This research, by utilizing the descriptive aspect of the communicative planning model, examined the opinions of surveyed public planners to understand their perceptions concerning their roles in the implementation of comprehensive plans. The research developed a Q-methodology design to uncover a typology of opinion concerned the perceived roles played by participants throughout the planning process in counties within the state of Georgia. The research contributes to the literature by developing this typology and by using it to assess the opinions of public planners. Through the use of Q-methodology, the research analyzed 34 usable Q-sorts from Georgia planners. Based on analysis of these sorts, four distinct types of opinion were found. The planning participants appear to be communicating opinions that represent the following: mostly positive roles on structural issues, such as budgeting, coordinating, and plan complexity; two roles that are positive of public participation; and two roles that are negative of public participation and focused on economic development. The research‘s typology shows that the planning participants view planning in two dimensions: political (opinion concerning the public) and functional (opinion concerning what leads to successful planning).

A substantial amount of research exists and was reviewed on why teachers leave the teaching profession and/or why they leave one school to teach at another school. Significantly less research exists on why teachers remain in an urban school and what they view as being the essential pieces of teacher induction. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the body of knowledge by identifying the key pieces of induction that influence teachers, with three or less years of experience in an urban school, to remain teachers in their school. A case study design was utilized in this research in order to gain an in-depth understanding of what these teachers view as being the essential pieces of induction. In response to the larger problem stated here, I have organized my dissertation around three separate, but related manuscripts: 1. The first manuscript is a literature review on the essential pieces of comprehensive induction focusing on urban settings and the role that administrators play in novice urban teacher retention. The essential pieces of induction were identified through the literature as being effective administration, mentoring, formative evaluation, empowerment, and professional development. 2. The second manuscript is an exploration into the need for school-university partnerships through the results of a questionnaire on a one time professional development held at the university. The questionnaire results demonstrated the novice urban teachers' beliefs that professional development positively impacted their instructional practices, yet did not report that professional development would have a positive influence on their students' standardized test scores. 3. The third manuscript is a case study of Brookstay Elementary, an urban school successfully retaining novice urban teachers. This case study gives specific examples of how the essential pieces of comprehensive induction are seen through the eyes of novice urban teachers as well as provides evidence for the importance of building a positive school culture in order to retain novice urban teachers.

This study examined the quality of Florida county government conservation planning. To assess conservation planning quality, a theoretical model of conservation planning as prescribed by the conservation science literature was first developed. A plan evaluation coding protocol was applied to local comprehensive plan Conservation Elements to determine the extent to which county-level conservation planning met the theoretical model. A high degree of variability in conservation planning quality was found. Highest quality conservation planning occurred in the Gulf coast counties of southwest Florida. Lowest conservation planning quality occurred in the Florida Panhandle counties. The quality of conservation planning of coastal counties was significantly higher than that of inland counties. Significant regional differences were also found, where conservation planning quality in South Florida counties was significantly higher than conservation planning quality in Panhandle counties. Geographic differences in conservation planning quality were likely attributable to significant differences in socioeconomic variables among counties, including differences in education, wealth, and urbanization. Multiple regression analysis using an information theoretic approach was employed to develop a predictive model of conservation planning quality of Florida local governments. The two most plausible predictors in the model were education level of the public and total resources. Local and global spatial autocorrelation analysis were next applied to county conservation planning scores to investigate spatial patterns of conservation planning quality, which were found to be related to the policy process of diffusion. Lastly, current local government conservation planning policy was analyzed for effectiveness and policy recommendations were made. Improving the iii effectiveness of local conservation planning will require changes in statutory provisions of the state Florida Forever and Growth Management statutes. It will also require a greater commitment on the part of the state of Florida to protect the state’s biological resources over the long term

American universities have been internationalizing for decades, and their leaders often contend they must engage globally to stay relevant and prepare students adequately for a rapidly changing work environment. Faculty members, as keepers of the curricula and pivotal university actors, are critical to global engagement efforts on their campuses. However, many university leaders have yet to engage individual professors in ways that have resulted in securing their sustainable support for comprehensive internationalization (CI). A similar weakness of CI related research to date has been its failure to include a broad group of voices when investigating faculty engagement in internationalization. Following Childress’ framework (2010), this study explored the meaning-making, motivations, and perceptions attached to CI through individual interviews with a sample from all ranks of U.S. civil and environmental engineering faculty members from three Land Grant universities. Interviewees highlighted a variety of barriers and motivations linked to internationalization including, historical constructs, personal and professional values, and perceptions of potential outcomes of CI engagement. The analysis highlights and explores these factors and their connections to the international outlook ranking for interviewees’ institutions. / Ph.D. / American universities have been addressing global concerns and challenges for decades. Their faculties have for just as long sought palliatives and solutions to those issues. One element of that work is efforts to prepare students to work in an internationally connected world. University professors who design classes for students and conduct research are critical to all of these initiatives. However, university leaders have not been able to find ways to involve a sufficient and sustainable group of professors to make globally focused research and teaching efforts a central priority. Past studies investigating faculty involvement in internationalization have not yet researched a full range of professorial perceptions of such efforts. This study sought to understand what a sample of civil and environmental engineering faculty members at three American Land Grant universities perceived concerning internationalization initiatives at their institutions. I chose this group for study because their views have not been examined systematically and because there are more students studying engineering and in this one field within engineering than ever before. Those I interviewed included faculty members of all ranks and they also exhibited a wide range of levels of engagement in globally focused research and teaching. Interviewee responses highlighted a diverse array of motivations for international engagement and as many disincentives for faculty to do so. Professors’ work histories, values, and personal and professional perspectives all mediate their involvement in globally relevant issues. This analysis identified a list of concerns that university leaders can address to encourage their faculties to pursue internationalization. It also examined the connection between university reputations and faculty engagement with international concerns.

No description available.

No description available.

In the quarter century since his death, Polanyi's political thought has received little attention. The few studies that are available tend to mis-represent the character of his political thought either by developing only one of its aspects, or worse by presenting his ideas in inappropriately ideological terms. In this thesis I attempt to remedy this situation and present a more accurate account ofPolanyi's political philosophy. Through the careful analysis offundamental aspects ofhis epistemology and ontology, and through a treatment oftheir relation to his political ideas, I present a comprehensive interpretation ofPolanyi's political thought, taking into account the full complexity ofhis philosophical understanding. I present Polanyi as a keen interpreter ofmodernity, whose political thought is characterized not only by its 'conservative' elements, as is argued by all previous interpreters, but also, and more importantly by its anti-and non-ideological quality. I maintain that crucial to the interpretation of Polanyi's political thought is the recognition of the important and hierarchical relationship between man's commitment to the discovery and upholding of the truth ofa transcendent source oforder experienced in reality, and the role of traditions and standards in scientific, intellectual and political life. I maintain that the mis-representative accounts ofPolanyi's political philosophy offered by previous interpreters are due in large part to a failure to recognize the importance of this relationship. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

This study focuses on testing the five hermeneutic principles set out by Jakob Klein and two ofmy own. The test consists ofwriting a commentary on Plato's Jon read in accordance with those principles. In summary these principles require paying close attention to the dramatic aspect ofthe dialogue and reading in a very detailed fashion. The success or failure ofthe principles is to be decided on the basis ofthe quality ofthe reading they produce. If following the principles produces a more comprehensive and deeper understanding of the dialogue then they should be deemed successful. The principles require that attention be given to the framing details of the dialogue and that an attempt be made to integrate them into the overall understanding. This interpretation thus reaches a somewhat different understanding of Sokrates' purpose in talking to Ion and Plato's purpose in writing the dialogue. Instead ofan abstract battle between philosophy and poetry, we have a battle between two particular characters over a real city. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

The purpose of this study is to investigate how Gällivare municipality have planned for the participation of Malmberget’s citizens during the town’s relocation process. The study will be based on Gällivare municipality’s two most recent detailed comprehensive plans that involve Malmberget. The selected planning documents will be analysed via a qualitative text analysis in which all occurrences of citizen participation found will be presented in this essay. The citizen participation that has occurred during the period that the two detailed comprehensive plans cover will then be analysed using Sherry Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen participation. The purpose of this analysis is to discuss the citizen participation used during the planning processes. The citizen participation was analysed using Arnstein’s ladder of citizen participation. The analysed citizen participation can be described as tokenism due to uncertain and inconsistent information presented by Gällivare municipality to the citizens.

Planning literature in the United States focuses heavily on urban centers. However, the 2000 Census considers one-fifth of America's population to be rural. To adequately plan for this portion of the American population requires an understanding of the strengths and barriers to planning in rural areas. Such an understanding is noticeably absent from current planning literature. Therefore, this thesis seeks to determine what factors influence the adoption of comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances in rural counties in the United States. Through an evaluation of variables pertaining to urban hierarchy, institutional factors and political processes, two independent variables stand out. For both comprehensive planning and zoning, legislation mandating adoption and higher median household incomes both encourage adoption and show statistical significance. The percentage of the county's work force that works within the county (versus commuting) also positively correlates with zoning ordinance adoption and is statistically significant. In addition to clarifying the processing of planning and zoning adoption in rural areas, this study also provides a review of state planning and zoning statutes and reports primary research on the frequency of land use planning tools in rural America. This study highlights the need for a better understanding of rural planning in general and in particular the political structures and processes in rural areas. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning