Minority Parents and School Choice: A Multiple Case Study

Low levels of academic achievement among minority students in U.S. schools continues to be problematic. Although school choice, via enrollment in public charter or private schools, is one strategy that may improve academic achievement among minorities, little is known about how parents of minority students understand and exercise school choice. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore understandings of school choice among parents with students enrolled in three types of schools: (a) public charter, (b) private, and (c) traditional public. The framework consisted of three theories: bounded rationality, the economic theory of school choice, and critical race theory. Data were collected via three focus groups with parents from three types of schools. . Through axial coding, a total of seven themes were identified, including definitions of school choice provided by minority parents, social perceptions of school choice, economic perceptions of school choice are negative, strategies used to access information, factors in parents’ school choice decisions, school choice information is inaccessible or unavailable, and parents should be informed of school choice. Eleven subthemes emerged, including parents unfamiliar with school choice, school choice describes options for parents and students, tools available for school choice, positive perceptions, negative perceptions, networking, proactive research, financial factors, student-level factors, parent preference factors, and school-level factors. While school choice has the potential to improve academic outcomes for minority students, the current research highlighted challenges in parent’s decision-making processes that may undermine the potential of school choice to improve educational equity

Forging New Roads: Expanding the Theatrical Touring Market Internationally

A discussion examining current practices on Broadway and around the world to recommend a set of ides and criteria for producing commercial theatre internationally. This includes sections on the current Broadway climate, the various types of theatrical markets, producing in the UK and Australia, past practices from productions that have traveled abroad, recommendations for a new model of international producing, and new developments that will contribute to the future of international producing

Monumentalisation en Bosnie-Herzégovine d'après-guerre : réconciliation et prise de parole

Tableau d'honneur de la Faculté des études supérieures et postdoctorales, 2010-2011Les monuments constituent des lieux où se cristallisent certaines visions du passé, du présent et de l'avenir. Ce mémoire aborde la question de la monumentalisation en Bosnie-Herzégovine en contexte d'après-guerre (1995-2007). À travers des exemples choisis de monuments construits ou en voie de l'être, l'auteure met en lumière les choix politiques qui motivent la mise en monument d'événements, de personnages ou d'idées. L'objectif est de saisir quel modèle social est promu à travers ces monuments. Les notions de mémoire, de nation et de citoyenneté sont mobilisées afin de comprendre la volonté politique qui soutient la construction de monuments en Bosnie-Herzégovine. Plus précisément, ce mémoire montre comment la monumentalisation du souvenir, de l'exemple et de la prise de parole vise à contrer les nationalismes et à promouvoir la réconciliation du pays. La construction de monuments en Bosnie-Herzégovine laisse de plus entrevoir une nouvelle forme de solidarité en émergence

Caractérisation des lymphopénies post-chirurgies cardiaques de type Fontan

La thymectomie est un geste chirurgical fréquemment nécessaire lors des interventions cardiaques en période néonatale. Il est connu que la résection du thymus entraîne une lymphopénie ne semblant pas avoir de conséquences cliniques graves. La lymphopénie constatée serait plus importante chez les patients ayant eu une chirurgie cardiaque de type Fontan. Toutefois, on ignore si la lymphopénie est uniquement secondaire à la thymectomie ou si elle est liée à ce type particulier de chirurgie cardiaque. La présente recherche porte sur 19 patients opérés selon l'approche Fontan; ils ont été comparés à 6 patients "contrôle" ayant eu une thymectomie au cours d'une chirurgie cardiaque d'un autre type. Les résultats indiquent que les patients de type Fontan accusent une diminution du nombre de cellules naïves CD4+ et CD8+ et plus particulièrement une baisse de leurs émigrants thymiques (CD45RA+CD31+/CD4+). On note en contrepartie une expansion du répertoire mémoire (CD45RO+). Ces altérations lymphocytaires sont comparables aux contrôles. Il semble donc que les anomalies lymphocytaires relevées soient reliées principalement à la thymectomie et non pas au type de chirurgie. Les infections plus importantes chez les Fontan, quant à elles, pourraient s'expliquer par une évolution post-opératoire défavorable.The thymectomy is a surgical procedure often done during cardiac surgery. It is well known that the resection of the thymus can cause alterations of lymphocyte subpopulations without major clinical consequences. This lymphopenia could be more pronounced in patients who undergone a cardiac surgery named "Fontan". Nevertheless, it is not known if these alterations are due to the thymectomy or this specific type of cardiac surgery. We recruited 19 patients with Fontan surgery and compared them to 6 patients who had a cardiac surgery of another type. Our results show decreased CD4+ and CD8+ naive T cells populations and more specifically, low numbers of thymic emigrants (CD45RA+CD31+/CD4+). Expansion of memory repertoire (CD45RO+) is also noted. These findings are also found in the control group. Thus, perturbations of T cells populations seem to be related to the thymectomy rather than the type of cardiac surgery. Infections were more severe in the Fontan group but they can be explained by an unfavourable post-operative evolution in this group of patients

Application d'une méthode d'électrophorèse pour la caractérisation et la reconnaissance des porte-greffe

L'étude par électrophorèse (gel d'amidon) de la glucose-phosphate-isomérase (GPI, EC 5.3.1.9) sur des extraits obtenus à partir des jeunes racines ou de sarments aoûtes a montré que ce type de matériel végétal pouvait être utilise en vue de l'identification des porte-greffe. Pour les racines, les meilleurs résultats ont été obtenus à partir de plants dont le feuillage était en bon état et en début de phase de croissance. L'utilisation de sarments s'est révelée en définitive plus facile et plus intéressante au niveau de la realisation des extraits et de la netteté des séparations. La variabilité observée pour le système enzymatique GPI-2 sur les trente porte-greffe autorisés en France s'avère interéssante dans une optique taxonomique et la stabilité des résultats a été confirmée. Neuf phénotypes différents (dont trois non signales jusqu'à présent) ont été mis en évidence permettant de caractériser et de reconnaître cinq porte-greffe (Fercal, .41 B, 333 E.M., 161-49 C, Vialla) et de répartir les autres en quatre groupes. L'étude d'un système complémentaire au moins devra être envisagée pour pouvoir séparer l'ensemble de ces porte-greffe.Utilization of isozyme analysis to the characterization and the identification of rootstocksIsozyme analysis by starch gel electrophoresis for glucose phosphate isomerase (GPI, EC 5.3.1.9) from roots and woody canes extracts showed that this material can be used for identification of the rootstocks. Concerning the roots the best results were obtained at the first stage of growth (during spring) when the plants were in good physiological state but this material is rather delicate. It is easier and more interesting to work with extracts of scrapings from woody canes which give good results and fair resolutions. The variability of the GPI-2 system is interesting for taxonomy and the stability of the results has been confirmed. Nine phenotypes have been found with the thirty rootstocks tested. It is possible to characterize Fercal, 41 B, 333 E.M., 161-49 C, and Vialla. The other rootstocks can be sorted in four groups. Analysis of a complementary enzyme system at least will be necessary to characterize all these rootstocks

Usefulness of two SCAR markers for marker-assisted selection of seedless grapevine cultivars

A PCR-specific marker, SCP18, was developed from a RAPD marker linked to a major locus involved in seedlessness, sdI. A preliminary study of the usefulness of SCP18 and SCC8 (a marker linked to sdI previously developed by LAHOGUE et al. 1998) for the marker assisted selection of seedless varieties was realized using various strategies: a posteriori test in seedless x seedless and seeded x seeded progenies and test of their allelic diversity in a set of 81 seedless and seeded varieties. In contrast to SCP18, SSC8 was found to be a useful marker at least in the seedless x seedless progenies and to show a good linkage disequilibrium with seedlessness in our set of varieties

Parentage of grapevine rootstock ‘Fercal’ finally elucidated

Using a set of 20 microsatellite markers, ‘B.C. n°1B’ (mother) and ‘31 Richter’ (father) were demonstrated to be the true parents of ‘Fercal’ rootstock. ‘333 Ecole de Montpellier’ was definitively excluded as the putative father. ‘B.C. n°1A’ and ‘B.C. n°1B’ were shown to be distinct genotypes. ‘Ugni blanc’, and not ‘Colombard’, was discovered to be the Vitis vinifera father of ‘B.C. n°1B’.

Identification of mildew resistance in wild and cultivated Central Asian grape germplasm

BACKGROUND: Cultivated grapevines, Vitis vinifera subsp. sativa, evolved from their wild relative, V. vinifera subsp. sylvestris. They were domesticated in Central Asia in the absence of the powdery mildew fungus, Erysiphe necator, which is thought to have originated in North America. However, powdery mildew resistance has previously been discovered in two Central Asian cultivars and in Chinese Vitis species. RESULTS: A set of 380 unique genotypes were evaluated with data generated from 34 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. The set included 306 V. vinifera cultivars, 40 accessions of V. vinifera subsp. sylvestris, and 34 accessions of Vitis species from northern Pakistan, Afghanistan and China. Based on the presence of four SSR alleles previously identified as linked to the powdery mildew resistance locus, Ren1, 10 new mildew resistant genotypes were identified in the test set: eight were V. vinifera cultivars and two were V. vinifera subsp. sylvestris based on flower and seed morphology. Sequence comparison of a 620 bp region that includes the Ren1-linked allele (143 bp) of the co-segregating SSR marker SC8-0071-014, revealed that the ten newly identified genotypes have sequences that are essentially identical to the previously identified mildew resistant V. vinifera cultivars: ‘Kishmish vatkana’ and ‘Karadzhandal’. Kinship analysis determined that three of the newly identified powdery mildew resistant accessions had a relationship with ‘Kishmish vatkana’ and ‘Karadzhandal’, and that six were not related to any other accession in this study set. Clustering procedures assigned accessions into three groups: 1) Chinese species; 2) a mixed group of cultivated and wild V. vinifera; and 3) table grape cultivars, including nine of the powdery mildew resistant accessions. Gene flow was detected among the groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that powdery mildew resistance is present in V. vinifera subsp. sylvestris, the dioecious wild progenitor of the cultivated grape. Four first-degree parent progeny relationships were discovered among the hermaphroditic powdery mildew resistant cultivars, supporting the existence of intentional grape breeding efforts. Although several Chinese grape species are resistant to powdery mildew, no direct genetic link to the resistance found in V. vinifera could be established

Distribution des principaux caractères phénologiques, agronomiques et technologiques chez Vitis vinifera L.

Dans la collection de vignes du Domaine de Vassal (INRA, France), l'espèce Vitis vinifera L. est représentée par 5311 introductions, soit 2236 cépages répertoriés et 1090 introductions en cours d'étude.Après description et identification, le potentiel viticole des cépages est évalué. Ces données, recueillies depuis plus de 40 ans, sont maintenant rassemblees dans une banque de données informatisée. Il est ainsi possible de calculer la répartition des principaux caractères sur un grand nombre de cépages (2236). Les génotypes analysés étant d'origines trés diverses, on peut considérer cet échantillon comme une des meilleures représentations disponibles de Vitis vinifera L.Les distributions, moyennes, valeurs modales et extrêmes sont présentées pour les caractères suivants: dates de débourrement et de maturité, port et fertilité, poids moyen des baies et des grappes. La connaissance de la répartition de ces caractères est très utile pour estimer la potentialité des semis , déterminer les cépages "extrêmes" susceptibles d'être utilisés dans des programmes d'amélioration et mieux apprécier Vitis vinifera L.Distribution of the main phenological, agronomical and technical characters of Vitis vinifera L.In the grapevine collection of the ''Domaine de Vassal'' (INRA, France) 5311 accessions belong to Vitis vinifera L. That represents 2236 varieties and 1090 accessions which are still in process of being studied. After being described and identified, the viticultural performances of the varieties are evaluated. These data have been collected since 40 years and are now registred and joined together in a computerized data bank. So, it is possible to calculate distributions and repartitions for the most important characters of a great number of varieties (2236). The origins of these varieties are very diversified and therefore this large sample can be considered like one of the best available representations of Vitis vinifera L. The distribution, average, modal, minimum and maximum values of the following characters are presented: date of budburst, date of maturity, shoot habit, fertility, mean berry weight and mean bunch weight. The knowledge of the repartition of these characters is very useful to estimate the potentiality of seedlings and to determine the ''extreme'' varieties which could be used in different programs of grape improvement. It supplies also a contribution to a better knowledge of Vitis vinifera L

Genetic clustering and parentage analysis of Western Balkan grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.)

A total of 90 grapevine samples collected in five countries of the Western Balkan region were evaluated for trueness-to-type and kinship relations based on comparative analysis with 1,130 grapevine genotypes held at the INRA "Domaine de Vassal" French Grape Germplasm Repository, using 14 microsatellite markers. In the context of the comparative analysis, twenty-four synonyms/counterparts and the putative parents for twelve Balkan accessions were identified. We discovered five pairs of homonyms, subsequently confirming the identity or parentage of three of them. Some of the examined accessions were identified either on the basis of the genotypes found in the literature, or through parentage relationships revealed in this study. For the remaining fifty accessions we were unable to establish either their pedigree or to identify them on the basis of SSR profiles available elsewhere. Finally, the Balkan genotypes that were not well classified by synonymy or parentage analysis were further studied with a Principal Coordinate Analysis to reveal genetic clustering within larger datasets of genotypes. The graphical display of the individual and group distances showed that about forty accessions (85 %) are structured within a group of Balkan and Eastern Europe genotypes and only a minor proportion resulted in admixed population assignment