Cities in Crisis 2009: Closing the Graduation Gap

Analyzes trends in high school graduation rates in the nation's fifty largest metropolitan areas, including improvements and the urban-suburban divide. Compares employment, income, and poverty levels by educational attainment in each metropolitan area

Cities in Crisis: A Special Analytic Report on High School Graduation

Examines graduation-rate patterns in the fifty most populous U.S. cities and surrounding metropolitan areas. Compares data by race/ethnicity, gender, and principal district, and highlights the urban-suburban gaps within the same metropolitan areas

Inverse airfoil design procedure using a multigrid Navier-Stokes method

The Modified Garabedian McFadden (MGM) design procedure was incorporated into an existing 2-D multigrid Navier-Stokes airfoil analysis method. The resulting design method is an iterative procedure based on a residual correction algorithm and permits the automated design of airfoil sections with prescribed surface pressure distributions. The new design method, Multigrid Modified Garabedian McFadden (MG-MGM), is demonstrated for several different transonic pressure distributions obtained from both symmetric and cambered airfoil shapes. The airfoil profiles generated with the MG-MGM code are compared to the original configurations to assess the capabilities of the inverse design method

Applications of FEM and BEM in two-dimensional fracture mechanics problems

A comparison of the finite element method (FEM) and boundary element method (BEM) for the solution of two-dimensional plane strain problems in fracture mechanics is presented in this paper. Stress intensity factors (SIF's) were calculated using both methods for elastic plates with either a single-edge crack or an inclined-edge crack. In particular, two currently available programs, ANSYS for finite element analysis and BEASY for boundary element analysis, were used

Radiation counting technique allows density measurement of metals in high-pressure/ high-temperature environment

Radioactive tracers induced by neutron irradiation provide a gamma ray flux proportional to the density of a metal, allowing density measurement of these metals in extreme high-temperature and high-pressure environments. This concept is applicable to most metals, as well as other substances

Measuring Language Learners’ Speaking Proficiency in a Second Language Using Economical Digital Tools

Rising costs, combined with an increasing lack of flexibility of commercial course management technology tools such as uLearn and Blackboard, have prompted educators to consider other options. New advances in free and open source software, webware, and hardware are becoming attractive alternatives for educators and school systems due to decreased funding. These innovative digital tools hold promise to help educators overcome a variety of impediments to teaching and learning in the 21st century such as fostering student motivation. In the context of second/foreign language learning, the author seeks to present various technologies to P-16 educators that can be used for student oral language assessment. The author provides an overview of the obstacles language teachers must overcome in order to teach more effectively, as well as a synopsis of various options with which language instructors may not be familiar. Afterwards, findings from empirical research comparing the use of digital technology for the measurement of student speaking proficiency to the more conventional face-to-face method are presented. Student and instructor perceptions of using free and open source software are discussed, and the chapter concludes with a discussion of challenges that can appear when changes in assessment methods take place as well as avenues for future research

Conceptual Change as an Agent for Teacher Recruitment

Rural education is faced with a serious teacher shortage, specifically FL educators. FL enrollments are increasing at both the K-12 and higher education levels as the number of qualified FL teachers is decreasing rapidly. The purpose of this study was to recruit undergraduate students into language teaching by investigating students’ perceptions of second language learning and becoming a FL teacher in a rural context. Two quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews with undergraduates in second-and third-semester FL courses at a western university were used to evaluate this group as a potential pool from which to recruit rural FL educators. Working through Posner et al.’s (1982) Conceptual Change Model, students were invited to participate in a teacher recruitment event. Later, 15 students changed majors to become FL educators. This article details the project and provides recommendations for not only the recruitment of language teachers but for all teachers regardless of content area specialty