Debate: Inside or Outside the Democratic Party

[Excerpt] Since the New Deal, the dominant political strategy of American labor has been to work within the Democratic Party for legislative and other political aims. While sentiment for a party of our own has never disappeared in union circles, there has not been much serious talk of third party politics in mainstream unions for some time. Lately, however, such talk has increased

Overcoming Obstacles to Transformation: Challenges on the Way to a New Unionism

[Excerpt] The change to organizing requires more than a shift in resources. It is difficult to imagine a sustained commitment to organizing at the grass roots unless locals have the tools, skills, and strategic perspective necessary to mount successful organizing campaigns. Ultimately the commitment to building the labor movement inherent in the organizing priority challenges unions to alter organizational cultures that are often deeply imbued with traditional and conservative approaches to trade unionism. The struggle to succeed at organizing, to maintain representation, and to alter union culture is forcing national unions to define their role in this process and to reassess their relationships with locals. A key objective of the research reported here is to help clarify the issues at stake in the process of the change to organizing at the local level. Although there are few definitive answers, the experiences of locals struggling with the realities of juggling organizing and representational responsibilities should guide the search for sustainable conversion

A Case Study of the Development of a Career Academy: Good Intentions Not Enough?

The purpose of this study was to explore how a career academy featuring an information technology (IT) theme approached the adoption of the model and the particular curricular focus. We used a case study design to explore the experiences of school personnel and community partners associated with the implementation of the career academy. We found that growing enrollment in the local district was a major driver to pursue small school designs as an alternative to the traditional high school comprehensive model. The small school size associated with small learning communities was valued by stakeholders and used to adopt and implement a career academy around a technology curricular theme. Another factor in the adoption decision was the availability of existing building infrastructure in the community. While the premises of the career academy model appeared to be a good fit in the district and community, we also found that good intentions are not enough to guarantee consistent fidelity throughout the career academy implementation. When new crises arise, input from all stakeholders may be shortchanged and decisions can turn into a top-down approach

Promoting Active and Sustained School-Business Partnerships: An Exploratory Case Study of an IT Academy

In support of the national push for promoting career readiness, school-business partnerships have been noted as an important support strategy. However, there is limited research in the context of career academies. Thus, we sought to explore the nature of a partnership between an information technology (IT) career academy and local business partners. We found that the development of social capital is required to keep the network of partners bonded toward a common goal, bridged through a Business Advisory Council to facilitate planning and related supports, and linked by a local web of connecting relationships. Study findings add to the limited literature on the interface of school-business partnerships, career academies, and the promotion of career readiness in particular occupational contexts such as IT

Exploring the Meaning Doctoral Candidates Ascribed to Their Persistence, and the Challenges and Barriers They Experienced

Education and Human Ecology: 1st Place (The Ohio State University Edward F. Hayes Graduate Research Forum)The purpose of this study was to describe the meaning doctoral candidates ascribed to their persistence in doctoral programs, and the challenges and barriers they experienced impeding a timely completion of their dissertations. Participants included six doctoral candidates in the field of Education who had been in the dissertation phase of their programs for at least one academic year (up to four academic years) and had yet to complete a dissertation research proposal. The themes that emerged as a result of this study were: (a) a lack of a sense of community; (b) ineffective advisor-advisee relations; and (c) momentum loss.No embarg

Apparatus for igniting solid propellants Patent

Solid propellant ignition with hypergolic fluid injected to predetermined portions of propellan

Method of igniting solid propellants Patent

Method for igniting solid propellant rocket motors by injecting hypergolic fluid

Weld procedure produces quality welds for thick sections of Hastelloy-X

Welding program produces premium quality, multipass welds in heavy tube sections of Hastelloy-X. It develops semiautomatic tungsten/inert gas procedures, weld wire procurement specifications material weld properties, welder-operator training, and nondestructive testing inspection techniques and procedures