Preventing impairment of waterbodies requires control, reduction and interception of contaminant losses at the field and subwatershed level. Three specific research objectives were accomplished in this study: 1) compare the HSPF-predicted flow, sediment, total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) loads resulting from simulation of spatially distributed site-specific and county-level disaggregated land use data at subwatershed and watershed levels, 2) evaluate the effects of site-specific and county-level disaggregated BMP data on modeled BMP responses in HSPF-predicted flow, sediment, TN and TP loads at the watershed level, and 3) analyze the long-term effects of the two spatial BMP datasets on achieving the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) goals for sediment, TN and TP. Site-specific data are derived from the local watershed inventory while disaggregated data are based on county-level aggregated data that are distributed to portions of river segments that intersect each county. The study site was the Upper Opequon Watershed in northern Virginia. Results for each research objective are as follows: (1) HSPF-predicted flow, sediment, TN and TP were higher using disaggregated land use data in subwatersheds at monthly and annual time-steps. (2) Predicted load reductions were higher with site-specific BMP data than with disaggregated data for the study watershed. (3) Current levels of cost-shared BMP implementation in the Upper Opequon Watershed using either site-specific or county-level disaggregated BMP datasets do not meet the Chesapeake Bay TMDL goals. Increasing BMP implementation level to 100% of the available land also failed to meet TMDL target goals. Generally, use of disaggregated land use data does not accurately represent the existing watershed conditions. Further, for the study watershed, use of disaggregated county-level BMP data poorly represented actual watershed conditions, which resulted in higher pollutant yields and higher levels of BMPs needed to meet water quality goals. The study suggests that site-specific land use and BMP data must be used during TMDL implementation planning to maintain credibility with local stakeholders and improve the accuracy of the developed implementation plans. / Ph. D.

The persistence of a 120 year-old mathematics curriculum despite dramatic changes in society (Dossey et al., 2016; NCTM, 2018) and the failure of the US mathematics education system to achieve many of its stated aims, especially for students from traditionally marginalized populations (Attridge & Inglis, 2013; Carnevale & Desrochers, 2003a; Ganter & Barker, 2004; Kastberg et al., 2016; Lei et al., 2015; Mullis et al., 2016) raises the question: “What aims, if any, actually shape the curriculum experienced by students?” This dissertation adds to what is known about curricular systems by building a theory of the role of aims for school mathematics in curriculum development, planning, and enactment. It does so by undertaking a qualitative analysis of ten lessons by four different teachers at two different high schools; tracking how the lessons are transformed from instructional materials into plans by the teacher and then enacted in classrooms and perceived by students. This dissertation analyzes these lessons through the lens of activity theory, enabling a deeper understanding of how aims can be described and how they permeate curricular systems. The data analysis produces a framework for how aims can be described and categorized, how aims permeate an individual stage of curriculum, and how aims permeate across stages of curriculum. It finds that aims can be conceptualized as having two parts, a central activity for which mathematical learning is designed to prepare students and the function that school mathematics plays in preparing students to participate in that central activity. The extent to which and how aims permeate a stage of curriculum can be described as the extent to which the mathematical goals for the lesson are connected to clear central aims. The aims found in particular stages of curriculum and the levels of permeation of those aims in those stages can be tracked across stages to determine whether the stages are reinforcing each other’s support for the achievement of aims or working at cross purposes. The application of this framework to the selected curricular systems reveals many lessons with low levels of aim permeation and extensive changes in the aims of lessons as the curriculum is transformed from intention to plan to enactment. This study suggests that aims are underutilized in curricular planning and provides evidence that the mathematics curriculum may be built following disciplinary logic with aims created to justify what is already in place. Further research must be done to explore this conjecture. If it is supported, then curriculum decision makers who seek to improve the extent to which they achieve their aims and eliminate racial and economic disparities in this achievement must begin by elevating the role of aims in their curricular work.

Although many theories attempt to explain the manner in which deficits in goal generation may lead to an episode of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), few studies have actually described how persons with depression vulnerability generate goals for themselves. The current project used a multi-dimensional approach to examine the types, numbers, and domains in which goals are generated, comparing individuals with MDD with individuals with remitted depression, and never-depressed controls. In addition, we examined possible mechanisms that may mediate the relationship between depressive status and goal generation. Surprisingly, results suggested little group difference in the types of goals or subjective ratings of goals that were generated. Instead, we suggest that cognitive and behavioral aspects of motivation may underlie an individual's efficacy of achieving goals. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

The thesis will deal with the relationship of adolescents' self-concept according to their life plans. The work focuses on the issue of their own self-professional concept in their third term of vocational school and fourth term of secondary vocational school. The aim of this work is to describe the relation of the students of the vocational school and secondary vocational school to themselves, how they evaluate themselves, as well as their relation to self-professional concept, to their future goals related to their professional life and further education. The theoretical part deals with their own understanding of self-concept, its development from childhood to adolescence, of the development of themselves and self-professional concept, the importance of life plans for the future life of adolescents on the basis of professional Czech and foreign literature. At the end of the theoretical part, there will be laid theoretical foundations for the research, which will be the content of the practical part of this work. The empirical part of the thesis will analyze the survey made at secondary schools, which focuses on themselves and self-professional concept of selected pupils of the fourth term of secondary vocational schools and the third term of vocational schools. A combination of qualitative and...

This research looked at external funding and its role in determining the success rate of the developmental agenda at country specific level. To undertake this investigation, the role of external funding was assessed alongside other factors largely viewed to be also relevant in discussing the success of the development agenda. The research relied on primary data collected from various participants deemed to be relevant stakeholders in development studies and its success drivers. The sample comprised bilaterals, multilaterals, aid agencies, private commercial sector, policy makers, regulators and the UN agencies. Extensive research was conducted using semi-structured questionnaires and also supported by interviews to probe further on the key sub-topics. The other factors explored alongside external funding in terms of their significance in influencing outcome of the development agenda are strong financial institutions, strong legal institutions, economic reform, competent human capital and international trade. While the factors linked to governance were ranked highly in terms of significance in driving Zimbabwe’ s achievement of sustainable development goals, the numeric difference on points scored were not materially significant. The research outcome highlighted the interconnectedness of the factors assessed in augmenting the impact of capital inflows in meeting the development agenda. In addition, it exposed the significance of broader stakeholder consultation and commitment at a national level.

Långvarig smärta är ett komplext samhällsproblem som utgör ett stort lidande för de som drabbas. Kommunikationen mellan läkare och patient med långvarig smärta är av vikt för att främja både förståelse och behandling av smärtan men upplevs ofta som besvärlig av både patient och läkare. Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie var att undersöka upplevelsen patienter med långvarig smärta har av kommunikationen vid läkarbesök. Multiple Goals Theory (MGT) utgjorde teoretisk tolkningsram. Data inhämtades genom semistrukturerade telefonintervjuer med personer med långvarig smärta (n = 6) och analyserades med tematisk analys. Resultaten sammanfattades i tre huvudteman och åtta subteman. Huvudtemat kommunikationsmål inkluderar subteman som representerar mål som framstått som viktiga för informanterna; något måste ske, stötta mig och vem är jag med smärtan. Dessa mål kan förhålla sig överlappande eller motstridigt i relation till varandra vilket presenteras under huvudtemat förhållande mellan mål. Slutsatser är att patienter med långvarig smärta ger uttryck för olika kommunikationsmål och upplevda hinder för dessa mål. Dessa hinder verkar bland annat kunna komma ur både konflikter mellan målen och ur kontextuella faktorer.

The purpose of the current study is to evaluate to determine whether or not two components of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, committed actions and values, would have an impact on decreasing potential academic procrastination and increasing minutes work engagement (Hayes et al., 2001). Using a concurrent multiple baseline design, three participants recorded schoolwork activity in minutes throughout the study. The two interventions consisted of one phase where participants identified and acted in accordance with their personal values. The second intervention participants identified, created and applied S.M.A.R.T. goals to their daily lives (Muñoz-Olano & Hurtado-Parrado, 2017). Two participants had recorded an increase in minutes worked daily (Covington, 2000). Implications of these results and future research is discussed. Keywords: academic procrastination, values, S.M.A.R.T. goals, committed actions, ACT

Africa, as a continent, requires rapid development in order to catapult the continent into developed status. As decision-makers on the continent acknowledge this, ambitious development goals have been put in place. This research study analysed whether logistics, and more specifically, transport logistics can contribute to sustainable development on the continent, and if so, in which ways and forms this can be implemented. The qualitative study focused specifically on the SADC region trade block within Africa. The research included a case study of a leader in the transport logistics industry. Interviews with the company’s management committee, as well as the management of its top five clients, have been conducted to form the basis of an explorative study. The findings of this study indicate that logistics can contribute to sustainable development within Africa. Three specific areas of impact have been identified, i.e. the role of logistics as enabler of trade on the continent, its contribution to the combat against climate change and its role in social development. The researcher considers the findings in this paper to be significant for sustainable development in terms of their potential value for use by decision-makers in incorporating logistics into their decision-making. More importantly, the potential significant impact that logistics can have on sustainable development, with the formation of strategic partnerships in achieving these development goals, has been highlighted.

Renewable portfolio standards (RPS) are one of the most common state policies meant to encourage clean energy use. They require that utilities purchase electricity from certain qualifying electricity generators, usually with no reference to the cost of that electricity. AlthoughRPS are meant to clean up electricity generation through using clean energy sources instead of fossil fuels, they may not do so effectively. Further, some energy companies may lobby state legislators to include their energy sources regardless of their actual environmental benefit. The actual relationship between enacting an RPS and a state’s emissions from energy production is unclear. I explore RPS associations with carbon emissions. I collect data from 1960 to 2017 on factors related to environmental quality, energy production, and state economic factors. The data availability varies, however, so the most expansive variables are from 1960 to 2017 while many others fall into a shorter timeframe.The dataset relies heavily on the State Energy Data System (SEDS) that the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) maintains, but also draws from a variety of other academic sources. Other variables, such as the dates of electricity market restructuring, I collect myself from primary sources.After accounting for existing linear trends in the data there appears to be no statistically significant relationship with RPS and carbon emissions.

The objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between self-concept and goal attainment for assertive training groups. To determine if self-concept is related to the extent to which one's goals are attained was of major interest. Another purpose was to determine if self-concept measures increase as a result of participation in group assertive training. Subjects were 67 volunteers, students from Utah State University, and Cache Valley, Utah, community members. Subjects were administered as pretests and posttests the Tennessee Self Concept Scale and the Goal Attainment Scaling procedures including the Behavioral Monitoring Progress Record. Three groups were formed: 1) AT I, a self-directed assertive training group, 2) AT II, a directed, goal-oriented assertive training group, and 3) a no-treatment control group. Four assertive training sessions were conducted and posttesting was completed. Two correlations were computed: 1) the pretest TSCS scores were correlated with the GAS scores, and 2) the posttest TSCS scores were correlated with the GAS scores. A test of significance between correlation coefficients was applied to the two correlation coefficients obtained. The two correlations were not significantly different at the .05 significance level suggesting that the extent to which goals are attained is not related to self-concept for the two assertive training groups. Increases from the TSCS pretest to posttest for each assertive training group were significant as indicated by the analysis of variance for repeated measures. The experience of participating in both assertive training groups was suggested as effecting positive changes in self-concept.