Productivity and success in research is often difficult to quantify but is an important factor when determining future funding for the researcher. When trying to quantify factors attributed to productivity and success there are several data points that are produced such as the number of publications and success in future funding. It is important though to normalize these data points off previous funding, time spent doing research, and base pay of the researcher to insure accurate representation. Using this data, it is possible to find the productivity of the research correlated with the amount of research funding. This data obtained from the East Tennessee State University office of research and sponsored programs can be analyzed utilizing analytical software to find correlations within the data. This allowed us to determine if there is an inflection point at which productivity dips associated with research funding, as well as the productivity per research dollar for different disciplines. It is predicted that for many disciplines there will be an inflection point for which per research dollar the productivity will no longer increase. It is also predicted that for many hard sciences disciplines the productivity per research dollar will be less at the beginning, and then there will be a spike due to the greater startup cost associated with these disciplines. Inversely, it is predicted that in the softer sciences and humanities that productivity will be much greater per research dollar in the beginning and then tapper at the end.

Missing data continues to be one of the main problems in data analysis as it reduces sample representativeness and consequently, causes biased estimates. Multiple imputation methods have been established as an effective method of handling missing data. In this study, we examined multiple imputation methods for quantitative variables on twelve data sets with varied sizes and variability that were pseudo generated from an original data. The multiple imputation methods examined are the predictive mean matching, Bayesian linear regression and linear regression, non-Bayesian in the MICE (Multiple Imputation Chain Equation) package in the statistical software, R. The parameter estimates generated from the linear regression on the imputed data were compared to the closest parameter estimates from the complete data across all twelve data sets.

The students' expectations must be met to ensure their overall satisfaction. Because of this student satisfaction has become a measurement tool with which the universities can compete against each other in order to attract potential students and also a higher level of internal and external funding. This thesis deals with students' overall satisfaction in tourism education at Dalarna University in Sweden. It is important to understand what it takes for the universities to be able to produce a motivated workforce for the communities and how satisfied students could help in achieving this goal. Sweden was selected because of the recent introduction of tuition fees, in 2010, which has made it even more crucial to understand the factors affecting students' satisfaction. The method chosen for conducting this study was a questionnaire where the students of Dalarna University were asked to rate different aspects of their overall experience on a Likert scale. The research was conducted via Facebook and email questionnaire. The results show different levels of satisfaction based on the tourism programmes and gender for example. The major finding from this research implicate that the social conditions and surrounding city categories are the most influential when it comes to the overall satisfaction of students at Dalarna University. The results give the university and the city of Borlänge an insight on issues that really matter to the students and how to improve them.

The Texas Education Agency’s Social Studies Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills results show an achievement gap between males and females for every criteria on every test given since 2003. The most dramatic achievement difference is in the area of “traditional” U.S. History. The Texas results mimic a gender gap reported by College Board Texas AP U.S. history exams and the 2006 National Assessment of Education Programs United States assessment for 8th and 12th graders. Literature and education research outline a contentious background the current social studies and history education programs a, a history of social studies assessment programs, and different theoretical frameworks regarding male and female learning. A Transformative Sequential Mixed Method/Model Design was used for this study. Social Studies TAKS quantitative data collected by the Texas Education Agency formed the basis for an Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) study. The Researcher gathered data from a statewide sampling of social studies supervisors, administrators, teachers and Austin Independent School District social studies students. Findings show perspectives regarding the social studies are different and crucial to effective instruction. Both female and male student focus groups believe the teacher to be in complete control of student learning whereas social studies supervisors, administrators, and teachers find the teacher to be a recipient of the pressures from the statewide assessment, accountability, external influences. Female students are shaped by the influences of their outside life and find the entire subject matter covered by the social studies irrelevant. Male students are more personally involved in the history and social studies subject matter finding it important and interesting. / text

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Chemistry / Takashi Ito / This dissertation describes single-molecule tracking (SMT) measurements for the quantitative characterization of one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures in 200 nm-thick surfactant-templated mesoporous silica (STMS) and cylinder-forming polystyrene-poly(ethylene oxide) diblock copolymer (CF-PS-b-PEO) films with a μm-scale thickness. SMT is advantageous for the characterization of nanomaterials over conventional methods because it permits the simultaneous and quantitative assessment of the nanoscale and microscale morphologies, and mass-transport properties of the materials with a high nanometer-scale resolution under ambient conditions. It offers a unique means for the assessment and evaluation of the μm-scale nanostructure alignment in polymer films induced by vertical spin-coating (for STMS films), directional solution flow and solvent-vapor penetration (SVP) methods (both for CF-PS-b-PEO films), highly crucial for many potential technological applications using the materials. Through this work, we have identified suitable sample preparation conditions (e.g. solvent, temperature or solution flow rate) for obtaining highly-ordered mesoporous and microdomain structures over a long-range (> 5 μm). For the quantitative assessment of the 1D SMT data, orthogonal regression analysis was employed, providing assessment of the in-plane orientation and size of individual nanostructures with nanometer-scale precision. The analysis of the 1D trajectory data allowed the radius (ca. 11 nm) of cylindrical PEO microdomains to be estimated, yielding results consistent with the AFM results (ca. 14 nm). The distribution of the trajectory angles offered the estimation of the average orientation and order of the nanostructures in domains/grains for a μm-wide region of the polymer films, revealing the higher efficiency of SVP in the nanostructure alignment as compared to the spin coating and solution flow approaches. Systematic SMT measurements across the film depth and along lateral mm-scale distances afforded valuable insights into the shear- and solvent-evaporation-based alignment mechanisms induced by solution flow and SVP/spin coating approaches, respectively. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) measurements in a SVP-aligned CF-PS-b-PEO film permitted the longer-range mass-transport properties to be probed, reflecting the effective continuity of the aligned cylindrical nanostructures over > 100 μm in length. In this dissertation, FRAP and more importantly SMT methods have provided a unique and useful means for the in-depth characterization of morphology and mass-transport characteristics in thin polymer films under ambient conditions, in confined spaces, and with a nanometer-scale resolution.

Syftet med studien har varit att studera onlineforumet incels.net för att undersöka huruvida medlemmarna vid forumet har liknande bakgrund och/eller gemensamma erfarenheter. Detta undersöktes med hjälp av på förhand utvalda variabler baserade på risk- och skyddsfaktorer tagna från riktlinjer inom socialtjänsten. Tidigare forskning har kunnat kartlägga en specifik rådande diskurs bland incels och uttryck av psykisk ohälsa hos gruppen men inte kunnat visa på gemensamma erfarenheter på kvantitativ nivå. Studien använder sig av en kvantitativ dataanalys som metod. Den vetenskapsteoretiska utgångspunkten för studien är kritisk realism, social exkludering och stämplingsteori. I diskussion av resultaten har social exkludering och stämplingsteori använts. Studien utfördes genom granskning av totalt 12 700 inlägg på online-forumet incels.net. I studien ingick granskning av 111 medlemmar på onlineforumet incels.net. Dessa medlemmars inlägg granskades för att sedan föras in i ett statistiskt sammanställt ark för att se vilka variabler som uppfylldes av vardera medlem. Det insamlade materialet undersöktes sedan genom olika typer av statistiska analyser såsom korstabulering med Chi2-test och korstabeller för att kunna urskilja samband. Vid utförandet av de statistiska jämförelserna användes programmet Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Resultatet av studien visade på en förhöjd andel psykisk problematik hos medlemmarna på forumet vilket sedan diskuterades och jämfördes med övrig befolkning. Resultatet visade även på ett samband mellan dåliga familjeförhållanden och psykisk problematik hos medlemmarna på incels.net.

Thesis (M. A. (Clinical Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / A study investigating third year psychology students’ attitudes towards the use of marijuana at the University of Limpopo was undertaken. The study was quantitative in nature and used a cross sectional survey design. A random sample of 165 third year psychology students was used. The Health Belief-Model was used as a theoretical framework, which guided the study and the reporting of the research results. The self-report questions were made up of several standardised questionnaires. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics namely, frequency tables and figures as they gave a clear overall picture of the data. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine if there were any significant differences between male and female participants in terms of knowledge and attitudes. The results of the study found that overall respondents had negative attitudes toward marijuana use. The study also indicated that there were no gender differences in attitudes toward marijuana use. In terms of the Pearson correlation coefficient a weak positive relationship was found between self-efficacy and attitudes toward marijuana use amongst third year psychology students. The study recommended that workshops are organised to share knowledge about marijuana and its effects.

Abstract in English / Software project management has been less effective as a result of being focused on resource management and the completion of projects within allocated resources and other confines. There has not been much focus on improving software project management quality through improved decision-making, software project management standards and methodologies, hence the focus of this study to explore the possibility of using data analytics with project management standards and methodologies to improve software project management quality. The main question to be addressed in this study is: Can data analytics use in software project management improve decision-making and project management quality? This study, therefore, explores and provides insight on data analytics use, by means of a survey that was completed by software project managers. A questionnaire was used to collect data from software project managers. The gathered data was captured and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), and the analysed data was used for validity testing, while the reliability of the measurement items was tested using Cronbach’s Alpha. A hypothesis was used to evaluate the effect of data analytics use on software project management quality. The research made use of the positivist research method. The study established that data analytics has not yet been widely adopted by software project managers and organisations alike, as both the project managers and organisations have not done enough to promote the training in, and the adoption of data analytics. The research also established that data analytics can improve software project management quality through improved decision-making and in complementing software project management standards. The study findings will be beneficial to software project managers, researchers and organisations as it reveals the factors that are necessary to effectively use data analytics in software project management, as well as highlighting how data analytics improves software project management quality / School of Computing / M.Sc. (Computing)

With the introduction of the UK Government’s inclusive ideology in the late 20th century, increased pressure was put on schools serving adolescent psychiatric units to support their pupils to return to mainstream education. However, there is a perception that a factor that makes the transition process difficult is the attitude of mainstream pupils towards their peers with mental health problems. The purpose of this research was to explore mainstream pupils’ perceptions of mental health problems and the extent to which their understandings might lead to stigmatising attitudes. A theoretical perspective encompassing the ideas of social constructionism, interpretavism and symbolic interactionism, combined with a linguistic based approach, underpinned the development of an empathetic methodological approach to researching sensitive topics with adolescents. The research involved collecting data using a sequence of questionnaires, individual interviews and group interviews with pupils in three secondary schools within socially diverse communities. The questionnaire was presented in comic booklet form and included such techniques as cartoons, vignettes, and adapted familiarity and social distance scales. This dissertation reveals ways in which young people create their personal constructs around mental health and the complexities of the nature of stigma. It also highlights the implications that these findings have for staff and pupils involved in the transition process and for the development of practice in this field.

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