Telling Our Stories: Exploring the Path Toward Successful Mathematics Degree Attainment at an Under-Resourced Predominantly Black Institution

The under-representation of Blacks in mathematics related professions stems from an American educational system of inequity. Many Black students, including a substantial proportion of those who enroll at Predominantly Black Institutions, attend elementary and secondary schools in under-resourced districts with limited access to quality teachers and rigorous, culturally-relevant instruction that would adequately prepare them for college attainment in mathematics. The primary research question guiding this study was: What are the challenges and opportunities associated with building and sustaining a successful mathematics degree program at an under-resourced Predominantly Black Institution? Concurrently, this interpretive case study examined and documented the experiences of four graduates from one of these programs by means of in-depth phenomenological interviews. The three 60- to 90-minute interviews focused on life history, the college experience, and a reflection on the meaning of that experience. The participants\u27 counternarratives were abstracted into three overarching themes which contributed to persistence and success: (1) people who cared, (2) sense of belonging, and (3) personal agency. The findings and themes from this study suggest that the challenges and opportunities are interconnected, and a successful mathematics degree program relies on the integrity of its community to creatively use its limited resources, and to recruit students and faculty from within to help teach one another and intentionally build a cycle of excellence

Telling Our Stories: Exploring the Path Toward Successful Mathematics Degree Attainment at an Under-Resourced Predominantly Black Institution

The under-representation of Blacks in mathematics related professions stems from an American educational system of inequity. Many Black students, including a substantial proportion of those who enroll at Predominantly Black Institutions, attend elementary and secondary schools in under-resourced districts with limited access to quality teachers and rigorous, culturally-relevant instruction that would adequately prepare them for college attainment in mathematics. The primary research question guiding this study was: What are the challenges and opportunities associated with building and sustaining a successful mathematics degree program at an under-resourced Predominantly Black Institution? Concurrently, this interpretive case study examined and documented the experiences of four graduates from one of these programs by means of in-depth phenomenological interviews. The three 60- to 90-minute interviews focused on life history, the college experience, and a reflection on the meaning of that experience. The participants\u27 counternarratives were abstracted into three overarching themes which contributed to persistence and success: (1) people who cared, (2) sense of belonging, and (3) personal agency. The findings and themes from this study suggest that the challenges and opportunities are interconnected, and a successful mathematics degree program relies on the integrity of its community to creatively use its limited resources, and to recruit students and faculty from within to help teach one another and intentionally build a cycle of excellence

LOW-VOLTAGE CATHODOLUMINESCENT PROPERTIES OF BLUE-EMITTING YTTRIUM SILICATES DOPED WITH CERIUM

ABSTRACT Yttrium silicate activated with Ce 3+ , (Y 1-x Ce x ) 2 SiO 5 , has been found to be an efficient phosphor that can potentially be used as the blue-emitting component in field emission flat panel displays. This highly refractory powder can be synthesized by combustion synthesis, a low cost technique used to fabricate multicomponent oxide powders in a single step process. The effect of activator concentration and post-synthesis annealing was examined on the fluorescent properties. The powders were found to be monoclinic space group P2 1 /c in the as-synthesized state, and transformed to monoclinic space group C2/c after annealing. The maximum luminous emission intensity was reached after a one hour anneal at 1350 C for x=0.0075, with the peak Ce 3+ emission wavelength between 420 and 450 nm. When co-doped with Gd 3+ , no increase in the emission intensity was observed

An Exploratory Initiative for Improving Low-Cost Housing in Texas

In 1996 the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University released a report indicating that the population of Texas would double in the next 30 years and that a majority of the 18 million new Texans would be have low to very-low incomes. In order to house that many low income persons, it is apparent that a significant number of affordable housing units must be built in a relatively short time frame. Based on these predictions, our interdisciplinary team made a proposal in the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) Strategic Initiatives Program to explore technologies related to the production of affordable housing. The purpose of the work is to identify opportunities for research into systems, materials, and processes that might contribute to the development of a low-cost housing industry in Texas that could meet state housing needs and might create export possibilities. The proposal was funded by the Texas Engineering Experiment Station, the Center for Housing and Urban Development, and the College of Architecture Research Fund. This report summarizes the results of the effort

Professionalization of a nonstate actor

Can nonstate militants professionalize? That is the core question of this piece. Discussions of professionalism have spread to the state military from civilian professions such as education, medicine, and law. This piece examines whether nonstate actors exhibit the same fundamental processes found within these state-based organizations. These fundamentals are the creation of a recognized internal ethos, which acts as a collective standard for those involved. A commitment to expertise and the punishment of those who do not reach these collective expectations reinforce this ethos. To answer this question, this piece examines the development of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) during the Troubles. It highlights consistencies and inconsistencies with traditional forces and argues that groups like the PIRA can professionalize and increase their effectiveness in doing so. This widens the field of professionalism studies and provides an additional lens through which to examine nonstate groups

Counter-Insurgency against ‘kith and kin’?: the British Army in Northern Ireland, 1970–76

This article argues that state violence in Northern Ireland during the period 1970–1976—when violence during the Troubles was at its height and before the re-introduction of the policy of police primacy in 1976—was on a greatly reduced scale from that seen in British counterinsurgency campaigns in the colonies after the Second World War. When the army attempted to introduce measures used in the colonies—curfews, internment without trial—these proved to be extremely damaging to London's political aims in Northern Ireland, namely the conciliation of the Catholic minority within the United Kingdom and the defeat of the IRA. However, the insistence by William Whitelaw, secretary of state for Northern Ireland (1972–73), on ‘throttling back'—the release of internees and the imposition of unprecedented restrictions on the use of violence by the army—put a serious strain on civil-military relations in Northern Ireland. The relatively stagnant nature of the conflict—with units taking casualties in the same small ‘patch’ of territory without opportunities for the types of ‘positive actions’ seen in the colonies—led to some deviancy on the part of small infantry units who sought informal, unsanctioned ways of taking revenge upon the local population. Meanwhile, a disbelieving and defensive attitude at senior levels of command in Northern Ireland meant that informal punitive actions against the local population were often not properly investigated during 1970–72, until more thorough civilian and military investigative procedures were put in place. Finally, a separation of ethnic and cultural identity between the soldiers and the local population—despite their being citizens of the same state—became professionally desirable in order for soldiers to carry out difficult, occasionally distasteful work

Specialist multidisciplinary input maximises rare disease diagnoses from whole genome sequencing

Diagnostic whole genome sequencing (WGS) is increasingly used in rare diseases. However, standard, semi-automated WGS analysis may overlook diagnoses in complex disorders. Here, we show that specialist multidisciplinary analysis of WGS, following an initial 'no primary findings' (NPF) report, improves diagnostic rates and alters management. We undertook WGS in 102 adults with diagnostically challenging primary mitochondrial disease phenotypes. NPF cases were reviewed by a genomic medicine team, thus enabling bespoke informatic approaches, co-ordinated phenotypic validation, and functional work. We enhanced the diagnostic rate from 16.7% to 31.4%, with management implications for all new diagnoses, and detected strong candidate disease-causing variants in a further 3.9% of patients. This approach presents a standardised model of care that supports mainstream clinicians and enhances diagnostic equity for complex disorders, thereby facilitating access to the potential benefits of genomic healthcare. This research was made possible through access to the data and findings generated by the 100,000 Genomes Project: http://www.genomicsengland.co.uk