Family level data was collected from those served in a state-wide rollout of SafeCare® in Georgia between January of 2010 and November of 2011. Families who received SafeCare were trained in the intervention’s three modules: Parent-Child or Parent-Infant Interaction, Home Safety, and Child Health. The purpose of this study was to measure changes in parental skill demonstration by analyzing pre- and post-training assessments. Additionally, parental demographic characteristics were also assessed for associations with skill acquisition within each module. Follow-up analysis concluded that families displayed increases in parenting skills among all SafeCare modules. Moderator analysis showed that those with only one child showed greater decreases in home hazards as did those with two children. Also, it was found that income level moderated performance in the Parent-Child Interaction module with participants below the median income level exhibiting a greater increase in PCI skill demonstration than those above the median income level. Further research should consider modeling multiple parental characters (e.g. CPS status and income) with skill performance over time. Lastly, additional research should aim to determine if those who exhibit increases in parenting skills are also less likely to experience future child maltreatment reports.

The intention of this work is to explore how Aboriginal learners are produced in the Saskatchewan Adult Basic Education (ABE) curriculum. In addition, this study examines the production of instructor identities in the curriculum. This thesis explores the social and historical contexts influencing the production of the ABE curriculum. Current prevailing discourses about Aboriginal people influence the curriculum documents. These discourses construct a grand narrative about Aboriginal people, producing Aboriginal people in particular ways that become acceptable and legitimate ways of thinking about and behaving toward Aboriginal people. This work examines how such a grand narrative functions to uphold dominance and structural inequalities rather than challenge them. The effect of reinforcing the current, particular grand narrative about Aboriginal people is that, rather than challenge dominant ideologies, the new curriculum re-inscribes them. This work employs the methodology of discourse analysis as a means of examining the production of particular identities for Aboriginal learners in ABE and uses deconstruction to explore the ways that the documents betray themselves in relation to their objectives. This thesis provides analysis of the ways that the curriculum documents produce and reproduce Aboriginal people as deficient and requiring change. This work provides analysis of the conflict within the documents between a desire to challenge dominance and the re-inscription of dominance through discursive practices. In addition, this work demonstrates how the ABE curriculum aids in the production of dominant instructor identities, and how such dominant identities assist instructors to define themselves as innocent and helpful. This analysis of the ABE curriculum reveals that while the curriculum aspires to be a proponent of social justice for Aboriginal learners it has many weaknesses in this regard. This work concludes with recommendations for changes to the curriculum and instructor practices, and for further critical analysis.

The paper uses data from 2003 Multiscopo Italian Survey to estimate education effects on fertility and in particular to determine how and to what degree does unobserved heterogeneity influence the estimated effects, that is to say how unobserved heterogeneity might bias estimates of effects of education on transition to 1st, 2nd and 3rd births. The peculiarity of this study is the implementation of a multiprocess approach, which allows for a broader and more efficient view of the phenomenon, studying jointly the transition to first, second and third or higher order births. In doing this I will use control variables, in particular educational level of the mother and her siblings (i.e. partner and grandmother), to detect possible influences of education in childbearing timing. Moreover, this topic has not yet been analysed using Italian data, in particular using Multiscopo Survey data and it may produce interesting comparisons with regard to other European countries, where the topic has already been addressed. In this study I will prove that number of siblings is the variable, which has a significative and relevant effect in all the models considered and that women partner’s education has an up-and-down effect on transition to childbearing. Moreover, the inclusion of unobserved characteristics of women has an important role in understanding transition to childbearing, being positive and significant.

Abstract The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate and compare the effects of coworkers¡¦ relational demographic similarities and guanxi base on coworkers¡¦ helping behavior. Moreover, the mediation mechanisms of social liking between coworkers¡¦ relational demographic similarities and helping behavior, and guanxi obligation between coworkers¡¦ guanxi base and helping behavior were examined. Furthermore, the moderation effect of interdependent self on the relationship between relational demographic similarities and helping behavior, and the moderation effect of individual traditionality on the relationship between guanxi base and helping behavior were examined. There were three studies in this dissertation, and the data were collected by scenario experimental design combined with questionnaire survey. The subjects were working employees sampled from different industries. Results showed that both coworkers¡¦ relational demographic similarities and guanxi base have significant effects on the interpersonal-related helping behavior, but not on work-related helping behavior. Moreover, the mediation effects of social liking towards coworker, and guanxi obligation were significant in both study 1 and study 2. The moderation effect was not significant in study 1, but was significant in study 2. The individual traditionality moderated the relationship of guanxi base and guanxi obligation. The results of study 3 showed that coworkers with guanxi base have stronger effect on both interpersonal-related and work-related coworkers¡¦ helping behavior than coworkers with relational demographic similarities. The results were discussed and the limitations and suggestions for future research were proposed.

The present study aimed 1) to examine possible influences of demographic variables (i.e., age, gender, marital status, sibling number, mother&rsquo / s education, father&rsquo / s education) on the various measures of the study (i.e., schema domains, self-orientations, and well-being measures i.e. depression, positive affect, negative affect, and reassurance-seeking) / 2) to examine the differences of schema domains on self-orientations of Balanced Integration Differentiation Model and also on well-being, and 3) to analyse the differences of four self-construals of Balanced Integration Differentiation Model on schema domains and well-being measures. In order to fulfill these aims 501 people between the ages 18-50 participated in the study. According to the results, having strong characteristics of schema domains were related to low levels of self-orientation dimensions of interpersonal integration orientation and intrapersonal differentiation orientation. Moreover,there was a positive correlation between having strong characteristics of schema domains and high depression, negative affect, and reassurance-seeking, but low positive affect. On the other hand, low level of related individuation self-construal was related to having high characteristics of schema domains. In addition to this,having high level of separated-patterning was positively correlated with having high characteristics of schema domains. In addition, self-construal of relatedindividuation was found to be related to high positive affect and correlated with low levels of depression, negative affect, and reassurance-seeking. Finally, separated-patterning was found to be related to low level of positive affect, while it was found to be correlated with high level of depression, negative affect, and reassurance-seeking. Findings, future directions, and clinical implications were discussed in the discussion section.

There are four major aims of this study: Firstly, factors regarding university students&rsquo / approaches to studying, self-efficacy in mathematics, problem solving strategies, demographic profile, mathematical thinking and reasoning competencies were identified through the adopted survey and the competency test which was designed by the researcher. These scales were administered to 431 undergraduate students of mathematics, elementary and secondary mathematics education in Ankara and in Northern Cyprus and to prospective teachers of classroom teacher and early childhood education of teacher training academy in Northern Cyprus. Secondly, three structural models were proposed to explore the interrelationships among idenitified factors. Thirdly, among three models, the model yielding best fit to data was selected to evaluate the equality of the factor structure across Ankara and Northern Cyprus regions. Lastly, differences regarding pre-identified factors with respect to gender, region and grade level separately and dual, triple interaction effects were investigated through two two-way MANOVA and a three-way ANOVA analyses. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were employed to determine the factors / meaning orientation, mathematics self-efficacy, motivation, disorganized study methods and surface approach for the survey and &lsquo / expressing, extracting and computing mathematically&rsquo / (fundamental skills) and &lsquo / logical inferencing and evaluating conditional statements in real life situations&rsquo / (elaborate skills) for the test. The three models commonly revealed that while mathematics self-efficacy has a significant positive effect on both fundamental and elaborate skills, motivation which is a combination of intrinsic, extrinsic and achievement motivational items was found to have a negative direct impact on fundamental skills and has a negative indirect contribution upon elaborate skills. The results generally support the invariance of the tested factor structure across two regions with some evidence of differences. Ankara region sample yielded similar factor structure to that of the entire sample&rsquo / s results whereas / no significant relationships were observed for Northern Cyprus region sample. Results of gender, grade level and region related differences in the factors of the survey and the test and on the total test indicated that, females are more meaning oriented than males. &lsquo / Fourth and fifth (senior)&rsquo / and third year university students use disorganized study methods more often than second year undergraduate students. In addition, senior students are more competent than second and third year undergraduate students in terms of both skills. Freshmen students outscored sophomore students in the elaborate skills. Students from Ankara region are more competent in terms of both skills than students from Northern Cyprus region. This last inference is also valid on the total test score for both regions. Males performed better on the total test than females. Moreover, there exist region and grade level interaction effect upon both skills. Additionally, significant interaction effects of &lsquo / region and gender&rsquo / , &lsquo / region and grade level&rsquo / , &lsquo / gender and grade level&rsquo / and &lsquo / region and gender and grade level&rsquo / were detected upon the total test score.

Schrumpfungsprozesse bestimmen seit Ende der 1990er Jahre zunehmend die Stadtentwicklung in den Neuen Bundesländern. Demografischer und ökonomischer Wandel gelten als wesentliche Ursachen für einen massiven Nachfragerückgang und erhebliche Leerstände im Wohnungsbestand. Im Zuge des Programms "Stadtumbau Ost“ werden die ungenutzten Wohngebäude abgerissen. Sowohl in Stadtzentren als auch in Randlagen erstrecken sich nicht mehr bebaute Areale, da sich nur für wenige Freiflächen eine bauliche Nachnutzung findet. Freiraumplanerische Konzepte und Maßnahmen werden möglich, aber auch notwendig für den Umgang mit den frei gewordenen Flächen und bieten gleichzeitig Potenziale zur Verbesserung der städtischen Umwelt- und Lebensqualität. Die vorliegende Forschungsarbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Frage, welche Bedeutung Freiräume im Umgang mit räumlichen Schrumpfungsprozessen haben und wo die Chancen und Grenzen der Freiraumplanung beim Stadtumbau liegen. Die Autorin legt die gegenwärtigen Rahmenbedingungen der Freiraumplanung dar und setzt sich mit Stadtmodellen, städtebaulichen Leitbildern und dem Verständnis von Natur und Landschaft in der schrumpfenden Stadt auseinander. Am Beispiel der Großstädte Chemnitz, Halle und Leipzig werden die Strategien, Entscheidungen und Handlungsansätze der Freiraumplanungspraxis schrumpfender Städte analysiert. Die Ansätze werden beschrieben und mit Blick auf ihre Eignung und Zukunftsfähigkeit für die Gestaltung des Stadtumbauprozesses diskutiert. / Since the second half of the 1990’s, the new federal states of Germany have undergone dramatic demographic and economic change, which, among other things, has led to the ongoing phenomenon of shrinking cities. The work at hand deals with the issue of what the relevance of urban green spaces is in light of the spatial shrinking processes and where the opportunities and limitations are concerning green space planning within urban restructuring.

Since the 1960s the literature on demography of rural northern Sweden has focussed on 'decline' - noting loss of population, population ageing, yourth outmigration and other 'negative' demographic developments (Friedlander, 1969; Hjort, 2009; Stone 1971); recent studies suggest that such generalizations may overlook the diversity of experiences of rural areas (D. Carson and Koch, 2013; Cernic-Maly, Koch and Koch, 2014; Hedlund, 2014; Hoggart and Paniagua, 2001; Koch and Carson, 2012). The purpose of this thesis is to explore aspets of the diversity of experiences of demographic change in one part of rural northern Sweden, focusing on differences between villages and towns within a single municipality. Theoretically, the large body of scientific studies of 'rural' tend to be at macro-scale and from the 'urban' perspective, which might provide generalized and biased assumptions of 'rural'; this study may contribute to the understanding of 'rural' by describing it 'how it really is' and by looking into demographic diversity and change at the micro-scale. Practically, the thesis might assist local planners to take 'place-based' decisions when planning for the future of rural areas when deciding where to place schools, health centres, youth activities centres, playgrounds, or invest in economic opportunities, etc. Moreover, this thesis should answer the following research questions:  Q1: Is there diversity in demographic characteristics when comparing proximate locations in the Swedish rural setting? Q2: If there is, is it something that has recently emerged, or sothing that has been present for a long period of history? The thesis studied the case of Vilhelmina municipality, in this case defined by local government boundaries, in three stages: first, looked at how settlement patterns within the area have changed over time - where has there been population growth? Decline? Both? Neither? - using data from 1890, 1970 and 2015. Second, selected five individual locations (defined by village' borders) within the area that have featured at those points in time, and compared them in terms of age, sex, age dependency ratios, and child-woman rates. Third, accessed secondary historical data and interviewed key informants with knowledge of these places to check which events could have influenced shaping them over the time. The findings of the thesis were: 'fragmentedä development over time, differences between individual places at different time; differences between different places at the same time; local, regional, national and international events and trends are likely to have played a role in these results. According to the findings, I can conclude that even since the 1960s, not all locations in rural northern Sweden have had the same experience of 'decline'. Furthermore, not all places share the presumed characteristics of rural areas - i.e. some are younger and some are older, etc. Hence, even the same events influence proximate places in different ways depending on their specific location (e.g. near geographical feature that become more or less valued), their connections with other places (through economic activities, communications, family ties, etc), rules and regulations especially regarding land use, and availability of infrastructure. This thesis describes the demographics of a case in rural northern Sweden in the micro perspective related to temporal and spatial scales. This study provides empirical evidence and might support arguments about the importance of scale and diversity of rural conditions. Moreover, it emphasises, as Koch and Carson (2012) did, the need to understand the spatial scale at which assessments of rural demographic change are being made. Lastly, more academics should perform this genre of research, so that we move past incomplete messages and concepts about rural development that have dominated in northern Sweden since the 1960s.

Det råder stora ojämlikheter mellan Sveriges kommuner. Dessa ojämlikheter mynnar ut i tvåtrender som råder i många mindre kommuner: befolkningen åldras och urbaniseringsgradenökar. Urbaniseringsgraden har gjort att mindre kommuner har ett försämrat ekonomiskt lägreoch många kommuner står inför valet att antingen höja skatten eller reducera den kommunalaservicen. I denna uppsats kartlägger vi genom ekonomiska begrepp hur två medelstorakommuner har hanterat den demografiska utvecklingen samt vad kommunerna bör fokuserapå för att öka sin attraktivitet.Utifrån de demografiska nyckeltal som studerats kommer vi fram till att mycket av deekonomiska svårigheter som uppkom på 1970-talet lever kvar än idag hos många kommuner.De har hamnat i en negativ spiral som är svår att ta sig ur. Kommuner som å andra sidanklarat sig bättre ur krisen har haft ett bättre ekonomiskt utgångsläge. Det finns även ett tydligtsamband mellan en bra integration av så kallade outsiders och de kommunala finanserna.Uppsatsen tydliggör att en god arbetsmarknad, attraktiva bostäder och bra kommersiellt utbudär avgörande för en kommuns attraktivitet. / Currently there are big differences between municipalities in Sweden. These differences leadto two dissimilar tendencies: the population is aging and the degree of urbanisation increases.The urbanisation has set several smaller municipalities in a severe economic situation and alot of municipalities are facing to either raise the local tax or reduce the public service. In thispaper the authors’ research through economic concepts how two medium sized municipalitieshave handled the demographic changes and what the municipalities should do in order toincrease their attractiveness.The findings of this study indicate that the demographic changes, to a large extent, dependson previous recessions in the municipalities which still is causing an unbalanced economy.The municipalities are facing a downward spiral that is hard to emerge from. On the otherhand some municipalities managed the recessions in a more successful way and are nowfacing a more positive economic position. Further, there is a clear correlation between a wellfunctioningintegration on the labour market and public finances. The result of the paper alsoshows that a well-functioning labour market, housing market and commercial supplydetermines municipalities’ attractiveness.

The relationship between FTE enrollments and state appropriations to public four-year colleges and universities is a fundamental issue basic to numerous institutional and state policy decisions. Yet, the relationship is obscure and may have changed during the period from 1965 to 1982. Data for this dissertation were obtained from three sources. Enrollment data were obtained from the Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) information as edited and entered onto computer data tape by the Center for the study of Higher Education (CSHE) at the University of Arizona. Appropriations data were obtained from the annual issues of M. M. Chambers' Appropriations of State Tax Funds for Operating Expenses of Higher Education as edited and entered onto computer data tapes at the CSHE. Variations in the reporting of these sources were obtained through a mail survey instrument. Appropriations data were adjusted for inflation using the national and regional Consumer Price Indices (CPI). The appropriations data were corrected so that all states are reported consistently for (1) tuition, (2) employee benefits, and (3) capital equipment. The edited enrollment and the corrected appropriations data were then regressed for two time periods (1965-77 and 1977-82). The results determined the nature of change in the enrollment/appropriation relationship over time. The results show that there does appear to be a relationship between enrollments and appropriations which is stronger for certain types of institutions. Nationally, the relationship in mean constant dollar appropriations per FTE enrollments has not undergone any radical changes. However, the slopes of the regression lines have undergone statistically significant changes from period 1 (1965-66 to 1976-77) to period 2 (1977-78 to 1982-83). Yet the regression coefficients did not decline in a major way over time for the national sample, for institutions by Carnegie Classification System or by state. Wide ranges of difference were found to exist among states. However, a considerable majority of 35 states and most Carnegie classification institutions did not demonstrate a significant change in the amount of constant dollar or adjusted funding per FTE student over time.