Preparing School Leaders for Special Education: Old Criticisms and New Directions

In the context of accountability and high-stakes testing, professors of educational administration in Texas and across the nation are under tremendous pressure to develop innovative principal preparation programs that produce effective school leaders, especially as research methodologies emerge to disaggregate the effects of such programs. One area few programs adequately address, including more innovative programs, is special education - despite the fact that principals struggle with accountability for all students, but particularly those principals in schools and districts with limited resources and limited professional development opportunitie~ (Bays & Crocket, 2007; Wakeman, Browder, Flowers, & Ahlgrim-Delzell, 2006). Principals have long reported that their preparation programs did not prepare them with the legal and instructional knowledge in the area of special education (DiPaola & Walther-Thomas, 2003; Hirth & Valesky, 1990)

On Type IIA geometries dual to N = 2 SCFTs

We provide explicit solutions of Type IIA supergravity which are believed to be dual to N = 2 superconformal four dimensional gauge theories. These explicit solutions are based on the general ansatz for such a type of backgrounds introduced by Gaiotto and Maldacena.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figures; minor corrections, references correcte

Declining Unionization: Do Fringe Benefits Matter?

This study examines whether there is a relationship between benefits and private sector unionization in the US. In their regression analysis, the authors use FRINGE in their as an explanatory variable. The dependent variable is UNIZ, the fraction of the private, non-farm labor force that is unionized. The changing nature of compensation has affected union density. In the private sector, as fringe benefits have become a more prominent component of workers' pay, ceteris paribus, union density has declined nationwide. Over the fifty-year period 1948-1997, at least 12% of the drop in unionization can be attributed to the growing role of non-wage benefits. For the private sector in general and manufacturing in particular, the authors have established that unionization is related to the composition of pay. Yet the influence of non-wage benefits may vary across industries or even different subsectors of manufacturing. It remains to be seen whether there are similar findings for other sectors.

On the temperature of surfaces

The concept of the temperature of a surface is introduced from the viewpoint of the physical chemistry of surfaces. The surface, near surface and microlayer regions of the interface are defined. Most methods measure the temperature of the microlayer or at best the near surface region and may err in representing the surface temperature. Methods based on capillary ripples actually measure the surface temperature since surface tension (or surface tension tensor when a monolayer has been spread or absorbed at the interface) is the main restoring force that controls their propagation. Light scattering methods are described for determining the elevation of very small amplitude capillary waves through the computation of various correlation functions from which the surface tension can be estimated. Procedures for estimating the surface temperature are described

Spacecraft-spacecraft very long baseline interferometry. Part 1: Error modeling and observable accuracy

In Part 1 of this two-part article, an error budget is presented for Earth-based delta differential one-way range (delta DOR) measurements between two spacecraft. Such observations, made between a planetary orbiter (or lander) and another spacecraft approaching that planet, would provide a powerful target-relative angular tracking data type for approach navigation. Accuracies of better than 5 nrad should be possible for a pair of spacecraft with 8.4-GHz downlinks, incorporating 40-MHz DOR tone spacings, while accuracies approaching 1 nrad will be possible if the spacecraft incorporate 32-GHz downlinks with DOR tone spacing on the order of 250 MHz; these accuracies will be available for the last few weeks or months of planetary approach for typical Earth-Mars trajectories. Operational advantages of this data type are discussed, and ground system requirements needed to enable spacecraft-spacecraft delta DOR observations are outlined. This tracking technique could be demonstrated during the final approach phase of the Mars '94 mission, using Mars Observer as the in-orbit reference spacecraft, if the Russian spacecraft includes an 8.4-GHz downlink incorporating DOR tones. Part 2 of this article will present an analysis of predicted targeting accuracy for this scenario

The Effects of a Problem Solving Model as an Alternative in the General Mathematics Curriculum

The purpose of this study was to evaluate an approved problem solving module as a model for use in the general mathematics curriculum, and assess its effectiveness in bringing about literacy in and a better attitude toward mathematics. Included in the module were topics on fundamental operations, fractions, decimals and percents, and problem solving. Specifically, the module focused on concerns of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEF), that is the inability of students and young adults to use numbers skillfully enough to meet the demands of a modern society. The sample used in this study consisted of eight intact classes- -four control and four experimental groups. The groups were composed of students enrolled in ninth grade general mathematics from Logan City School District, Cache County School District, and Box Elder County School District. The three districts are comprised of urban, semi-rural, and rural developments in northern Utah. The total of 210 students included 131 males and 79 females. There were 117 students in the experimental groups and 93 students in the control groups. The diagrammatic problem solving module (composed of 20 lessons) was distributed among the teachers of the experimental groups for their perusal of content, lesson plans, and approach. When the teachers finished previewing the module, sessions were scheduled to accommodate each of their questions and concerns, and to cement the philosophy of the unit. Also, sessions were held with the control group teachers to delineate the kinds of experiences that would enhance equitable comparisons. To facilitate the use of the Solomon Four-Group Design, a least squares analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique with unequal numbers of subjects per treatment was used to analyze the null hypotheses at the .05 level of significance. The ANOVA was used for both the Algebra Readiness Test and the Mathematics Attitude Scale. On the basis of the findings of the five null hypotheses that were replicated in five different fashions, in regard to treatment effects, the following conclusions seem warranted. 1. There was a significantly more favorable attitude toward mathematics among students who were taught using the diagrammatic method. 2. There was a significantly more favorable performance among students on fundamental operations who were taught using the diagrammatic method. 3. There was a significantly more favorable performance among students on fractions who were taught using the diagrammatic method. 4. There was no difference in the performance among students on decimals and percents who were taught using the diagrammatic method and students who were taught using the traditional method. 5. There was a significantly favorable difference in the performance of students on problem solving who were taught using the diagrammatic method. 6. Sex differences were highly significant on one of the five replications, favoring the females. Inasmuch as the number of males far exceeded the number of females, a conclusion was not reached on sex differences. 7. Students who took both pretests and posttests, using the attitude scale, scored significantly higher than those who took only the posttest. Therefore it was concluded that pretesting served to raise scores on the attitude scale. 8. Students who took both pretests and posttests, using the readiness battery, did not perform significantly better than students who only took the posttest. Therefore, it was concluded that pretesting did not serve to enhance scores on the readiness battery

Cut from the Same Cloth: The US Textile and Apparel Industry and Post-Disaster Designs for Haiti.

In the aftermath of the 2010 Haitian earthquake, various neoliberal strategies have been advanced to help in short-term disaster mitigation and reconstruction, as well as more long-term improvements in the country’s overall economic integration and growth. One such strategy has been focused on revitalizing the country’s apparel assembly industries through an aggressive expansion of export processing zones (EPZs). The disaster, it appears, represented an important opportunity to improve economic conditions by reorganizing the country’s role in the global apparel commodity chain. However, this reorganization conflicts with the preferences of US textile and apparel producers who have used trade preference programs to position Haiti as an off-shore apparel assembly hub. An examination of trade policies enacted in response to a series of disasters reveals the continued shift of power from the traditional textiles protectionist bloc to more transnationally-oriented apparel producers. This study traces these conflictual business interests within the context of global supply chains, transnational capitalism, and enduring US national economic interests. Ultimately, the 2010 Haitian earthquake represents a redefinition of the country’s role in the apparel commodity chain; a role within a global network defined by locationally fluid, sweatshop production