A classical delphi study to identify the barriers of green information technologies

This qualitative, classical Delphi study explored the apparent lack of corporate commitment to prioritized Green Information Technologies (GITs), which could delay the economic benefits for maximizing the use of energy resources.  The purpose of this study was to examine the leadership barriers impeding the adoption of GITs.  A panel of nineteen Information Technology and Sustainability experts participated in this study.  The panels' members were from industry, government, and academia.  The NVivo 9 software was used for the qualitative data analysis and reports the results.  The leadership barriers identified in this study as impeding were the lack of understating of GIT and the benefits it can yield for organizations.  To gain energy cost reductions, and to meet future environmental regulations, a paradigm change is needed to integrate GIT into organizational strategies, processes, and culture.  The results of this study give useful recommendations to rationalize the adoption of GIT to overcome implementation barriers.

Coast assessment of the chesapeake bay watershed in the United States of America, using the circles of coastal sustainability framework

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States of America, with watershed drainage covering parts of six states and a Federal District. The system was the first estuary in the nation targeted by Congress after the rapid loss of wildlife and aquatic life. The Chesapeake Bay Watershed’s (CBW) main socio-ecologic issues are eutrophication, overexploitation of resources, and industrial and urban development. This thesis aims to improve CBW management knowledge using holistic frameworks. The objectives are to contribute and assess the management, evaluate the sustainability of the socio-ecologic system, develop a normalized score for sustainability, and present these results using science communication techniques. The holistic frameworks used were DAPSI(W)R(M) and Circles of Coastal Sustainability (CCS). The DASPI(W)R(M) identified the CBW's structure, function, dynamics, and management. Meanwhile, CCS assessed its socio-ecologic sustainability in four domains: Environmental, Social, Economic, and Governance. To evaluate each domain, recognizable and comprehensive indicators were needed. Therefore, an independent literature review of each domain was developed to represent each score classification. The results of the DAPSI(W)R(M) framework indicate that the CBW is a complex system with conflicts between ecosystem health and social well-being. Overall, the score system gave a "Satisfactory" result in the CCS framework assessment. The grade was given because the socio-ecologic system is not healthy but is working towards sustainability. The results for each domain were "Satisfactory" in environmental, economic, and governmental and "Poor" in Social. The graphic design for the results was developed by a collaboration of experts, which aims to communicate sustainability to a broad audience with different specialties. The main discussion of the thesis was about the management recommendation for the CBW using the holistic framework results.I would like to thank Erasmus Mundus Programme and the Water and Coastal Management Programme for giving me the funding opportunity to study abroad

The importance of transition for disaffected young people moving from school to post-school :Programme for Alternative Vocational Education (PAVE) - an evaluation

D.Ed.Psy. ThesisThis thesis describes an evaluation of a transition project called the Programme for Alternative Vocational Education (PAVE). The project is designed for young people aged 14 to 16 yrs who have become disengaged from secondary school through non-attendance andlor exclusion. A re-funding bid for PAVE was imminent, and the evaluation was intended to help inform this bid. The evaluation considered both the relative success of an adult led programme, such as PAVE, in re-engaging young people and an examination of the mechanisms which contributed to that success. A detailed consideration of the psychology of change was undertaken as an explanatory framework against which transition projects such as PAVE could be considered. The relevance of these theories to adolescence, Complexity Theory and Chaos Theory is explored in relation to the potentially supportive contexts of family and school. The methodology used drew on a mixed models approach and utilised Realistic Evaluation as an explanatory background for the findings. Four main approaches to addressing the evaluation were as follows: 1. An examination of PAVE's ability to re-engage young people's attendance (n = 91) 2. An analysis of post-school destinations for PAVE participants (n = 191) 3. An examination of any association between PAVE attendance and quality of first destination post-PAVE (n = 89) 4. Analysis of structured interviews with current participants on entry to and completion of their PAVE placement (n = 11). The interviewed group (n = 11) was a subset of the 'attendance' group (n = 91), as was the first destinations group (n = 89), which, in turn, was a subset of the 'post-PAVE' first destinations group (n = 191). PAVE was shown to be effective in re-engaging young people, particularly boys, who had become disengaged from their secondary school programmes, with an adult led structured programme. A significant mechanism which contributed to that success was the focus on building positive relationships between PAVE staff and the participating young people. Feedback from the evaluation to PAVE staff also led to improved transition procedures for young people joining the programme. Consistent with Complexity Theory, PAVE, a relatively short-term intervention, led to unexpectedly large, reported, positive changes in young people's attitudes to learning. It is concluded that change of this nature in young people's attitude to learning will prepare them for long-term employability opportunities rather than only short-term employment. This finding matches the Scottish Executive's drive to reduce NEET statistics and improve social inclusion

The pulse of change : E-education and other reforming influences on vocational education and training

Reform has been a feature of the Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) system for more than a decade. The Portfolio tracks the theme of reform through the sub-themes of e-education and globalisation, considering each as a set of changing hegemonic discourses that have redefined VET over the intervening years. Into this mix it is speculated a third sub-theme, that of social capital development, is now emerging. The new social paradigm however is likely to create new uncertainties and expectations in a system that struggles to cope with existing reforms

A Profile of Service Learning Programs in South Carolina and Their Responsiveness to the National Priorities

The purpose of this study was to develop a profile of Service Learning activities and programs in South Carolina; to explore the relationship between the person coordinating these activities and the degree to which Service Learning is practiced; to determine how Service Learning projects and activities respond to the national priorities of meeting critical educational, human, public safety, and environmental needs; and to determine how many students are participating and the number of hours they are volunteering in Service Learning activities. The study addressed all public schools funded in FY93 with Serve America and FY94 with Learn and Serve America money. The study employed two primary methods of data collection: questionnaires and individual interviews

Framework for Assessing Information System Security Posture Risks

In today’s data-driven world, Information Systems, particularly the ones operating in regulated industries, require comprehensive security frameworks to protect against loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability of data, whether due to malice, accident or otherwise. Once such a security framework is in place, an organization must constantly monitor and assess the overall compliance of its systems to detect and rectify any issues found. This thesis presents a technique and a supporting toolkit to first model dependencies between security policies (referred to as controls) and, second, devise models that associate risk with policy violations. Third, devise algorithms that propagate risk when one or more policies are found to be non-compliant and fourth, propose a technique that evaluates the overall security posture risk of a system as a function of the non-compliant policies, the affected policies, and the time elapsed since these policy violations discovered but not have been mitigated yet. More specifically, the approach is based on modeling the dependencies between the different controls in the NIST 800.53 framework by compiling a dependency multi-graph, devising a fuzzy-reasoning-based risk assessment technique that traverses the dependency multi-graph and assigns an overall security exposure risk score when one or more controls fail, and finally a technique for identifying the strategies an attacker can use, given the failed controls, and for which an organization should defend itself. This approach allows organizations to obtain a bird’s-eye view of their Information Systems’ cyber security posture and help triage the security control checks by focusing on the most vulnerable parts of their Information System ecosystem

A Case Study of Successful Small School Reform: The Construction Academy as a Fundamentally Different Enterprise

In order to move successful school restructuring from the margins of educational dialogue to the center of the debate requires a detailed investigation into how these school reforms are created and sustained within the larger, current and historical educational context. This qualitative case study sought to understand how the small schools movement of school reform, as it was realized at the East Ridge Construction Academy, was able to overcome historical school reform barriers by engaging in systems thinking and forming and maintaining true learning organizations. This study was also designed to examine how remaining inside an existing system, rather than operating outside of it (i.e., charter schools, private schools), impacted the ability of East Ridge to meet its educational purposes. A theoretical framework based on the work of Sarason (2000) was used to focus the study’s design and the collection, analysis, and reporting of the findings in this study. By examining the particulars at the East Ridge Construction Academy we are able to assert certain conclusions about creating and sustaining a successful small school

Integrating Cultures within Formal Schooling: Exploring Opportunities for Cultural Relevancy in Peri-Urban Senegal

Within the context of Education for All\u27s (EFA) mandate for universal primary school attendance, the cultural relevancy of education is particularly salient to issues of educational quality. Drawing from the literatures on Indigenous knowledges and education, Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, and mother-tongue based multilingual education (MTB-MLE), the lens of analysis for this study acknowledged that incorporating students\u27 cultures and Indigenous knowledges within formal schooling may contribute to increased learning opportunities and thereby improve student outcomes. The purpose of the dissertation was to focus on the experiences of one Senegalese peri-urban primary school in incorporating students\u27 cultures and realities. Research participants included school personnel, students and community members. Using a compressed ethnographic research design, this study took place intensively over a period of four weeks and utilized multiple data collection techniques, including participant observation, student focus groups, and interviews. The results of data analysis identified a number of promising practices as well as challenges related to increasing cultural relevancy. One of the central findings demonstrated how the public school system\u27s new competency-based curricular model, called le Curriculum, may create openings for integrating students\u27 cultures and Indigenous knowledges. Findings further provided evidence of how Senegalese cultures and national languages permeated school interactions, entering deep within classrooms, and even as major components of lesson content. Lastly, this study also concluded that, despite persistent challenges, schooling in Senegal may be progressing towards greater alignment with students\u27 realities than is often presented in the literature