A test of performance to ascertain whether elementary classroom teachers have the basic skills for carrying on a successful classroom music program

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Which ergodic averages have finite asymptotic variance?

We show that the class of $L^2$ functions for which ergodic averages of a reversible Markov chain have finite asymptotic variance is determined by the class of $L^2$ functions for which ergodic averages of its associated jump chain have finite asymptotic variance. This allows us to characterize completely which ergodic averages have finite asymptotic variance when the Markov chain is an independence sampler. In addition, we obtain a simple sufficient condition for all ergodic averages of $L^2$ functions of the primary variable in a pseudo-marginal Markov chain to have finite asymptotic variance

Socioeconomic and ethnic determinants of grade repetition in Bolivia and Guatemala

After reviewing the literature on repetition (students repeating grades in schools) in developing countries, the authors examine factors related to repetition in Bolivia and Guatemala. They develop a model to estimate the incidence and determinants of repetition. The use multivariate logistic regression analysis to estimate the determinants of repetition, using the results in simulations to determine probabilities of who is more likely to repeat. Their empirical analysis shows that certain populations are more likely to repeat a grade: children from less wealthy households and children of indigenous origins. This suggests that any targeting activities could be directed to the poor and could have an indigenous component, such as bilingual education.Teaching and Learning,Primary Education,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Youth and Governance,Gender and Education

Education : past, present and future global challenges

Progress in educational development in the world since 1900 has been slow and uneven between countries. Providing basic education for all children in developing countries has been and remains an unmet challenge of governments and international organizations alike. This is in sharp contrast to recent findings in the economics literature on the catalytic role of human capital for economic growth and social development in general. Using a newly constructed matched data set on education and national accounts in the 1950 to 2010 period, this paper estimates the loss of income and equity associated with not having a faster rate of human capital accumulation, using alternative methodologies and specific country examples. Such loss is projected backward (1900-1950) and forward (2010-2050) using plausible assumptions regarding what countries could have done in the past or may do in the future to accelerate human capital formation. The findings suggest that the welfare loss in terms of per capita income conservatively ranges from about 7 to 10 percent. Improved educational attainment is also shown to have an effect in reducing income inequality.Education For All,Economic Theory&Research,Primary Education,Access&Equity in Basic Education,Achieving Shared Growth

Returns to investment in education : a further update

Returns to investment in education based on human capital theory have been estimated since the late 1950s. In the 40-plus year history of estimates of returns to investment in education, there have been several reviews of the empirical results in attempts to establish patterns. Many more estimates from a wide variety of countries, including over time evidence, and estimates based on new econometric techniques, reaffirm the importance of human capital theory. The suthors review and present the latest estimates and patterns as found in the literature at the turn of the century. However, because the availability of rate of return estimates has grown exponentially, the authors include a new section on the need for selectivity in comparing returns to investment in education and establishing related patterns.Curriculum&Instruction,Teaching and Learning,Public Health Promotion,Decentralization,Economic Theory&Research,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Economics of Education

Suppression of viral and endogenous gene expression in N.tabacum using antisense RNA

Imperial Users onl

Time-resolved Raman spectroscopy for in situ planetary mineralogy

Planetary mineralogy can be revealed through a variety of remote sensing and in situ investigations that precede any plans for eventual sample return. We briefly review those techniques and focus on the capabilities for on-surface in situ examination of Mars, Venus, the Moon, asteroids, and other bodies. Over the past decade, Raman spectroscopy has continued to develop as a prime candidate for the next generation of in situ planetary instruments, as it provides definitive structural and compositional information of minerals in their natural geological context. Traditional continuous-wave Raman spectroscopy using a green laser suffers from fluorescence interference, which can be large (sometimes saturating the detector), particularly in altered minerals, which are of the greatest geophysical interest. Taking advantage of the fact that fluorescence occurs at a later time than the instantaneous Raman signal, we have developed a time-resolved Raman spectrometer that uses a streak camera and pulsed miniature microchip laser to provide picosecond time resolution. Our ability to observe the complete time evolution of Raman and fluorescence spectra in minerals makes this technique ideal for exploration of diverse planetary environments, some of which are expected to contain strong, if not overwhelming, fluorescence signatures. We discuss performance capability and present time-resolved pulsed Raman spectra collected from several highly fluorescent and Mars-relevant minerals. In particular, we have found that conventional Raman spectra from fine grained clays, sulfates, and phosphates exhibited large fluorescent signatures, but high quality spectra could be obtained using our time-resolved approach

The Place of Risk Management in Financial Institutions

The purpose of this paper is to address two issues. It defines the appropriate role played by institutions in the financial sector and focuses on the role of risk management in firms that use their own balance sheets to provide financial products. A key objective is to explain when risks are better transferred to the purchaser of the assets issued or created by the financial institution and when the risks of these financial products are best absorbed by the firm itself. However, once these risks are absorbed, they must be efficiently managed. So, a second part of the current analysis develops a framework for efficient and effective risk management for those risks which the firm chooses to manage within its balance sheet. The goal of this activity is to achieve the highest value added from the risk management undertaken.

CMB temperature lensing power reconstruction

We study reconstruction of the lensing potential power spectrum from CMB temperature data, with an eye to the Planck experiment. We work with the optimal quadratic estimator of Okamoto and Hu, which we characterize thoroughly in application to reconstruction of the lensing power spectrum. We find that at multipoles L<250 our current understanding of this estimator is biased at the 15% level by beyond-gradient terms in the Taylor expansion of lensing effects. We present the full lensed trispectrum to fourth order in the lensing potential to explain this effect. We show that the low-L bias, as well as a previously known bias at high-L, is relevant to the determination of cosmology and must be corrected for in order to avoid significant parameter errors. We also investigate the covariance of the reconstructed power, finding broad correlations of ~0.1%. Finally, we discuss several small improvements which may be made to the optimal estimator to mitigate these problems.Comment: straightforward bias mitigation on pg. 14, matches version accepted by PR