Eurocentric roadblocks to school change in Nunavut

Sixty years after its inception, schooling in the eastern Arctic remains predominantly based on Euro-Canadian values, curricula and pedagogy, and privileging English over Inuit languages. Many studies have linked this model of schooling to poor academic achievement and assault on Inuit culture, and many Inuit have for decades indicated that they want schooling to reflect Inuit culture. In this article I argue that Eurocentrism continues to slow the pace of educational change in Nunavut, despite the supportive proclamations and good intentions of White teachers and bureaucrats. Based on fieldwork in one Nunavut community and on observations as a teacher and visitor in Arctic areas, I present examples of individual Eurocentrism, Eurocentrism embedded in the educational system, and pan-Canadian Eurocentrism that create roadblocks to school change in Nunavut. I also suggest some ways to challenge the roadblocks. As Inuit continue to press for schools based on Inuit priorities Euro-Canadians should act as allies. To this end, Euro-Canadians need to acknowledge and challenge Eurocentrism.Soixante ans après sa mise en place, la scolarisation de l’Arctique de l’Est conserve des valeurs, une pédagogie et un programme à prédominance euro-canadienne, qui privilégie l’anglais au détriment des langues inuit. De nombreuses études ont démontré que les faibles résultats scolaires tenaient à ce modèle d’enseignement, celui-ci constituant en outre une agression envers la culture inuit, tandis que de nombreux Inuit ont, durant des décennies, insisté pour que l’enseignement reflète leur culture. Dans cet article, j’avance que c’est l’eurocentrisme qui contribue à ralentir le changement scolaire au Nunavut, en dépit des déclarations de soutien et des bonnes intentions des enseignants et des fonctionnaires blancs. En me basant sur un travail de terrain effectué dans une communauté du Nunavut et sur mes observations en tant qu’enseignant et visiteur dans les régions arctiques, je présente des exemples d’eurocentrisme au niveau individuel, d’eurocentrisme qui fait partie intégrante du système scolaire, et d’eurocentrisme pancanadien qui entrave le changement scolaire au Nunavut. Je suggère également quelques moyens d’atténuer ces obstacles. Tandis que les Inuit continuent de demander avec insistance que les écoles se basent sur leurs priorités, les Euro-canadiens devraient agir en tant qu’alliés. Afin d’y parvenir, les Euro-canadiens doivent reconnaître leur eurocentrisme et tenter d’y remédier

One way of Stabilizing a Bipedal Walking Machine

A feedback control system for a bipedal walking machine model given in previous study is presented and analyzed. The bipedal model is first simplified and then equations of motion are derived. Criteria for stability are chosen and different control systems are briefly considered. In the survey of control systems available, it is shown that the sampled-data control system with a large sampling period has some advantages in the practical realization. Such a sampled-data feedback control is analyzed in some detail to determine its control potential. The sampled-data control system analyzed uses a predictive analog control algorithm. The analysis of the controllability shows that when practical values of controlling variables are used, a small and specific region of initial deviations in the body state can be compensated. An analog/hybrid computer EAI 380 was used to simulate the analog controller and experiment with changes in control action. It was found that a great expansion of the controllable region can be achieved by keeping one controlling variable (time of action) at its maximum, while varying the other (torque level) so as to reduce both controlled variables (deviation in body position and velocity) to some compromised minimal value

Inefficiency and productivity growth in banking: a comparison of stochastic econometric and thick frontier methods

A comparison of alternative methods for estimating inefficiency and productivity growth in banking, showing that inefficiencies are sufficiently large to dominate scale economies and that measured technological progress has been small, or even negative, as a result of institutional events that occurred during 1977-88.Banks and banking - Costs ; Production (Economic theory)

Guidance histories of selected pupils of a minority group in the intermediate grades

What are the behaviors and actions of selected discipline problems among the colored children of the intermediate grades in the elementary school, and what methods and techniques are used by the staff of the elementary school in meeting and attempting to solve the problems? The purpose of this study was: (1) To make a study of discipline cases over a stated period of time.; (2) To describe the development of counseling methods as related to the behavior patterns of the pupils studied.; (3) To attempt to discover what are both the immediate and underlying causes of the behavior problems of the pupils studied.; (4) To show in what ways the various school and community agencies are employed to give assistance with problem cases.; (5) To record the various school-pupil, pupil-pupil, pupil-home and intra-school relationships that occur in the handling of the pupils studied.; (6) To present suggested methods in the collecting and recording of data concerned with the pupils who were studied.; (7) To provide a basis for further guidance and counseling planning by the teachers and administrators of the Roosevelt School, Stockton, California

Brain rhythms: How control gets into working memory

New research suggests that frontal midline theta EEG activity in humans controls activity in parietal cortex associated with memory maintenance. In turn, the speed of this frontal theta is modulated by the number of items to be handled, potentially indicating strong bidirectional communication within a fronto-parietal network

Sustainability principles: a review and directions

In 1987 the publication of Our Common Future by the United Nations’ World Commission on Environment and Development proposed the concept of sustainable development as an ideal for the global economy and corporations. In seeking sustainable economic growth and sustainability at the enterprise level, a number of “sustainability principles” or codes of conduct emerged. A great deal of intellectual effort, managerial resources, and publicity are devoted to these principles. While these principles have created some dialogue, and helped to lead some organizations in the direction of sustainability, their practical effectiveness remains uncertain. This paper provides an overview of sustainability principles within the context of evolving literature on sustainable development. It describes their purpose and content, the rationale for their creation, and who adopts them. We explore what functions these principles serve, and how they can be made more useful and compelling for businesses, governments, non-profit organizations, investors, and concerned people in general

Bounded diameter tree-decompositions

When does a graph $G$ admit a tree-decomposition in which every bag has diameter at most $d$? One necessary condition is that there is no ``geodesic'' cycle of length more than $3d$; but this is not sufficient, even qualitatively, because one can make graphs in which every geodesic cycle has length at most four, and yet every tree-decomposition has a bag with large diameter. But there is a more general necessary condition. A ``geodesic loaded cycle'' in $G$ is a pair $(C,F)$, where $C$ is a cycle of $G$ and $F\subseteq E(C)$, such that for every pair $u,v$ of vertices of $C$, one of the paths of $C$ between $u,v$ contains at most $d_G(u,v)$ $F$-edges, where $d_G(u,v)$ is the distance between $u,v$ in $G$. We will show that $G$ admits a tree-decomposition in which every bag has small diameter, if and only if $|F|$ is small for every geodesic loaded cycle $(C,F)$. Admitting a tree-decomposition with bags of bounded diameter is known as having ``bounded tree-length'' in algorithmic graph theory, and our proof of the theorem above is similar to an algorithm to approximate tree-length by Dourisboure and Gavoille. Also, admitting such a tree-decomposition turns out to be equivalent to a popular property from metrical geometry, being ``boundedly quasi-isometric to a tree'', and our theorem above about geodesic loaded cycles is essentially a rediscovery of Manning's theorem in metric space theory. The goal of this paper is to tie all these concepts together, and add a few more related ideas. For instance, we prove a conjecture of Rose McCarty, that $G$ admits a tree-decomposition in which every bag has small diameter, if and only if for all vertices $u,v,w$ of $G$, some ball of small radius meets every path joining two of $u,v,w$

Indigenous Student Success in Public Schools: A “We” Approach for Educators

What does Indigenous student success look like in public school boards? Seven urban Indigenous educators’ interview responses to this question were interpreted and reported by the lead author, a teacher and researcher of English, Irish, and Scottish heritage—a Settler Canadian. The “Connected Beads Model” is the result of these educator-to-educator interviews. It shows how Indigenous students’ success can be promoted when Settler and Indigenous educators take a “We” stance alongside students, families, and communities through honoring story, relationship, and holism in school. The concepts embedded in the model and its practical applications are explored through participants’ quotations and considered alongside related literature on Indigenous education. À quoi ressemble la réussite des élèves autochtones dans les conseils scolaires publics ? Les réponses en entrevues des sept éducateurs autochtones en milieu urbain ont été interprétées et dévoilées par l’auteur principal, un enseignant et chercheur d’origine anglaise, irlandaise et écossaise—un Canadien « de souche ». De ces entrevues entre enseignants découle le modèle dit des « perles liées » qui démontre l’effet positif sur la réussite des élèves autochtones qui se crée lorsque les éducateurs « canadiens de souche » et les éducateurs autochtones adoptent une attitude de solidarité avec les élèves, les familles et les communautés et qu’ils rendent hommage aux récits, aux relations et à l’holisme à l’école. Les concepts incorporés au modèle et les applications pratiques de celui-ci sont explorés par le biais des commentaires des participants et dans le contexte de la littérature connexe portant sur l’éducation autochtone.