Hispanic high school students have a dropout rate that ranges from 35 percent to 55 percent depending on what type of report you may be referencing. Add rates for all high school students. Hispanic youth endure the challenges of language barriers, single parent households, working to help their family, or fighting off gang involvement in their communities to graduate from high school. The purpose of this case study is to address the urban Hispanic dropout problem through an examination of strategies perceived as successful by Hispanic graduates. In order to narrow the scope, the researcher focused on the strategies suggested by the National Dropout Prevention Center. The researcher posed two questions: 1.) To what extent did students perceive that these fifteen identified strategies influenced their decision to remain in school and graduate? and 2.) What other positive influences beyond the identified strategies were credited by at-risk students and staff as contributing factors to their graduation? The study examined eight former Hispanic high school students who successfully completed high school and four of their teachers. The strategies that this study group perceived as most effective are discussed and policy implications are described. The findings stated students did not find a single path that lead to graduation, although the three highest ranked strategies were community collaboration, alternative schooling, and active learning. The conclusions one can make is that family involvement and school partnerships are very important to the outcome of Hispanic high school students’ graduation success.

Modeling is a valuable tool in drug development, to support decision making, improving study design, and aid in regulatory approval and labeling. This thesis describes the development of pharmacometric models for drugs used in anesthesia and analgesia. Models describing the effects on anesthetic depth, measured by the bispectral index (BIS), for a commonly used anesthetic, propofol, and for a novel anesthetic, AZD3043, were developed. The propofol model consisted of two effect-site compartments, and could describe the effects of propofol when the rate of infusion is changed during treatment. AZD3043 had a high clearance and a low volume of distribution, leading to a short half-life. The distribution to the effect site was fast, and together with the short plasma half-life leading to a fast onset and offset of effects. It was also shown that BIS after AZD3043 treatment is related to the probability of unconsciousness similar to propofol. In analgesia studies dropout due to lack of efficacy is common. This dropout is not at random and needs to be taken into consideration in order to avoid bias. A model was developed describing the PK, pain intensity and dropout hazard for placebo, naproxen and a novel analgesic compound, naproxcinod, after removal of a wisdom tooth. The model provides an opportunity to describe the effects of other doses or formulations. Visual predictive checks created by simultaneous simulations of PI and dropout provided a good way of assessing the goodness of fit when there is informative dropout. The performance of non-linear mixed effects models in the presence of informative dropout, with and without including models that describe such informative dropout was investigated by simulations and re-estimations. When a dropout model was not included there was in general more bias. The bias increased with decreasing number of observations per subject, increasing placebo effect and increasing dropout rate. Bias was relatively unaffected by the number of subjects in the study. The bias had, in general, little effect on simulations of the underlying efficacy score, but a dropout model would still be needed in order to make realistic simulations.

<p>Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka den idrottsspecifika bakgrunden och direkta orsaker till att 18-19-åriga manliga fotbollsspelare i tipselitlag slutar med tipselit. Intervjuer genomfördes med tio före detta tipselitspelare i södra Sverige och analyserades med hjälp av tematisk innehållsanalys. Fem kategorier utkristaliserades vilka beskrev det övergripande temat; Den idrottsspecifika bakgrunden, samt direkta orsaker till avhopp från tipselit: Att leva med tipselit, tränaren, syn på sig själv som fotbollsspelare, skador, och att sluta. Resultatet påvisade att de vanligaste orsakerna till att sluta med tipselit var att det tog för mycket tid och att det sociala livet utanför fotbollen därav blev lidande, samt att intresset för elitsatsning avtog. Vidare uttrycktes önskemål om en tränare, vilka spelarna kan ha en personlig relation med. En konklusion av studien var att individer i tipeslitprojektet skulle trivas bättre om det gavs förbättrade möjligheter att ägna sig åt fritidsaktiviteter utanför fotbollen och skolarbete. Detta skulle kunna leda till färre avhopp från tipselitsatsning.</p>

Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka den idrottsspecifika bakgrunden och direkta orsaker till att 18-19-åriga manliga fotbollsspelare i tipselitlag slutar med tipselit. Intervjuer genomfördes med tio före detta tipselitspelare i södra Sverige och analyserades med hjälp av tematisk innehållsanalys. Fem kategorier utkristaliserades vilka beskrev det övergripande temat; Den idrottsspecifika bakgrunden, samt direkta orsaker till avhopp från tipselit: Att leva med tipselit, tränaren, syn på sig själv som fotbollsspelare, skador, och att sluta. Resultatet påvisade att de vanligaste orsakerna till att sluta med tipselit var att det tog för mycket tid och att det sociala livet utanför fotbollen därav blev lidande, samt att intresset för elitsatsning avtog. Vidare uttrycktes önskemål om en tränare, vilka spelarna kan ha en personlig relation med. En konklusion av studien var att individer i tipeslitprojektet skulle trivas bättre om det gavs förbättrade möjligheter att ägna sig åt fritidsaktiviteter utanför fotbollen och skolarbete. Detta skulle kunna leda till färre avhopp från tipselitsatsning.

There has been a lack of information and research as to the reasons students did not graduate from high school with a diploma, or GED certificate, or certificate of completion, even though they were given the opportunity to attend an alternative drop-out or credit recovery program. This study identified the reasons why some students failed to complete an alternative education program in a K-12 school district in Texas. Of the 29 former PACE students failing to graduate with either a diploma or GED certificate that participated in this research, a little less than half either quit the program or were administratively dropped because they felt that earning money from their job was more important than graduating from high school. Each of the others had this excuse as well as many other excuses for not graduating. Three inter-locking conclusions were reached by the researcher after interviewing 29 of the students that did not complete the PACE program. The first conclusion was that students did not understand the value of a high school diploma at the time they were attending PACE. The second was that money, even in the form of a minimum wage job, was more important than an education. The final conclusion was that each student did not have a plan for their life beyond the coming evening or weekend. All students that failed to graduate or earn a GED had at least one of these misconceptions, while most had two, and a few had all three.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2004. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xvii, 319 p.; also includes graphics. Includes bibliographical references (p. 245-253).

Abstract The issues that influence students’ decisions to enter and drop out of university IT programmes are a major concern for universities worldwide. The low enrolment of women in IT studies has received considerable attention from the academic world. This doctoral thesis aims to contribute to alleviating these problems. The primary contribution of this thesis is the laying out of implications for theory and practice in relation to the high student dropout rates in IT programmes. To elucidate this phenomenon, previous research on student dropout rates has advanced various factor models that explain or predict the dropout tendencies of university students. Although these studies enhance our understanding of the reasons students drop out of Computer Science (CS) courses, university studies, and online learning programmes, I found no research that describes the process that causes students to drop out of university. Such a process viewpoint is important given that students’ decision to abandon a programme is not a static phenomenon, but a complex and dynamic occurrence. This phenomenon develops through a number of stages. As an initial step in filling the gap in research, I analysed qualitative interviews that centred on 40 Information Systems and Software Engineering (IS/SE) students who dropped out of the programme. I also conducted a second round of interviews with nine of these students to collect more accurate information on their motivation and emotions at the time they decided to drop out. On the basis of the interviews, I inductively developed a process theory approach, drawing from van de Ven (1992) and van de Ven and Poole (1995). The proposed process theory explains the trajectories that prompt university students to abandon the IS/SE programme. It also explains the course that the dropout process takes after decisions have been made. The findings reveal potential research directions in student dropout, and provide new insights into the reasons students abandon IS/SE studies. On the basis of the results, I formulate strategies for preventing student dropout. The second contribution of this thesis is that it sheds light on the factors that influence students’ decision to enter IT programmes. Previous studies have been conducted in the US, Canada, and Australia, but only a few have been devoted to Europe. Not much research has been done on the Scandinavian context. To address this problem, I analysed the qualitative responses of 64 female sixth form students regarding their attitudes towards studying IT disciplines, including CS, IS, and SE. We also examined their perspectives on IT as a profession. This study extends the literature by offering new information on why females shun CS or IS careers and what attitudes they hold about these disciplines. / Tiivistelmä Asiat, jotka vaikuttavat IT-alan (tietojenkäsittelytieteet) opintoihin hakeutumiseen ja opintojen keskeyttämiseen, ovat keskeinen kiinnostuksen kohde yliopistoissa ympäri maailman. Erityisesti tyttöjen ja naisten vähäinen osuus tietojenkäsittelytieteiden opinnoissa on koettu akateemisessa maailmassa ongelmaksi. Tämän väitöskirjan tavoitteena on vastata em. tutkimusongelmiin. Väitöskirjan ensisijaisena kontribuutiona on esittää implikaatiota, jotka liittyvät teoriaan ja käytäntöön suhteessa opintojen keskeyttämisen korkeisiin määriin IT koulutusohjelmissa. Tähän ilmiöön liittyen on aiemmassa tutkimuksessa esitetty erilaisia faktorimalleja, joilla on pyritty selittämään ja ennakoimaan opintojen keskeyttämistä yliopisto-opiskelijoiden keskuudessa. Vaikka nämä tutkimukset lisäävät ymmärrystämme teoreettisen tietojenkäsittelytieteen kurssien keskeyttämisestä, yliopisto-opinnoista ja verkko-opiskelusta, aiempi tutkimus ei ole tarjonnut kuvausta opintojen keskeyttämisen prosessista kokonaisuudessaan. Kyseinen prosessinäkökulma on tärkeä, koska se osoittaa, ettei opintojen keskeyttämispäätös ole staattinen. Itse asiassa kyseessä on dynaaminen ja monimuotoinen ilmiö, joka etenee monen eri vaiheen kautta. Täyttääkseni tämän puutteen tutkimuskentässä olen haastatellut 40 tietojenkäsittelytieteiden opiskelun keskeyttänyttä opiskelijaa. Haastattelin heistä yhdeksää vielä uudelleen saadakseni tarkempaa tietoa opiskelijan motivaation tilasta ja tunteista päätöksentekohetkellä. Haastatteluiden perusteella kehitin induktiivisesti prosessiteorian, joka perustuu van de Venin (1992) ja van de Venin &#38; Poolen (1995) esittämiin ehtoihin. Prosessiteoria selittää opintojen keskeyttämispäätöksen etenemisen kokonaisuudessaan. Tutkimuksen tuloksilla on vaikutuksia niin tutkimukseen kuin käytäntöönkin, sillä se tarjoaa uusia näkökulmia ja tutkimussuuntauksia liittyen opintojen keskeyttämiseen ja siihen, kuinka keskeyttämistä voidaan ehkäistä. Väitöskirjan toisena kontribuutiona on täsmentää niitä syitä, jotka vaikuttavat IT-alan opintoihin hakeutumiseen. Ilmiötä on tutkittu Yhdysvalloissa, Kanadassa ja Australiassa, mutta vain vähän Euroopassa ja Pohjoismaissa. Tämä tutkimus vastaa kyseiseen ongelmaan, sillä siinä on selvitetty 64 lukiolaistytön asenteita IT-alan (teoreettinen tietojenkäsittelytiede, tietojärjestelmätiede, ohjelmistotuotanto) opintoja kohtaan. Selvitimme myös heidän suhtautumistaan IT-alaan ammattina. Tutkimus tuo uutta tietoa myös siitä, miksi tytöt eivät halua lähteä opiskelemaan tietojenkäsittelytieteiden ammattilaisiksi.

This research sought to investigate into factors contributing to high dropout rate amongst grade 9 learners in Mqanduli district. Though access to basic education in South Africa has increased substantially over the last few years, dropout rate in the schools continues to rise up in many rural schools especially Mqanduli district schools. The consequence of dropout as a matter of fact has a profound effect on the individual, family, community and economy. It is common knowledge that high dropout rate reduces the pool of qualified people from diverse backgrounds. In our rural schools most specially Mqanduli district, the concern of the researcher was to find out in Mqanduli schools the factors that contribute to high drop-out rate amongst Grade 9 learners and how they can be minimized if not eradicated. The study approach was qualitative, using the case study technique. The case study technique was used for the in-depth investigation of the factors contributing to high learner dropout. In this study, the target population was two school management team (SMT) per school and one head of department (HoD) and a principal in each of the selected schools in the Mqanduli district junior schools. Samples of the two schools were conveniently selected from the population of schools in the Mqanduli district research data gathering. The main research instrument was face to face semi-structured interview schedule. The face to face semi-structured individual interview was used with the participants due to its flexibility, this was done with the help of a voice recorder and field notes. The data analysis procedure for this study took two forms: first, transcribing the interviews, reviewing and identifying and coding the recurring themes within the data for each of the participants. The second part was to identify common themes and areas of variations among the participants. For ethical consideration, permission was sought from the Walter Sisulu University ethical clearance committee, the district office and principals of the selected schools and all participants. Finding1 Learner dropout rate: The research findings show that learners‟ dropout rate was due to poor socio-economic background, poor school nfrastructure, personal reasons, and teacher/learner relationship. The average percentage of learner dropout within five years is 13% in both schools. With in five year period, thus from 2006 to 2010 in school A total of 254 learners were admitted. At the end of year period, 222 learners were promoted to the next grade, The total number of dropouts in school A was 32. In school B 279 learners were admitted. At the end of the year period, 243 learners were promoted to the next grade. In school B the total number of dropouts was 36.