Disrupting the Ideology of Settled Expectations: Forging New Social Movements to Dismantle the Educational Racial Contract

This paper draws on the concepts of settled expectations and the educational racial contract to provide an analysis of the current social movements calling for the improvement of teacher salaries and work conditions in K-12 schools. This paper argues that some teacher unions’ lack of centering race in their advocacy to ameliorate educational inequities will not radically transform how teachers are treated in the profession, unless there is an increase in motivation to fully recognize the humanity and educational needs of Students of Color in American society. The author calls for teacher activists to reject the false consciousness of their own settled expectations and work on equal footing with Communities of Color to co-author an emancipatory educational contract on the basis of relational equity, respect, and sympathetic touch

Evaluating foam heterogeneity

New analytical tool is available to calculate the degree of foam heterogeneity based on the measurement of gas diffusivity values. Diffusion characteristics of plastic foam are described by a system of differential equations based on conventional diffusion theory. This approach saves research and computation time in studying mass or heat diffusion problems

Interdistrict Choice and Teacher Beliefs: Implications for Educational Expectations, Equity, and Policymaking

Interdistrict choice, which allows families to choose between schools outside of their districts of residence, is currently serving more students than any other choice program in the United States. Yet, despite this popularity, there is a pressing need for more research on how interdistrict choice may affect educational equity within U.S. public schools. Drawing on the analytic framework of educational racial contract, this study examines the issue of teacher beliefs in the context of interdistrict choice at a large, urban high school in Arizona, where market-based school choice programs have been continually expanded for nearly three decades. Data were collected through a survey of 112 teachers, who rated their in- district and out-of-district students based on their perception of three developmental skill categories: 1) academic, 2) communication, and 3) behavior. Results speak to negative teacher beliefs about the educability of Students of Color and hold significant implications for teachers’ academic expectations, educational equity, and future policy decisions

Migration of giant planets in planetesimal discs

Planets orbiting a planetesimal circumstellar disc can migrate inward from their initial positions because of dynamical friction between planets and planetesimals. The migration rate depends on the disc mass and on its time evolution. Planets that are embedded in long-lived planetesimal discs, having total mass of $10^{-4}-0.01 M_{\odot}$, can migrate inward a large distance and can survive only if the inner disc is truncated or because of tidal interaction with the star. In this case the semi-major axis, a, of the planetary orbit is less than 0.1 AU. Orbits with larger $a$ are obtained for smaller value of the disc mass or for a rapid evolution (depletion) of the disc. This model may explain several of the orbital features of the giant planets that were discovered in last years orbiting nearby stars as well as the metallicity enhancement found in several stars associated with short-period planets.Comment: 21 pages; 6 encapsulated figures. Accepted by MNRA

Remote sensing of tropical tropopause layer radiation balance using A-train measurements

Determining the level of zero net radiative heating (LZH) is critical to understanding parcel trajectory in the Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL) and associated stratospheric hydration processes. Previous studies of the TTL radiative balance have focused on using radiosonde data, but remote sensing measurements from polar-orbiting satellites may provide the relevant horizontal and vertical information for assessing TTL solar heating and infrared cooling rates, especially across the Pacific Ocean. CloudSat provides a considerable amount of vertical information about the distribution of cloud properties relevant to heating rate analysis. The ability of CloudSat measurements and ancillary information to constrain LZH is explored. We employ formal error propagation analysis for derived heating rate uncertainty given the CloudSat cloud property retrieval algorithms. Estimation of the LZH to within approximately 0.5 to 1 km is achievable with CloudSat, but it has a low-altitude bias because the radar is unable to detect thin cirrus. This can be remedied with the proper utilization of Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) lidar backscatter information. By utilizing an orbital simulation with the GISS data set, we explore the representativeness of non-cross-track scanning active sounders in terms of describing the LZH distribution. In order to supplement CloudSat, we explore the ability of Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-EOS (AMSR-E) to constrain LZH and find that these passive sounders are useful where the cloud top height does not exceed 7 km. The spatiotemporal distributions of LZH derived from CloudSat and CALIPSO measurements are presented which suggest that thin cirrus have a limited effect on LZH mean values but affect LZH variability

Cellular Ability to Sense Spatial Gradients in the Presence of Multiple Competitive Ligands

Many eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells can exhibit remarkable sensing ability under small gradient of chemical compound. In this study, we approach this phenomenon by considering the contribution of multiple ligands to the chemical kinetics within Michaelis-Menten model. This work was inspired by the recent theoretical findings from Bo Hu et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 048104 (2010)], our treatment with practical binding energies and chemical potential provides the results which are consistent with experimental observations.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Three dimensional viscous analysis of a hypersonic inlet

The flow fields in supersonic/hypersonic inlets are currently being studied at NASA Lewis Research Center using 2- and 3-D full Navier-Stokes and Parabolized Navier-Stokes solvers. These tools have been used to analyze the flow through the McDonnell Douglas Option 2 inlet which has been tested at Calspan in support of the National Aerospace Plane Program. Comparisons between the computational and experimental results are presented. These comparisons lead to better overall understanding of the complex flows present in this class of inlets. The aspects of the flow field emphasized in this work are the 3-D effects, the transition from laminar to turbulent flow, and the strong nonuniformities generated within the inlet

An Analysis of Recent Major Breakups in the Low Earth Orbit Region

Of the 4 recent major breakup events, the FY-1C ASAT test and the collision between Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251 generated the most long-term impact to the environment. About half of the fragments will still remain in orbit at least 20 years after the breakup. The A/M distribution of the Cosmos 2251 fragments is well-described by the NASA Breakup Model. Satellites made of modern materials (such as Iridium 33), equipped with large solar panels, or covered with large MLI layers (such as FY-1C) may generated significant amount of high A/M fragments upon breakup

Investigating obesity risk-reduction behaviours and psychosocial factors in Chinese Americans

AIM: The purpose of this research was to examine the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors related to obesity risk reduction in Chinese Americans. METHODS: A questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of 300 US-born and foreign-born Chinese Americans residing in the New York metropolitan area, ranging from 18 to 40 years of age. Obesity risk reduction behaviors and psychosocial variables derived from the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Health Belief Model were measured. Acculturation was assessed using a modified Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale. Frequency distributions were delineated and stepwise regression analyses were analyzed for different acculturation groups. RESULTS: 65% of the respondents were female and the mean age of the sample was 26 years. Respondents indicated the most commonly practiced behavior to be eating home-cooked meals instead of restaurant-prepared foods. Perceived barriers to adopting obesity risk-reduction behaviors included the convenience of consuming fast foods, cost, lack of time to prepare home-cooked meals, and the physical environment of unhealthy foods. In predicting intention to perform obesity risk-reduction behaviors, the attitude was significant for \u27Western-identified\u27 individuals. In \u27Asian-identified\u27 individuals, perceived behavioral control, self-efficacy and perceived benefits were salient. CONCLUSIONS: Nutrition educators working with Chinese Americans need to address self-efficacy in preparing plant-based, home-cooked meals and making healthy choices at fast-food restaurants with portion control. Concrete and perceived barriers such as lack of time and convenience need to be addressed in nutrition education interventions. Educators need to identify new channels and media outlets to disseminate practical, easy-to-implement behaviors for obesity risk reduction that are socially acceptable