The purpose of this study was to investigate selected variables among community college transfer students with or without associate’s degrees and native students at a 4-year university to determine the impact of the articulation and transfer process on baccalaureate attainment. More specifically, the study examined the differences in demographic characteristics, academic preparation, and graduation rates among 15 community colleges and a rural land-grant university in the state of Mississippi. There were three groups reviewed: (a) community college transfer students with associate’s degrees and their graduation rate at a 4-year university, (b) community college transfer students without associate’s degrees (non-degrees) and their graduation rate at the 4-year university, and (c) native university students and their rate of graduation at the 4-year university. A comparison was made among the three groups to determine if significant differences exist in the demographic characteristics and academic preparation for baccalaureate attainment.This study utilized the causal-comparative research design. There were 5 research questions examined in this study utilizing descriptive statistics, chi-square statistical tests, and a logistic regression analysis for each of the 3 groups of students. The findings were for the demographics and academic preparation across the 3 groups that there was not a significant difference in gender or race. There was a slight tendency for all 3 groups’ programs of study to be in the College of Education, College of Arts & Sciences, or College of Business. The 2 groups of transfer students seemed to be older in age. Articulation among the Mississippi Public Community College System and the rural land-grant university is functioning because the transfer students are graduating at a higher rate. From this study, analysis shows that having an associate’s degree makes no difference in attaining a baccalaureate degree. As expected, the cumulative grade point average (GPA) and cumulative credit hours earned are higher for those who graduate than those who did not graduate among the three groups. The logistic regressions were statistically significant for all three groups with the strongest predictor being the cumulative overall GPA.

This study is a survey of public community college speech programs in Texas. An investigation of the literature revealed that only three similar studies had been made concerning Texas junior colleges. Chapter Four concludes the study by reviewing the current status of public community college speech programs in Texas and making recommendations for the improvement of these speech programs.

Magister Legum - LLM / This study focuses on the assessment of the Implementation of the Integrated Development Planning (lOP) process in Stellenbosch. The relevance of the study is to investigate whether the lOP process has delivered on the objectives of delivering effective and efficient service delivery to the communities who reside in the different towns within the municipal boundaries. The study will investigate against the policy implementation model of the 5-C Protocol plus communication whether service delivery has been conducted. The primary objective has been to generate and develop options for the improvement of the implementation of the lOP in Stellenbosch. The research not only set out to cover whether service delivery was taking place, but also whether the planning and development of the lOP was moving in the right direction. This could mean that the way the lOP was planned probably needed to be revisited. This scenario has been put to different stakeholders in the interviews to gain their perspectives.In order to make the assessment on the implementation of the lOP the study drew on the theoretical perspectives ascribed to the topic under investigation. The theory covered the areas of planning and different models for policy implementation. The 5-C Protocol (context, content, commitment, clients and coalitions, capacity) plus communication was used as the theoretical model to assess the implementation of the lOP in Stellenbosch. The 5 variables plus communication was adopted to assess whether the variables have been applied and accordingly an evaluation made about how the lOP implementation was conducted. Stellenbosch municipality was used as the case study to assess whether the lOP has been successfully implemented according to the 5-C Protocol plus communication and whether this can be used as a model for future reference by other municipalities. An investigation was conducted on how the municipality implemented the lOP; the fieldwork covered the context (political, social, economic and legal context), content (distributive, redistributive and regulatory use of resourcesO, capacity (tangible and intangible resources), clients and coalitions (stakeholder engagement through public and community participation) plus communication. The fieldwork during the study revealed a number of findings. This is discussed under the different variables of the 5-C Protocol. The variable of context has shown that the political scenario which plays itself out in the municipality has a substantial influence on the other contexts of economical, social and legal. The research found that the politics within the municipality has either stunted or contributed to the growth of especially the economical and social sectors within the Municipality in one or other respect. The content variable which focuses on distributive, redistributive and regulatory approaches by the Municipality has been found to be unrealised. The majority of the stakeholders which were engaged with felt that the distribution and redistribution of resources has not been achieved, especially to marginalised communities. Under the capacity variable (tangible and intangible resources) the study found that although the services to communities are continued to be supplied, there remains a specific lack of expertise and vacant posts within specific critical areas of service delivery. Coupled to this the Municipality did not adopt an approach of sourcing assistance from resident institutions and business in Stellenbosch which could assist in alleviating the situation. The clients and coalitions variable found that different stakeholders who were interviewed came from the politicians, officials and communities / NGO I business sectors. The perspectives from the stakeholders in the study have proven to be substantially diverse. In cases where the politicians and officials agreed over an issue the study found the community / NGO or business sector were at odds with this opinion. In other cases the communities would have an opinion while business or NGO's would not readily agree with that specific opinion. The study also found that the other variables (especially communication) played a significant role on the variable of clients and coalitions. The communication variable elicited a major response from the stakeholders from the marginalised communities. The study also found that there was little congruence in this variable (communication) between the officials and politicians on the one side and the other stakeholders on the other side. While the former felt that the Municipality was doing everything within its powers and available resources the communities especially felt that the approach and methodology were not effective and needed to be revisited

ABSTRACT The primary purpose of this study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of Aboriginal student achievement in six Saskatchewan public community schools in urban, rural, and Northern settings. Three of the schools were elementary schools, and three were high schools. Data for the study were obtained by means of teacher semi-structured interviews, and a teacher survey designed expressly for this research. The research opportunity sought to “explore in the context of selected Saskatchewan community schools, teachers’ perceptions of Aboriginal achievement, the unique and contextualized features that govern Aboriginal learning, and the efforts of teachers to enhance Aboriginal student learning.” Historically, Aboriginal student achievement has been viewed through a deficit lens. To gain a positive perspective of this phenomenon, a constructivist paradigm, a social justice theory of change governed by an ethos of appreciative inquiry were employed using a Mixed Methods Research design. Specifically, a two phase exploratory methodology where a qualitative phase followed by a quantitative one was used to best inform the research perspective. A multi-case study approach for each school and division was deemed the most effective means of exploring teacher conceptualizations of the manner and conditions under which Aboriginal students best learn. A total of nine teachers were interviewed and 28 responded to the teacher survey instrument. Member checks of the interview data were undertaken and statistical data using both Excel for Windows as well as SPSS statistical programs were employed for survey data analysis. Owing to the small survey sample, the author advises that caution be used when considering the survey results. However, it is hoped that refinement of the survey tool and its use in later research will prove to be of benefit in understanding the phenomenon of Aboriginal student achievement. A peer data analysis panel was convened to thematically analyse the four open-ended questions contained in the survey. Findings for this study indicated teachers valued the work of collaborative teams, supportive school learning environments, differentiated instruction, assessment for learning, professional development, and culturally responsive instruction and curriculum and school/division alignment to enhance Aboriginal student achievement. The study found that perceptions of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal teachers differed where Aboriginal student achievement was concerned. As well, participants felt that heightened Aboriginal student achievement could be fashioned by determined student engagement in their academic work. Finally, participants believed that parent and community engagement in schools and the academic life of their children would also enhance Aboriginal student learning outcomes. It is hoped that this study will serve as a point of initiation for more research into the phenomenon on a wider basis in order to generate greater understanding of the means by which Aboriginal students may flourish within public schools in Saskatchewan and potentially elsewhere.

No description available.

This thesis offers a reassessment of the political culture of Scotland in the later fifteenth century, from c. 1440 to c. 1490, through an examination of communitarian discourses and practices. It argues that the current understanding of political relations is limited by too great a focus upon personal relationships. While these were undoubtedly important, it is necessary also to consider the structures of law and governance which framed political interactions, and the common principles and values which underpinned action, in order to gain a fuller picture. In particular, it is argued that the current model, which assumes a more or less oppositional relationship between crown and ‘political community', ought to be replaced with a public domain in which claims to authority were asserted and contested. This approach allows the familiar political narrative to be firmly connected to the ideas expressed in contemporary advice literature, while also situating political authority spatially, by asking how it was experienced as well as how it was projected. The focus upon language and space allows for clear parallels to be drawn between different local political cultures, and allows connections and contrasts to be made between those cultures and the norms of kingship and lordship. It argues that reforms to civil justice made during James III's reign have played a far more important part in the turbulent politics of the time than has been appreciated, that both royal and aristocratic authority could be presented as acting both for the common good and for the interests of the crown, and that Scotland's towns not only had a vibrant political culture of their own, but were an important part of the politics of the realm.

Despite declining community college funding being allocated increasingly on the basis of student success, U.S. community college student retention and completion rates over the past decade have either remained steady or decreased, especially for Latino students. Using descriptive statistics and multiple regression models with secondary data procured from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), I analyzed student success rates—full time student retention and completion rates—based on community college financial allocations and Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) status. To equitably analyze community colleges in the sample (n = 909), I separated them into four groups based on institutional size as defined by the Carnegie Classification. Descriptive results indicated that instructional divisions spent an average of 43% of the college's total allocated budget—often more than three times the allocated budget of any other division. Regression results indicated that instructional expenditures had the most consistent impact on student success regardless of college size and that scholarship expenditures and academic support expenditures generally had a negative impact on student retention and completion rates. Regarding Latino student success in particular, findings indicated that the manner in which colleges allocated their funds impacted only small and medium-sized community colleges. Of the nine different types of institutional expenditures, only student services expenditures and public services expenditures had a statistically significant impact on Latino student success. Additionally regression analysis indicated that community college HSI status did not have a large impact on overall full-time student retention and completion rates but did have a significant impact on full-time Hispanic student retention and completion rates for all institution sizes. Findings of this study confirmed that HSI status does impact Latino student success in public community colleges. This finding is consistent with prior studies on the positive impact of instructional expenditures on student success rates. Further research on the specific elements within these expenditure areas is needed to capture how or why they are having this impact on student success. Current and prospective Latino students and their parents seeking to identify higher education institutions conducive to students' academic success should be aware of such findings as they conduct the college search process.

Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to develop a framework for obtaining social acceptance in the establishment of greenfield projects within hard-to-abate industries by identifying key factors and activities related to the topic. Method: The research was based on an exploratory single-case study of a Swedish greenfield project. The study aimed to gain a nuanced understanding of factors and activities regarding various aspects of the topic. A qualitative approach was used to deepen knowledge and insights into the research gap. The empirical data was collected in three phases: through exploratory workshops, interviews with representatives from the local community, and interviews with representatives from the establishing company. Findings: We have identified several factors and activities that consist of componentfactors/activities that provide a more detailed description of each factor and activity. This identification of influential factors, coupled with the proposal of activities to attain social acceptance, provides project managers with a tangible framework to obtain social acceptance. Factors affecting social acceptance in greenfield projects are (1) Community relationship, (2) Project information, (3) Operational concerns related to the project, (4) Ripple effect concerns, (5) Regional growth, and (6) Sustainability. The key activities we have found to stimulate the factors successfully are (1) Collaborating with external parties, (2) Establishing a communication strategy, (3) Community segmentation, (4) Going above and beyond legal obligations, (5) Community engagement, (6) Create trust by genuineness, and (7) Allocate financial resources to community investments. Theoretical contribution: This study contributes to the literature by verifying that many of the factors identified by previous scholars also apply to greenfield projects within hard-to-abate industries. Even if empirical evidence does not explicitly state the same factors and activities, we have verified that they are closely related. Further on, our developed framework fills an identifiedresearch gap by offering a more comprehensive understanding of the connections between factors and activities influencing social acceptance. Managerial contribution The developed framework in this thesis is designed to guide managers through three critical phases in their work to obtain social acceptance. These phases are pre-launch, launch, and integration. The framework enables managers to identify needed capabilities and systematically address key factors influencing social acceptance. By utilizing this framework, managers can create value by mitigating risks such as operational setbacks, economic losses, reputational damage, opposition, social conflicts, and sabotage.