Funding Alternative Education Pathways: A Review of the Literature

This review drew upon anecdotal and empirical research and reports from a variety of fields, including education and school finance theory, alternative education pathways, nonprofit management, and charter school finance. This does not pretend to be a comprehensive thesis on either alternative education pathways or education financing, but rather a point of departure for future discussions. The review is loosely organized according to three aspects of resource allocation presented by Brent, Roellke, & Monk (1997), including fund origination, access and allocation, and utilization

Investigations of cosmic ray anisotropies and their relationship to concurrent magnetic field data

Investigations of cosmic ray anisotropies and their relationship to concurrent magnetic field data are reported. These investigations range in scope from the examination of data very late in the decay phase of a solar particle event where long term (approximately 6 hour) averages are used and definite interplanetary effects sought after to an examination of the change in low energy particle anisotropy as the satellite approaches the bow shock and the magnetopause

The impact of loads on standard diameter, small diameter and mini implants: A comparative laboratory study

Objectives: While caution in the use of small-diameter (≤3.5 mm) implants has been advocated in view of an increased risk of fatigue fracture under clinical loading conditions, a variety of implant designs with diameters <3 mm are currently offered in the market for reconstructions including fixed restorations. There is an absence of reported laboratory studies and randomized-controlled clinical trials to demonstrate clinical efficacy for implant designs with small diameters. This laboratory study aimed to provide comparative data on the mechanical performance of a number of narrow commercially marketed implants. Materials and methods: Implants of varying designs were investigated under a standardized test set-up similar to that recommended for standardized ISO laboratory testing. Implant assemblies were mounted in acrylic blocks supporting laboratory cast crowns and subjected to 30° off-axis loading on an LRX Tensometer. Continuous output data were collected using Nexygen software. Results: Load/displacement curves demonstrated good grouping of samples for each design with elastic deformation up to a point of failure approximating the maximum load value for each sample. The maximum loads for Straumann (control) implants were 989 N (±107 N) for the 4.1 mm RN design, and 619 N (±50 N) for the 3.3 mm RN implant (an implant known to have a risk of fracture in clinical use). Values for mini implants were recorded as 261 N (±31 N) for the HiTec 2.4 mm implant, 237 N (±37 N) for the Osteocare 2.8 mm mini and 147 N (±25 N) for the Osteocare mini design. Other implant designs were also tested. Conclusions: The diameters of the commercially available implants tested demonstrated a major impact on their ability to withstand load, with those below 3 mm diameter yielding results significantly below a value representing a risk of fracture in clinical practice. The results therefore advocate caution when considering the applicability of implants ≤3 mm diameter. Standardized fatigue testing is recommended for all commercially available implants

A social representations approach to the comparison of three textual corpora using ALCESTE

Three corpora of textual data on biotechnology from a range of sources(newspaper articles, focus group transcriptions and responses to an open-ended question from a survey) were analysed using the computer programALCESTE. A comparison of characteristic classes of words from eachcorpus was made in order to identify the stable components in the public’sperception of biotechnology seen in differing communicative contexts. Theresults indicate that at least three distinct representations are present in allthe spheres of discourse explored. The steps required to prepare text andcarry out analyses using the program are described, and an assessment ismade of the method and its prospects as a research tool

A Population Study of Hyacinthoides non-scripta: Density dependence, Phenology and Environment

This study investigated different factors affecting seed production in the English bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, and the role of density and phenology during their reproductive stage. The study sought to understand processes such as pollination facilitation, i.e. positive density dependence, and the complex interaction of density acting on different stages, and even parts, of the plant. A simulation model was developed to investigate population growth and spread under varying degrees of density dependence. Data were collected during the flowering season in 2015, from woodland surrounding Durham University (North-East England, UK), to investigate the impacts of conspecific density, flowering phenology and environmental factors on seed production (used here as a proxy for plant fitness). The unspecialized manner of bluebell dispersal leads to extremely slow spread and influences the spatial structure of the population. Population simulation using baseline parameters (excluding density dependence except for on adult survival) predicted the population to take more than 100 years to reach plant densities and population sizes seen in the field, indicating that new populations of bluebells may take many years to establish and expand. The model also highlighted the importance of seedling survival and fertilisation for population growth and spread, and the necessity for high adult survival for population existence. Data from the field suggest that flowering date is an important plant trait that is likely to be subject to strong selective pressure; as plants starting their flowering in the first two weeks of the flowering season produced more than double the number of seeds produced by later plants. Aspect was the most important environmental factor. Data from several years are needed to verify the model further, and determine if the trends seen in the data are common for the English bluebell in the North-East of England, or are the result of a non-optimal growth season

The Characteristics and Structure of High Pressure (1-42 bars) Gas Tungsten Arcs

The last decade has seen a considerable growth in the exploitation of deep sea mineral reserves. Accompanying these developments has come the need for suitable underwater repair and uainten-nce techniques. one such technique involves the use of fusion welding processes in localised dry high pressure environments created around weldments. Pressure chambers at Cranfield have been employed to simulate this sitiu. ation. These have been used to investigate the influence of ambient pressure (1 to 45 bars) on gas-tungsten arcs. The study has been of a basic nature with emphasis on arc characteristics and arc structure. Special attention is given to the argon TIG arc although helium TIG arcs and constricted argon-tungsten arcs have also been examined. Arc characteristics are reported in terms of arc appearance and modes, electrical characteristics and weld bead studies. The investigation of arc structure is concerned with gaining an understanding of observed characteristics. This has involved experimental and theoretical developments. Experimental techniques used include, electrostatic probes, calorimetry and the measurement of total power radiated from an arc. Models developed here have successfully explained many of the experimental findings and special emphasis has been directed at understanding gas flow in the column and arc stability. Much of the work included in this thesis has implications for the development of underwater welding procedures. Results presented should also contribute to gaining a better understanding of arcs operating under normal ambient conditions. However, these aspects are not discussed in any detail as the main emphasis has been placed on documenting and explaining the influence of pressure on gas-tungsten arcs

The neapolitan camorra: Crime and politics in post-war Naples (1950-92)

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University, 15/05/2000.In the post-war period, Italy has been plagued by different forms of organised crime (such as the Sicilian Mafia, the Neapolitan Camorra, the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta and the Pugliese Sacra Corona Unita) which have managed in their individual ways to infiltrate both the State (in the form of political parties and local administrations) and society (businesses, cultural and voluntary organisations). In Campania, until 1991, the relationship between the Camorra and the local political elite (based on the exchange of votes for state contracts and protection) was tacitly accepted by the population and could not be studied by political scientists due to the lack of reliable source material. In 1991, a law was introduced which gave generous remission of sentences to criminals who became state-witness. Many members of the Camorra revealed important aspects of criminal, economic and political activities in Campania. This new material permitted a reexamination of the Camorra. This thesis on the Camorra hopes to fill a gap in the study of the relationship between politics and criminal organisations which so far has concentrated on the Sicilian Mafia. Part One is a general introduction and presents the theoretical model and methods adopted. The documentation available allowed us to adopt an agency-structure approach derived from Giddens's structuration theory (1984). This was complemented by Easton's systems analysis (1965) to understand the wider, macro-environment. We elaborated an 'interaction model' to analyse the changing nature of the Camorra's activities: from a simple social-criminal practice in the 1930s to a dynamic and secret cartel enacting a political-criminal practice in the 1980s. To test this model we applied it to case-studies of criminals using original judicial documents. In Part Two we look at the possible motives of people who join the Camorra. We analysed the agent's internal and external structure in both decades and concluded that the macro-environment as an influencing factor had changed more than the individual-agent. Part Three examines the lives of camorristi in the 1950s and 1980s in order to determine how far their criminal practice has been transformed. Part Four investigates the wider picture of system-interaction between the Camorra's social subsystem and the political system. Focussing on the relationship between camorristi and the political elite in the 1950s and 1980s we highlight the radical changes that occurred. This thesis presents a theoretical discussion of how to study organised crime and social behaviour in general and at the same time a detailed empirical study, in particular of the political role of a criminal organisation in a concrete historical situation, that of Naples over the last forty years.Brunel University; Italian Governmen

A review of the development of the education service in the borough of Chesterfield 1944-1967

The thesis examines the growth of the Education Service in the Excepted District of the Borough of chesterfield from 1944 to I967. The negotiations leading to the granting of Excepted District status and the formulation of the Scheme of Delegation are discussed, together with the establishment of Managing and Governing bodies of schools and the production of the Development plan for the Borough. The Major and Minor works building programmes are examined and related to the proposals of the Development plan. The evolution of a transfer procedure is described end an analysis is made of the philosophy of Secondary Education maintained by the Borough Education Officer of the day which gave rise to a system of Secondary Schools which attracted interest and acknowledgement at national level and of the factors which caused dissatisfaction with the system in the late 1950's. The resulting discussion leading towards the reorganisation of Secondary Education and the effect of Circulars 10/65 and 10/66 on the decisions of the Council are also examined. The growth of Special Services, Further Education and the Youth Service and the Library Service within the functions delegated by the Scheme of Divisional Administration is outlined. The introduction of i.t.a. and French in the Primary Schools is included in the survey. The successful growth of the service in all its aspects is shown to be a justification for the belief expressed in 1944 that the small Authority of Chesterfield was well able to manage its own affairs within the Scheme of Delegation. The influence of the Borough's geographical position within N.E. Derbyshire, together with the willingness of the Local Education Authority to support bids for the provision of various establishments serving the Borough and N.E. Derbyshire, thus augmenting the development of the Borough Education Service, is analysed