Using structural equation modeling to assess two theoretical models that explain dropout

This study evaluated the relative fit of both Finn's (1989) Participation-Identification and Wehlage, Rutter, Smith, Lesko and Fernandez's (1989) School Membership models of high school completion to a sample of 4,597 eighth graders taken from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988, (NELS:88), utilizing structural equation modeling techniques. This study found support for the importance of educational engagement as a factor in understanding academic achievement. The Participation-Identification model was particularly well fitting when applied to the sample of high school completers, dropouts (both overall and White dropouts) and African-American students. This study also confirmed the contribution of school environmental factors (i.e., size, diversity of economic and ethnic status among students) and family resources (i.e., availability of learning resources in the home and parent educational level) to students' educational engagement. Based on these findings, school social workers will need to be more attentive to utilizing macro-level interventions (i.e., community organization, interagency coordination) to achieve the organizational restructuring needed to address future challenges. The support found for the Participation-Identification model supports a shift in school social workers' attention from reactive attempts to improve the affective-interpersonal lives of students to proactive attention to their academic lives. The model concentrates school social work practices on the central mission of schools, which is educational engagement. School social workers guided by this model would be encouraged to seek changes in school policies and organization that would facilitate educational engagement. ^

Information systems to support decision-making in *construction owner organizations: A data warehousing approach

Construction organizations typically deal with large volumes of project data containing valuable information. It is found that these organizations do not use these data effectively for planning and decision-making. There are two reasons. First, the information systems in construction organizations are designed to support day-to-day construction operations. The data stored in these systems are often non-validated, non-integrated and are available in a format that makes it difficult for decision makers to use in order to make timely decisions. Second, the organizational structure and the IT infrastructure are often not compatible with the information systems thereby resulting in higher operational costs and lower productivity. These two issues have been investigated in this research with the objective of developing systems that are structured for effective decision-making. ^ A framework was developed to guide storage and retrieval of validated and integrated data for timely decision-making and to enable construction organizations to redesign their organizational structure and IT infrastructure matched with information system capabilities. The research was focused on construction owner organizations that were continuously involved in multiple construction projects. Action research and Data warehousing techniques were used to develop the framework. ^ One hundred and sixty-three construction owner organizations were surveyed in order to assess their data needs, data management practices and extent of use of information systems in planning and decision-making. For in-depth analysis, Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) was selected which is in-charge of all transportation-related construction projects in the Miami-Dade county. A functional model and a prototype system were developed to test the framework. The results revealed significant improvements in data management and decision-support operations that were examined through various qualitative (ease in data access, data quality, response time, productivity improvement, etc.) and quantitative (time savings and operational cost savings) measures. The research results were first validated by MDT and then by a representative group of twenty construction owner organizations involved in various types of construction projects. ^

Information systems to support decision-making in construction owner organizations : a data warehousing approach

Construction organizations typically deal with large volumes of project data containing valuable information. It is found that these organizations do not use these data effectively for planning and decision-making. There are two reasons. First, the information systems in construction organizations are designed to support day-to-day construction operations. The data stored in these systems are often non-validated, nonintegrated and are available in a format that makes it difficult for decision makers to use in order to make timely decisions. Second, the organizational structure and the IT infrastructure are often not compatible with the information systems thereby resulting in higher operational costs and lower productivity. These two issues have been investigated in this research with the objective of developing systems that are structured for effective decision-making. A framework was developed to guide storage and retrieval of validated and integrated data for timely decision-making and to enable construction organizations to redesign their organizational structure and IT infrastructure matched with information system capabilities. The research was focused on construction owner organizations that were continuously involved in multiple construction projects. Action research and Data warehousing techniques were used to develop the framework. One hundred and sixty-three construction owner organizations were surveyed in order to assess their data needs, data management practices and extent of use of information systems in planning and decision-making. For in-depth analysis, Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) was selected which is in-charge of all transportation-related construction projects in the Miami-Dade county. A functional model and a prototype system were developed to test the framework. The results revealed significant improvements in data management and decision-support operations that were examined through various qualitative (ease in data access, data quality, response time, productivity improvement, etc.) and quantitative (time savings and operational cost savings) measures. The research results were first validated by MDT and then by a representative group of twenty construction owner organizations involved in various types of construction projects.

"Ombro a ombro com os mais fracos": a inserção de João Café Filho nos espaços do trabalhador na cidade do Natal 1922 - 1937

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how João Café Filho constituted a discourse of advocate of the labor movement and workers in different sociability spaces. It is intended to understand, on one hand, how political relations were established between different categories of workers and the ‘middle classes’ and, on the other hand, how places were instituted to house the meeting of these relations. It a ims to understand the insertion of Café Filho in union activities in the urban world. It demonstrates specificities of the political culture in Natal emphasizing the dispute between a city politically ruled by a still reigning rural paternalistic mentality and the rise of a new way to experience the urban conflicts which appeared. Temporally, the work is delimited between 1922 (proclaimed by Café Filho himself as the initial period of his political action) and 1937 (when he broke up with Vargas and went into exile in Argentina). The research was constituted by three main document types: several published newspapers between the decades of 1920 and 1930 in the cities of Natal, Recife, São Paulo, Porto Alegre and Rio de Janeiro; the autobiographical memoirs written by Café Filho himself and memoirs of other people who lived in his time. The main pillars that have supported the work were: the concepts of society and individuals (ELIAS, 1994; 1995), political cultures (BERSTEIN, 1998) and theater of the memory (GOMES, 2004); the sociability spaces category (CERTEAU, 1994; MALATIAN, 2001; RIOX, 1996); the biography notion (DOSSE, 2009; LORIGA, 2011). We demonstrated that Café Filho acted in some sociability spaces as: the Jornal do Norte, the Federação Regional do Trabalho and the Partido Democrático Nacional. In such spaces, Café Filho, gradually, become an important leader of workers and, at the same time, linked to national entities led to the opposition that fight against the power established in the Brazilian First Republic. In Café Filho’s interpretation, workers were individuals who needed to fight against the political structures prevailing at that time because the poor living conditions and the low representativeness of this group were caused by the way the political system in the First Republic was structured. After the 1930 Movement, the 3 de Outubro Club, the Jornal and the Labor Federation of Natal were constituted in spaces where the cafeista critical discourse about the government was changed: workers should follow the official syndicalism and defend the 1930 Movement which put Vargas in the presidency of the Republic.

Ice furrow mapping in the Laptev Sea

During the "Polarstern"-expeditions ARK-IX/4 (1993) and ARK-XI/1 (1995), organised by the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), acoustic subbottom profiles (Parasound) have been collected in the Laptev Sea Shelf, Siberia. These data have been interpreted as an indicator of ice scours frequency and off-shore permafrost patterns. An additional acoustic profile data-base was available by the results of the expedition of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) of the year 1994. The area of the expedition was located closer to the shelf, therefore supports a better understanding of ice scours frequency in shallower marine environments. The data-file consists of a 2930 km Parasound-traverse and has been subdivided into 586 working profiles. They are characterised by their location, number of ice scours, interpreted patterns of reflection and their extension and morphology. The data have been evaluated statistically and graphically and were presented in a map. Different patterns of sea floor reflection were established by different environments, outer influences (e.g. size of the icebergs, direction of the drift of icebergs) and the climatic history of the region. In the north-westerly region of the Laptev Sea at the continental slope of Severnaya Zemlya the sea floor in shallower depths has been ploughed intensely by recent icebergs. In some regions (40-60m), as an effect of intensely ploughing, the sea floor is hardly defined in acoustic profiles come along with relocation of marine deposits. Glacial diamiet deposits prevented the development of deep scours. Up to 355m deeper scours result from lower sea levels. The marginal north-easterly region of the Laptev Sea is characterised exclusively by this type of scour. Morphology and depth of these scours can be compared with those of the westerly Vilkitsky-Street so that similar conditions of development may be expected. Both, the north-easterly Laptev Sea and the Vilkitsky-Street, are not dominated by patterns ofrecent icebergs. In contrary the shelf-regions north-easterly ofthe Taimyr peninsula and north-westerly of the New Siberian Islands have been modified evidently by recent icebergs, which drifted with prevalent currents anticlockwise along the shelf edge of the Laptev Sea and cause the deepest scours of the whole region. The off-shore permafrost at the inner shelf regions has an important influence on the scours intensity. The permafrost layer can be recognised by the maximum depth of ice scours. It is represented by a Parasound reflector that can be made up for distances. The age of the ice scours cannot be determined absolutely by Parasound data but a relative order can be estimated whenever two scours are situated close to each other. When the Parasound-traverse ofthe expedition ARK-IX/4 (1993) (77°24'N 133°30'E-77°30'N 133°40'E) was repeated partially in expedition ARK-XI/l (1995) the ice scours of 1993 remained unchanged and uneroded and no new ice scours had been detected. It can be concluded that scours persist for a long time in the Laptev Sea, though after all with an average of 3 ice scours per kilometer there are not many at all in the Laptev Sea.

A facilities maintenance management process based on degradation prediction using sensed data

Energy efficiency and user comfort have recently become priorities in the Facility Management (FM) sector. This has resulted in the use of innovative building components, such as thermal solar panels, heat pumps, etc., as they have potential to provide better performance, energy savings and increased user comfort. However, as the complexity of components increases, the requirement for maintenance management also increases. The standard routine for building maintenance is inspection which results in repairs or replacement when a fault is found. This routine leads to unnecessary inspections which have a cost with respect to downtime of a component and work hours. This research proposes an alternative routine: performing building maintenance at the point in time when the component is degrading and requires maintenance, thus reducing the frequency of unnecessary inspections. This thesis demonstrates that statistical techniques can be used as part of a maintenance management methodology to invoke maintenance before failure occurs. The proposed FM process is presented through a scenario utilising current Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology and innovative contractual and organisational models. This FM scenario supports a Degradation based Maintenance (DbM) scheduling methodology, implemented using two statistical techniques, Particle Filters (PFs) and Gaussian Processes (GPs). DbM consists of extracting and tracking a degradation metric for a component. Limits for the degradation metric are identified based on one of a number of proposed processes. These processes determine the limits based on the maturity of the historical information available. DbM is implemented for three case study components: a heat exchanger; a heat pump; and a set of bearings. The identified degradation points for each case study, from a PF, a GP and a hybrid (PF and GP combined) DbM implementation are assessed against known degradation points. The GP implementations are successful for all components. For the PF implementations, the results presented in this thesis find that the extracted metrics and limits identify degradation occurrences accurately for components which are in continuous operation. For components which have seasonal operational periods, the PF may wrongly identify degradation. The GP performs more robustly than the PF, but the PF, on average, results in fewer false positives. The hybrid implementations, which are a combination of GP and PF results, are successful for 2 of 3 case studies and are not affected by seasonal data. Overall, DbM is effectively applied for the three case study components. The accuracy of the implementations is dependant on the relationships modelled by the PF and GP, and on the type and quantity of data available. This novel maintenance process can improve equipment performance and reduce energy wastage from BSCs operation.

La Interpretación de Enunciados y sus Consecuencias de Interfaz

En el presente trabajo, se analizan los factores que intervienen en la interpretación de enunciados asumiendo que, en tanto proceso, la interpretación supone la interacción de distintos sistemas modulares de la mente: La Facultad del Lenguaje (FdeL), y los sistemas sensorio-motriz (SM) y conceptual-intencional (CI). Este último incluye mecanismos para la elaboración de representaciones conceptuales (C) y mecanismos inferenciales involucrados más globalmente en la fijación de estados intencionales (I). Estos sistemas externos a la Facultad del Lenguaje imponen restricciones de manera tal que los núcleos de información que llegan a las interfaces sean legibles por los sistemas SM y CI (Chomsky, 1995-2008). En este sentido, entender la interpretación como proceso conlleva atender a la relación entre los aspectos puramente lingüísticos (sintaxis, semántica), los prosódicos, y los inferenciales (pragmática). En este trabajo, se busca comprender el funcionamiento de aquellos elementos del sistema lingüístico que propician la obtención de los supuestos necesarios para llevar a cabo ese proceso. ;Adoptando un paralelismo entre las categorías sintácticas y las semánticas postuladas en el relevantismo, se intenta dilucidar cómo actúa la variada evidencia lingüística que provee un H en la comunicación, de modo que un O puede arribar a alguna hipótesis del 'significado de H'. A partir del análisis de distintos enunciados, se explora el alcance de ese paralelismo y se llega a una caracterización tentativa del proceso de interpretación. Finalmente, siguiendo ideas de distintos autores, se propone concebir la interfaz FdeL-CI a partir de pares primitivos de información, que son relevantes a todos los sistemas cognitivos involucrados en la comunicación

La Interpretación de Enunciados y sus Consecuencias de Interfaz

En el presente trabajo, se analizan los factores que intervienen en la interpretación de enunciados asumiendo que, en tanto proceso, la interpretación supone la interacción de distintos sistemas modulares de la mente: La Facultad del Lenguaje (FdeL), y los sistemas sensorio-motriz (SM) y conceptual-intencional (CI). Este último incluye mecanismos para la elaboración de representaciones conceptuales (C) y mecanismos inferenciales involucrados más globalmente en la fijación de estados intencionales (I). Estos sistemas externos a la Facultad del Lenguaje imponen restricciones de manera tal que los núcleos de información que llegan a las interfaces sean legibles por los sistemas SM y CI (Chomsky, 1995-2008). En este sentido, entender la interpretación como proceso conlleva atender a la relación entre los aspectos puramente lingüísticos (sintaxis, semántica), los prosódicos, y los inferenciales (pragmática). En este trabajo, se busca comprender el funcionamiento de aquellos elementos del sistema lingüístico que propician la obtención de los supuestos necesarios para llevar a cabo ese proceso. ;Adoptando un paralelismo entre las categorías sintácticas y las semánticas postuladas en el relevantismo, se intenta dilucidar cómo actúa la variada evidencia lingüística que provee un H en la comunicación, de modo que un O puede arribar a alguna hipótesis del 'significado de H'. A partir del análisis de distintos enunciados, se explora el alcance de ese paralelismo y se llega a una caracterización tentativa del proceso de interpretación. Finalmente, siguiendo ideas de distintos autores, se propone concebir la interfaz FdeL-CI a partir de pares primitivos de información, que son relevantes a todos los sistemas cognitivos involucrados en la comunicación

La Interpretación de Enunciados y sus Consecuencias de Interfaz

En el presente trabajo, se analizan los factores que intervienen en la interpretación de enunciados asumiendo que, en tanto proceso, la interpretación supone la interacción de distintos sistemas modulares de la mente: La Facultad del Lenguaje (FdeL), y los sistemas sensorio-motriz (SM) y conceptual-intencional (CI). Este último incluye mecanismos para la elaboración de representaciones conceptuales (C) y mecanismos inferenciales involucrados más globalmente en la fijación de estados intencionales (I). Estos sistemas externos a la Facultad del Lenguaje imponen restricciones de manera tal que los núcleos de información que llegan a las interfaces sean legibles por los sistemas SM y CI (Chomsky, 1995-2008). En este sentido, entender la interpretación como proceso conlleva atender a la relación entre los aspectos puramente lingüísticos (sintaxis, semántica), los prosódicos, y los inferenciales (pragmática). En este trabajo, se busca comprender el funcionamiento de aquellos elementos del sistema lingüístico que propician la obtención de los supuestos necesarios para llevar a cabo ese proceso. ;Adoptando un paralelismo entre las categorías sintácticas y las semánticas postuladas en el relevantismo, se intenta dilucidar cómo actúa la variada evidencia lingüística que provee un H en la comunicación, de modo que un O puede arribar a alguna hipótesis del 'significado de H'. A partir del análisis de distintos enunciados, se explora el alcance de ese paralelismo y se llega a una caracterización tentativa del proceso de interpretación. Finalmente, siguiendo ideas de distintos autores, se propone concebir la interfaz FdeL-CI a partir de pares primitivos de información, que son relevantes a todos los sistemas cognitivos involucrados en la comunicación

Ocean acidification induces budding in larval sea urchins

Ocean acidification (OA), the reduction of ocean pH due to hydration of atmospheric CO2, is known to affect growth and survival of marine invertebrate larvae. Survival and transport of vulnerable planktonic larval stages play important roles in determining population dynamics and community structures in coastal ecosystems. Here, we show that larvae of the purple urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, underwent high-frequency budding (release of blastula-like particles) when exposed to elevated pCO2 level (>700 µatm). Budding was observed in >50 % of the population and was synchronized over short periods of time (~24 h), suggesting this phenomenon may be previously overlooked. Although budding can be a mechanism through which larval echinoids asexually reproduce, here, the released buds did not develop into viable clones. OA-induced budding and the associated reduction in larval size suggest new hypotheses regarding physiological and ecological tradeoffs between short-term benefits (e.g. metabolic savings and predation escape) and long-term costs (e.g. tissue loss and delayed development) in the face of climate change.

Digging up the frequency of phrasal verbs in English for the Police: the case of "up"

The present study focuses on the frequency of phrasal verbs with the particle up in the context of crime and police investigative work. This research emerges from the need to enlarge McCarthy and O’Dell’s (2004) scope from purely criminal behavior to police investigative actions. To do so, we relied on a corpus of 504,124 running words made up of spoken dialogues extracted from the script of the American TV series Castle shown on ABC since 2009. Based on Rudzka-Ostyn’s (2003) cognitive motivations for the particle up, we have identified five different meaning extensions for our phrasal verbs. Drawing from these findings, we have designed pedagogical activities for those L2 learners that study English at the Police Academy.

Overview on bio-based building material made with plant aggregate

Global warming, energy savings, and life cycle analysis issues are factors that have contributed to the rapid expansion of plant-based materials for buildings, which can be qualified as environmental-friendly, sustainable and efficient multifunctional materials. This review presents an overview on the several possibilities developed worldwide about the use of plant aggregate to design bio-based building materials. The use of crushed vegetal aggregates such as hemp (shiv), flax, coconut shells and other plants associated to mineral binder represents the most popular solution adopted in the beginning of this revolution in building materials. Vegetal aggregates are generally highly porous with a low apparent density and a complex architecture marked by a multi-scale porosity. These geometrical characteristics result in a high capacity to absorb sounds and have hygro-thermal transfer ability. This is one of the essential characteristics which differ of vegetal concrete compared to the tradition mineral-based concretes. In addition, the high flexibility of the aggregates leads to a non-fragile elasto-plastic behavior and a high deformability under stress, lack of fracturing and marked ductility with absorbance of the strains ever after having reached the maximum mechanical strength. Due to the sensitivity to moisture, the assessment of the durability of vegetal concrete constitutes one of the next scientific challenging of bio-based building materials.

Sustainability Enhancement of a Turbine Vane Manufacturing Cell through Digital Simulation based Design

Modern manufacturing systems should satisfy emerging needs related to sustainable development. The design of sustainable manufacturing systems can be valuably supported by simulation, traditionally employed mainly for time and cost reduction. In this paper, a multi-purpose digital simulation approach is proposed to deal with sustainable manufacturing systems design through Discrete Event Simulation (DES) and 3D digital human modelling. DES models integrated with data on power consumption of the manufacturing equipment are utilized to simulate different scenarios with the aim to improve productivity as well as energy efficiency, avoiding resource and energy waste. 3D simulation based on digital human modelling is employed to assess human factors issues related to ergonomics and safety of manufacturing systems. The approach is implemented for the sustainability enhancement of a real manufacturing cell of the aerospace industry, automated by robotic deburring. Alternative scenarios are proposed and simulated, obtaining a significant improvement in terms of energy efficiency (−87%) for the new deburring cell, and a reduction of energy consumption around −69% for the coordinate measuring machine, with high potential annual energy cost savings and increased energy efficiency. Moreover, the simulation-based ergonomic assessment of human operator postures allows 25% improvement of the workcell ergonomic index.

Parallel Cyclostationarity-Exploiting Algorithm for Energy-Efficient Spectrum Sensing

The evolution of wireless communication systems leads to Dynamic Spectrum Allocation for Cognitive Radio, which requires reliable spectrum sensing techniques. Among the spectrum sensing methods proposed in the literature, those that exploit cyclostationary characteristics of radio signals are particularly suitable for communication environments with low signal-to-noise ratios, or with non-stationary noise. However, such methods have high computational complexity that directly raises the power consumption of devices which often have very stringent low-power requirements. We propose a strategy for cyclostationary spectrum sensing with reduced energy consumption. This strategy is based on the principle that p processors working at slower frequencies consume less power than a single processor for the same execution time. We devise a strict relation between the energy savings and common parallel system metrics. The results of simulations show that our strategy promises very significant savings in actual devices.

Designing gainsharing model variations with logistics service company

This thesis studies, in collaboration with a Finnish logistics service company, gainsharing and the development of a gainsharing models in a logistics outsourcing context. The purpose of the study is to create various gainsharing model variations for the use of a service provider and its customers in order to develop and enhance the customer’s processes and operations, create savings and improve the collaboration between the companies. The study concentrates on offering gainsharing model alternatives for companies operating in internal logistics outsourcing context. Additionally, the prerequisites for the gainsharing arrangement are introduced. In the beginning of the study an extensive literature review is conducted. There are three main themes explored which are the collaboration in an outsourcing context, key account management and gainsharing philosophy. The customer expectations and experiences are gathered by interviewing case company’s employees and its key customers. In order to design the gainsharing model prototypes, customers and other experts’ knowledge and experiences are utilized. The result of this thesis is five gainsharing model variations that are based on the empirical and theoretical data. In addition, the instructions related to each created model are given to the case company, but are not available in this paper