self-liquidated with no subsidy in Case Project is 90%.