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This chapter analyzes 2011 survey data from a sample of Texas principals who were asked about their perceptions of their working conditions such as: support and facilities; salary; resources; autonomy to make decisions; testing and accountability pressures; and relationships with supervisors. Respondents were also asked about their intentions to stay or leave their particular school. Researchers and policymakers agree effective and stable school leadership is critical to school improvement efforts, but we know little about how various working conditions impact principal effectiveness and turnover. This work is important because in-depth knowledge of the causes of principal turnover in general and how principal working conditions impact turnover in particular is a pre-requisite to creating policies and support mechanisms to support principals in small and mid-sized districts.

Shrinking population can have significant negative impacts on the social and economic fabric of a city. This paper aims to understand different urban transportation policies to respond to population decline in shrinking cities by examining two case studies of urban interventions in mid-size cities in Japan.

The paper analyzes the implementation of sustainable mobility strategies in the urban transport sector in the Japanese cities of Toyama and Kanazawa, which risk having their populations significantly reduced in the next decades. The analysis is based on case study research that uses the data and information collected through desk and field research. Interviews with local actors, as well as published policy and academic documents on the case studies provided critical data and information to analyze the case studies.

Both cities have tried to make urban mobility more sustainable via different strategies. Toyama used more structural changes, called the “sticks and dumplings” approach, having land use incentives and the Light Rail Transit reinforced by bus routes as the backbone of its strategy. Kanazawa relied on a city center revitalization plan to densify residential use in the city center.

More structural interventions are necessary to change the declining of shrinking cities, mitigating some of the negative effects. City administrations need to have clear policy priorities and should not allocate their limited resources to competing policy agendas.

The study is unique as it is one of the first efforts to analyze urban transportation interventions in shrinking cities in Japan.

With an increasing urbanization trend over the last decades, urban agglomerations are facing different challenges that affect its inhabitants: pollution, traffic congestion, thriving population growth rates, and economic uncertainty. In the context of Latin America, where less than 20% of its inhabitants live in rural areas and with a projection to decrease to close to 10% by the year 2030, providing solutions to reduce the impact of this increase of population, on at least one of the issues, seems logical.

This study focuses on the urban logistics component to propose a classification method for homogeneous areas, using Factor Analysis (FA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) as the main supporting tools. The proposed methodology builds up on the square kilometer (KM2) methodology developed by MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, applying it in a neuralgic section of the downtown area of a mid-sized city in Latin America: Córdoba, Argentina. The selection was made considering the logistic restrictions, commercial density, and the relevance of the area for the city. Our proposed methodology uses relevant variables for urban logistics to perform the statistical analysis. The main goal is to develop a data-driven methodology to identify clusters to guide Córdoba's urban logistics policy and decision-making processes.

The results suggest a clear relationship between the different commercial activities and the location inside the area, splitting the area under study clearly into two main sections with similar overall characteristics and two subsections inside each one of them, which should be considered as a basis for further urban logistic analysis and implementation of specific best practices that fit the particular needs.

To produce effective urban district branding strategies, the factors impacting its unique characteristics and identity must be examined first. The purpose of this paper is to present a bottom-up participatory process for uncovering the identity of an urban district to ensure that its community goals and future branding are consistent and genuine.

This paper examines a recently completed grassroots effort that was used to uncover key physical, economic and cultural resources of the Southwest Raleigh district. Interdisciplinary methods, including surveys, interviews, mapping and economic analysis, were used to reveal how residents and businesses perceived the district’s identity.

The study revealed strong connections between a growing economy and factors related to liveability and identity, such as walkability, proximity, connectivity and availability of amenities. It provided a framework for communities to understand the forces of change that may influence the urban identity and potential branding strategies that would align with growing creative district goals.

Analyzing and evaluating the factors involved in the district’s identity, including diversified economies, demographics and urban qualities, is essential to the creation of an authentic brand that aligns with community perceptions.

A research strategy is necessary to uncover the identity of a growing city. This requires a thorough assessment of its unique, localized characteristics, including the perceptions of its residents and businesses.

This paper and its outcomes can inform future in-depth investigations using similar comprehensive and bottom-up approaches for uncovering perceptions and urban identity in support of growing creative economies.

The purpose of the article is to identify relevant criteria for decision support in the implementation of waste-to-energy (WtE)-based systems.

The methodology is a simple case study with a qualitative approach. Five experts involved in the project of a thermoelectric power plant qualitatively evaluated, on a Likert scale, a decision model with 15 indicators derived from recent studies. The research object was the first stage of a project to implement a thermoelectric plant employing municipal solid waste (MSW) in southern Brazil.

The study identified 15 criteria supporting the decision-making process regarding WtE implementation for MSW in a mid-sized city in southern Brazil. The study identified that compliance with MSW legislation, compliance with energy legislation, initial investment and public health impact are the most influential criteria. The study offered two models for decision processes: a simplified one and a complete one, with ten and fifteen indicators, respectively.

The study concerns mid-sized municipalities in southern Brazil.

Municipal public managers have now a methodology based on qualitative evaluation that admits multiple perspectives, such as technical, economic, environmental and social, to support decision-making processes on WtE technologies for MSW.

MSW management initiatives can yield jobs and revenues for vulnerable populations and provide a correct destination for MSW, mainly in developing countries.

The main originality is that now municipal public decision-makers have a structured model based on four constructs (technical, economic, environmental and social) deployed in 15 indicators to support decision-making processes involving WtE and MSW management.

School climate, or the physical and social conditions of the learning environment, has implications for academic achievement. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The authors examine how school climate varies by school-level characteristics in California using administrative data and the California School Climate Survey.

Teachers/staff at secondary schools, schools in large cities, schools that serve low-income populations, Hispanic- and black-majority schools, and/or low-performing schools reported less positive school climates, including staff/student relationships, norms and standards, student facilitative behaviors, and perceived safety, than their counterparts, paralleling other education inequity trends.

The authors encourage educators and school leaders to use data-driven and evidence-based strategies to overcome systematic inequities in positive school climate in order to create social contexts that nurture students’ academic progress and teacher retention particularly in historically under-resourced schools.

This article discusses issues related to the use of new technologies in local communication on the example of selected Polish cities. It will discuss the tools used by local authorities in the process of local communication with residents and entrepreneurs, aimed at increasing their participation in the local decision-making process. The study will focus on tools for empowering residents and increasing civic participation in cities. Based on an analysis of documents, interviews with representatives of city authorities (officials, councilors) and residents, using the IDI method, an attempt will be made to analyze the effectiveness of particular tools used by officials. On this basis, the authors formulate conclusions and recommendations for the future on the selection of the most effective tools used in local communication with residents. The aim of this paper is not only to diagnose the current use of the smart city concept in Poland, but also to create a forecast of its use in the coming years.

The purpose of this paper is to identify factors of parent satisfaction, then identify predictors of overall school satisfaction among three groups of variables: district characteristics, parent demographics, and school satisfaction factors. Despite the importance of parents in the success of schoolchildren, few empirical studies address the complexities and factor structure of parent satisfaction with their children's school.

This paper reports findings from a survey of 30,279 parents from 121 schools in 27 school districts across the USA conducted by Harris Interactive, Inc. The researchers employed factor analysis to identify factors of parent satisfaction, and then regressed overall satisfaction on district characteristics, demographic variables, and satisfaction factors.

In this paper three parent satisfaction factors were found: the extent to which parents received adequate information from the school about their children, and the degree of involvement the school and teachers afforded them, the adequacy of school resources, and the extent to which school leadership (Board of Education and School Superintendent) was effective and managed the school budget well. These factors significantly predicted overall parent/school satisfaction even after district and demographics were controlled.

The study increases one's understanding of the underlying factors that explain parent satisfaction, and demographic, and district characteristics that predict parents' satisfaction. The findings suggest factors that school administrators manage these factors in order to improve parent satisfaction.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how youth from varied cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds came together to collaboratively analyze data they collected across two research projects in a community-based Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) initiative, a less understood aspect of YPAR. Specifically, this study discusses how youth enacted collaborative data analysis to foreground lived experience and experiential knowledge while enacting critical literacy practices and building toward an open and reflective form of relationality.

The examination of youths’ data analysis practices is situated in a larger qualitative research study of the Central City Youth Participatory Action Research initiative, a six-month, community-based, out-of-school program. This study discusses the relational and humanizing practices of youth through collaborative data analysis practices.

This study focuses on two small-group research teams, examining how youth enacted critical literacy practices and humanizing modes of learning through relational practices as data analysis. This study discusses two themes in the findings: making sense of data through personal experience and negotiating researcher roles as stancetaking in collaborative data analysis

In analyzing students’ collaborative data analysis practices across the small-group YPAR projects they enacted, this study contributes new understandings about how youth analyzed data to examine aspects of educational equity important to them.

Despite the importance of principals' satisfaction with their school's performance (PSS), few empirical studies have addressed the components and predictors of principals' satisfaction with their school. The purpose of this study is to identify the most salient components of PSS among school satisfaction indices, districts' characteristics, and principals' demographics.

This study was a secondary data analysis of a survey of 431 principals in 29 school districts across the USA conducted by Harris Interactive, Inc. The researchers first identified reliable indices of PSS from the survey instrument responses. PSS was then regressed on districts' characteristics, demographic variables of the principals, and school satisfaction indices.

A total of 11 reliable PSS indices were identified. Negative student behavior, decision‐making involvement, and equipment and facilities indices significantly predicted PSS after district and demographic variables were controlled.

This study offers an explanation of the underlying dimensions of principals' satisfaction of their schools' performance. The findings suggest actions that principals should take in order to improve their school satisfaction and ultimately, school effectiveness.