School engagement is associated with higher achievement and lower school drop- out rates. Teacher, peer, and parent relationships are critical in the development of school engagement. However, most researchers have looked at the effects of these relationships on school engagement in isolation. Also, few studies have looked at how the impact of these relationships on school engagement may vary as the result of school attended, age, gender, and race. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the growing body of research exploring the mechanisms that underlie the socio-emotional antecedents of school engagement. A theoretical framework for the examination of school engagement as an assessment of how well family, teacher, and peer relationships are meeting students' needs drew from Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological model and Catalano and Hawkins (1996) social development model. Latent variable structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze an archival data set that included 2,217 students in grades 6 through 8 attending three public middle schools in Texas. Results indicated that reported levels of school engagement were explained primarily by peer and teacher relationships. Family context played an indirect role on school engagement, via its influence on peer and teacher relationships. Grade, gender, and race also impacted how relational factors influenced school engagement. Results highlight the importance of positive relationships with family, peers, and teachers, in increasing the development of school engagement. Results also highlight taking into account the unique needs of the student based on his or her age, gender, and ethnic background when designing interventions for school engagement. / text

The aim of this study has been to measure some of the ecological factors in a series of plant habitats and their relation to the existing vegetation in selected twenty soil types of Red River County, Texas.

Predicting crime trends via individual and community level-factors associated with crime is common across criminology, public health, and psychology. From social disorganization theory, crime rates are linked to neighborhood ecological characteristics that may shape the occurrence of illegal activities. Expanding this view, Shaw and McKay (1969) and Sampson (1993) emphasized the role of appropriate parental supervision and stable familial homes in reducing crime. Bursik and Grasmick (1993) further highlighted the influence of structural factors such as poverty and divorce. Social disorganization theory includes a discussion of systems within the social ecological model, three of which will be discussed. The micro system (immediate environment) involves factors like family. The mesosystem is where microsystems link, such as between family and community. Lastly, the exosystem (indirect environment) captures larger structures (e.g., economic influences) which help create the built environment comprised of the neighborhood and social services. These levels overlap and may provide information related to specific factors predictive of crime. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a multi-dimensional concept that encapsulates physical, mental, emotional, and social functioning and has been used for risk factor identification (Yin, Njai, Barker, Siegel, & Liao, 2016). In the social ecological model, HRQOL exists in the micro (e.g., child abuse, intimate partner violence), meso (e.g., prenatal care), and exosystems (e.g., neighborhood poverty). For example, a host of research has discussed the contribution of neighborhood disadvantages to increased intimate partner violence rates (Miller-Graff & Graham Bermann, 2014), while other studies have found economic disadvantage and violent crime to negatively impact birthweight (Masi, Hawkley, Piotrowski, & Pickett, 2007). Although these factors, along with others like drug use and various health factors, have been linked to violent crime, the exploration of social ecological predictors for sexual crimes has been comparatively neglected. In a systematic review of risk factors for sexual crime perpetration, Tharp and colleagues (2014) examined 191 empirical studies and identified two societal and community factors (gender-based factors like female education level and environmental factors like homicide rates), 23 relationship factors, and 42 individual-level risk factors for sexual crime perpetration. To attain a better understanding of the potential range of predictors of sexual crime, the current study will utilize data extracted from two publicly available data bases. The first is the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations (TBI) database, which includes crime statistics for each of the 95 counties in Tennessee. Reported number of crimes against persons in 2018 will be examined in the current analysis with variables categorized as either sexual (n=7 offense categories) or violent, non-sexual (n=11 offense categories) crimes. Violent non-sexual crimes will be collapsed into one variable to serve as the comparison group. The second data base, County Health Rankings and Roadmaps, provides data on health factors contributing to quality of life. For all Tennessee counties, 11 community variables will be included. These factors were selected because they reach across the social ecological levels of micro (e.g., single-parent households, teen births, low birthweight), meso (e.g., substance use factors, health factors including mortality and insurance), and exosystems (e.g., children in poverty, disconnected youth). A multinomial logistical regression will be conducted to investigate whether specific community level factors predict the rate of sexual crime beyond the prediction of violent, non-sexual crime. The overall model significance will be examined by the collective effect of the community level predictors. A key factor in promoting community safety while simultaneously preventing sexual violence involves comprehensive strategies that stretch the range of social ecology. Less is known about predictors of sexual violence than those of other crimes. Further, more research has examined individual-level factors related to sexual crime perpetration. A more nuanced understanding of predictors of sexual violence at social ecological levels can assist in the development of more comprehensive prevention and intervention programs that target multiple levels of risk.

A major goal in evolutionary biology is to understand how ecological factors shape the phenotypic and genetic variation that we observe in natural populations and in this thesis I examine how rapid changes in temperature have influenced phenotypic and genetic variation in morphological and life history traits in long-term studies of great tits. In Chapter 1 I review what is known about the effects of environmental change on natural populations, and outline the quantitative genetic framework that is available to study genetic variation in natural populations. Much focus on the effects of climate change has concerned species’ phenology, far less attention has been given to other traits. In Chapter 2 I examine the effects changing environmental conditions have had on the proportion of females that produce second broods. Temperature operates mainly through indirect effects (such as food abundance) but may also have more direct effects. In Chapter 3 I show that over a 36 year period body size have declined in line with predictions from Bergmann’s rule and I explore the genetic basis of this decline and the environmental factors involved. Although we can learn much from population level responses, there is a great deal of additional information to be gained by studying between-individual responses. In Chapter 4 I therefore compare the multivariate pattern of between-individual variation in phenotypic plasticity and its genetic basis for laying date and clutch size, in two great tit populations. Environmental changes may also directly affect the expression of genetic variance as well as the strength of selection acting on a trait, and in Chapter 5 I show that, for laying date, the environment induces a positive covariance between strength of selection and the expression of additive genetic variance, something that may enhance the rate of adaptation. Finally, in Chapter 6 I discuss and summarise the wider implications of the findings from this thesis.

Il est clairement établi que les forêts à caractère sacré ne sont pas que des créations socioculturelles émanant de sociétés traditionnelles comme cadre privilégié d'accomplissement de diverses cérémonies rituelles, mais représentent aussi des formes locales de conservation de la biodiversité. C'est ce dernier rôle qui attire toute l'attention des institutions internationales, des états et des scientifiques. Bien que de telles forêts aient été largement étudiées en Asie et dans d'autres parties de l'Afrique, notre compréhension des forêts sacrées de la Guinée reste pauvre. En effet, ces forêts sont placées, en raison de leur statut sacré, sous l'entière responsabilité des communautés locales et non l'état. Dans ce travail de thèse, quatre cas représentatifs ont été retenus en Haute Guinée, dans les localités proches de Kankan. C'est l'une des régions dont les écosystèmes sont les plus anthropisés par l'agriculture et les activités minières. Les villages de Diankana, Tintioulenkoro et Dossori font partie des rares où des forêts à caractère sacré sont encore maintenues. L'objectif de cette thèse est de diagnostiquer les valeurs socioculturelles et écologiques de ces forêts, dans un contexte local fort d'anthropisation, en vue de leur documentation et de l'élaboration des stratégies d'une gestion durable. Plusieurs approches méthodologiques ont été utilisées : enquêtes sociologiques et ethnobiologiques, inventaires écologiques et botaniques. L'étude révèle un mode de gestion des forêts sacrées qui connaît une évolution chez les Malinkés, reposant à la fois sur des ''codes mythiques'' et des lois définies par la législation traditionnelle. La rigueur dans la gestion et le rôle des forêts pour les populations sont des atouts. Toutefois, les mutations sociales relativement récentes, l'agriculture et l'urbanisation fragilisent le système et pénalisent la conservation. L'analyse diachronique démontre qu'au cours de ces trois dernières décennies, le couvert forestier de l'ensemble des sites sacrés étudiés a connu un recul moyen d'environ 40 % de leur superficie initiale par l'agriculture et l'urbanisation. [...] / It has been widely reported that sacred forests are not just socio-cultural creations emanating from traditional societies as a privileged setting for ritual ceremonies, but that they also represent important local forms of biodiversity conservation. In recent decades, it is this latter role that has attracted the attention of international institutions, states and scientists. Although such forests have been widely studied in Asia and other parts of Africa, our understanding of Guinea's sacred forests remains poor because local communities, not the state, manage them. In effect, because of the sacred status of these forests, the state favours local management strategies by individual communities. In this thesis, four representative case studies of the sacred forests of Upper Guinea, located near Kankan, are studied. The region's ecosystems have been profoundly affected by human impacts, notably agriculture and mining. The villages of Diankana, Tintioulenkoro and Dossori, where these forests are amongst the few areas to conserve sacred forests. The aim of this thesis is to probe the socio-cultural and ecological values of the forests, in a local context of strong human pressures, with a view to their documentation and the elaboration of sustainable management strategies. Several methodological approaches have been used: sociological and ethno biological surveys, ecological and botanical inventories. The study elucidates a mode of management of these sacred forests by an ethnic group, the Malinkés, which is based on both "mythical codes" and laws defined by traditional legislation. The rigor of this management system, and the socio-cultural importance of these forests for local populations, favours their conservation in the wider context of profound human pressures on the environment. However, social changes in recent years appear, agriculture and urbanisation to have weakened this management system and exposed the area's sacred forests to factors that preclude their effective conservation. The diachronic analysis shows that over the last three decades, the forest cover of all sacred sites studied has decreased by just over 40% of their initial area by agriculture and urbanization. [...]

This mixed methods study investigates how ecological factors influence the decisions urban Hispanic middle school and high school adolescents make concerning their college and career aspirations. I examine the academic aspirations, career aspirations, the influence of peers, teachers, and parents of seventh-, eighth-, ninth-, and tenth-grade urban Hispanic adolescents, and gender roles in college and career aspirations through the lens of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological subsystems theory. Participants took the Student Career Assessment (SCA) survey consisting of Likert-type multiple choice questions and open-ended questions to assess their college and career aspirations. Quantitatively analyzed data examined the extent urban Hispanic middle school and high school adolescents were influenced by items on scales of encouragement, literacy, and education and whether there were differences by gender and grade level. Student responses as to why they chose a specific career were analyzed qualitatively. Combined results for urban Hispanic middle school and high school adolescents show a) both genders are interested in finishing high school and going to college, b) Hispanic females are encouraged more than males to pursue their college and career aspirations, c) more females than males know their career aspiration, but the majority of students do not know how to prepare for their chosen career, e) females have more confidence in their literacy skills than males. The more confidence Hispanic high school students have in their literacy skills, the more likely they are to graduate from high school. Implications for future research should involve conducting studies in the areas of college and career aspirations of urban Hispanic adolescents using random sampling. More gender studies involving the college and career aspirations of urban Hispanic adolescents would significantly add to the current body of knowledge.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-17T14:55:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 815263 bytes, checksum: b2a7881211ea09539084f0360e28deeb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-04-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Based on diet, microhabitat use and morphometry data, we investigated the importance of ecological and historical (phylogenetic) factors an anuran assemblage (16 species) in a urban fragment of Atlantic Rainforest in northeast Brazil. The niche breadth for microhabitat use was low for all species, while diet niche breadth was high for the majority. The main food categories were Coleoptera and Orthoptera, and the close related species showed distinct diet. The pseudo-community analysis indicated the presence of structure for diet and microhabitat use. The canonical phylogenetic ordination detected historical effects in microhabitat use and morphology for Hylidae and Leptodactylidae. However, none historical effect was found for diet. Then, we conclude that the structure found in null models is phylogenetic for microhabitat and ecological for diet. Nevertheless, it can be stated that recent perturbations could be more important in structure assemblage, due to low diversity and great diet plasticity of species, indicating possible ecological release. / A busca por padrões na partição de recursos é revela informações acerca das interações ecológicas das espécies. Baseando-se em dados da dieta, uso de microhábitat, morfometria nós investigamos a importância dos fatores ecológicos e históricos (filogenéticos) na organização de uma taxocenose de anuros (16 espécies) de um fragmento urbano de Floresta Atlântica no nordeste brasileiro. A largura de nicho de uso de microhábitat foi baixa para todas as espécies, enquanto a de dieta foi alta para a maioria. As principais categorias alimentares foram Coleoptera e Orthoptera, sendo que as espécies mais próximas filogeneticamente apresentaram dieta distinta. A análise de pseudo-comunidades indicou a presença de estrutura para dieta e uso de microhábitat. A análise de ordenação canônica detectou efeito histórico no uso de microhábitat e morfometria para as famílias Hylidae e Leptodactilydae, porém, nenhum efeito histórico foi encontrado para dieta. Com isso, concluímos que a estrutura encontrada nas análises de modelos nulos são de ordem filogenética para microhábitat e ecológica para a dieta. Contudo, pode-se afirmar que as perturbações recentes podem ser mais importantes na estruturação da taxocenose, em virtude da baixa diversidade e grande plasticidade alimentar das mesmas, indicando possível liberação ecológica.

The primary objective of this research was to study the effects of agro-ecological regions (as represented by the veld types in four different areas), sex, season of birth, the interaction between sex and season of birth as well as the interaction between veld type and season of birth on selected anthropometrical measurements (body dimension measurements). The correlations between these selected anthropometrical measurements were also investigated in this study. Data from four herds of Nguni cattle comprising of 416 animals (Loskop South, Fort Hare, Kroonstad and Warmbaths with 115, 106, 97, and 98 animals respectively) was analysed. Measurements were taken in different seasons at each area or location. Statistical analyses of the data were done using the general linear model (GLM) procedure of the Statistical Analysis System (SAS, 2002). The results of this study indicate that veld type, sex and the interaction between sex and veld type did not significantly (P < 0.05) affect the growth (selected anthropometrical measurements) of Nguni cattle. In all the four agro-ecological regions (veld type in the different regions), season of birth, the interaction between sex and season of birth (Sex*BS) and the interaction between season of birth and veld type (V*BS) showed a significant effect (P< 0.05) on selected body dimensions. Animals that were born during the winter and spring seasons were heavier (P<0.05, 333.37 kg and 336.95 kg respectively) than those born in summer (270.35 kg) and autumn (286.29 kg). The same can be said of other body dimensions (M, L, HW, HG, SH and HH), whereby the animals that were born during winter and spring seasons had higher values (P<0.05) than their counterparts born in summer and autumn. This tendency was also observed for SC although the difference was not statistically significant. In conclusion, the study suggested that season of birth, the interaction between sex and season of birth (Sex*BS) and the interaction between veldtype (agro-ecological region) and season of birth (V*BS) are important sources of variation in growth of beef cattle, with special reference to Nguni cattle. It is therefore recommended that season of birth and its interaction with both veld type and sex should be given considerable attention in any extensive beef production system (with special reference to the Nguni breed) employed in South Africa. Knowledge of the influence of agro-ecological factors on the growth of beef cattle is of great importance for measuring production capacity, designing and implementing strategies to alter the extensive beef production system and thus to increase the output to ensure a more sustainable economic advantage. / Dissertation (Magister Institutionis Agrariae (Animal Production))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Animal and Wildlife Sciences / unrestricted

Providing effective foster care is a major undertaking that continues to plague this country. The ultimate goal of substitute care is to provide child victims of maltreatment with a safe and nurturing home environment. The goal of this theory driven research project was to identify ecological factors correlated with effective non-kin family foster care. Various levels of analysis were considered including individual, family and community. The findings of this study identified three factors as significant predictors of effective foster care. Included are implications for social work in the areas of practice, policy, and research.

Conducting species inventories is important to provide baseline information essential for management and conservation. Furthermore, understanding the effects of anthropogenic and environmental factors on species richness and occurrence are crucial to conserve species. Aldesa Valley lies in the Tabuk Region of Saudi Arabia, and because of the presence of permanent water and vegetation, is thought to contain high biodiversity. I estimated avian species richness and occurrence in Aldesa Valley during May 10–August 10 in 2014 and 2015 to detect bird species richness and occurrence. I used generalized linear models and occupancy models for six commonly detected bird species. I recorded 24 bird species, and found that species richness and occupancy was affected by numerous anthropogenic and environmental factors that influenced species detection and presence. I encourage more biological inventories to further document species occurrences and facilitate conservation of the unique species assemblages in Aldesa Valley.