Securing the Blessings – Cultivating Active Citizens: Public School Principals’ Perceptions of How They Nurture a Democratic Way of Life

School leaders have the formidable responsibility to promote an educational environment that supports the growth of both the individual and the nation. School principals are uniquely pressured to comply with politically motivated demands to educate for a globally competitive labor force while they simultaneously promote and strengthen lifelong learning and a democratic ethos in their particular students. The thoughtful educator recognizes the complexities of this negotiation. In this dissertation I examined the recent literature about schooling for democracy and conclude that public schools are vital to sustaining a democracy; current reform strategies impinge upon school efforts to teach children to become knowledgeable, active, and engaged citizens; and principals have a significant influence on the school community’s learning priorities. I argue that to gain a better understanding of our nation’s efforts to educate citizens who will sustain democracy, it is vitally important to study the democratic ethos of school principals. I then investigated public school principal’s perceptions of schooling for democracy. This dissertation reports on the practices of public school principals, through a conceptual lens of democratic education that is informed by theories of participatory democracy, a concept of a good citizen, care theory and transformative leadership theory. It is supported by the democracy signified by the U.S. Constitution. This study concluded that leadership choices made by public school principals offer a counter to the narrative that public schools are broken. However, this study also concluded that public school principals seem scarcely aware of the public school’s responsibility to prepare budding citizens which is necessary to “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.

Predictive factors of species composition of follower fishes in nuclear-follower feeding associations: a snapshot study

We tested whether habitat, identity, size of nuclear fishes, and intensity of bottom disturbance caused by their foraging can predict the composition of fish followers in nuclear-follower feeding associations. The study was carried out in a stream of the Serra da Bodoquena, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Southwestern Brazil. We performed underwater observational sessions (total 12 h) of such interspecific interactions to obtain data about the identity and abundance of the followers in the association, as well as the identity and size of the nuclear fish. We also evaluated whether different intensities of bottom disturbance due to the nuclear fish foraging and type of habitat may influence interactions. We recorded 38 episodes involving nuclear and follower species. Using a multivariate analysis with distance matrices, we noted that the intensity of bottom disturbance caused by nuclear fishes was the main predictor of the composition of the follower species (r = 0.55, p < 0.01), as well as the identity of the nuclear species, although this latter relation was weak (r = 0.09, p = 0.05). Such results indicate that followers react readily to sediment suspension, which reflects the trophic plasticity and opportunistic foraging characteristic of most tropical freshwater fishes124913919CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQ571295/2008-8Neste estudo testamos se o hábitat, a identidade e o tamanho da espécie nuclear, bem como a intensidade do distúrbio causado pela atividade do nuclear podem predizer a composição de seguidores na associação alimentar do tipo nuclear-seguidor. O estudo foi conduzido em um riacho da Serra da Bodoquena, estado do Mato Grosso do Sul, bacia do alto Rio Paraguai. Foram realizadas sessões de observação subaquática (totalizando 12 h), visando a obter informações sobre identidade e abundância dos seguidores, assim como identidade e tamanho da espécie nuclear, hábitat e intensidade do distúrbio causado pela atividade de forrageamento da espécie nuclear. Foram registradas 38 associações envolvendo cinco espécies nucleares e nove espécies seguidoras. A análise multivariada com matrizes de distância demonstrou que a intensidade do distúrbio causado pelos nucleares foi o principal preditor da composição de seguidores (r = 0,55, p < 0,01), assim como a identidade da espécie nuclear, embora essa relação tenha sido fraca (r = 0,09, p = 0,05). Esses resultados indicam que os seguidores respondem prontamente à suspensão de sedimento, refletindo a plasticidade trófica e o oportunismo de forrageio característico da maioria dos peixes tropicais de água doc

Approaches for improving cutting processes and machine too in re-contouring

Re-contouring in the repair process of aircraft engine blades and vanes is a crucial task. Highest demands are made on the geometrical accuracy as well as on the machined surface of the part. Complexity rises even more due to the unique part characteristic originating from the operation and repair history. This requires well-designed processes and machine tool technologies. In this paper, approaches for coping with these challenges and improving the re-contouring process are described and discussed. This includes an advanced process simulation with its capabilities to accurately depict different material areas and predict process forces. Beyond, experimental investigations on workpiece-tooldeflection are presented. Finally, a machine tool prototype with a novel electromagnetic guiding system is introduced and the benefits of this technology in the field of repair are outlined.DFG/CRC/87

Heterobranch sea slugs (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from Ascension Island, South Atlantic Ocean

The small volcanic island of Ascension is situated in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, more than 1500 km from the coast of Africa, its nearest continental area. To date, eight 'opisthobranch' species were reported from the island. As a result of a recent survey, 10 species were found. Seven species are new records from Ascension: Platydoris angustipes (Morch, 1863), Diaulula sp., Dolabrifera dolabrifera (Rang, 1828), Aplysia parvula Guilding in Morch, 1863 and Caliphylla mediterranea A. Costa, 1867, and two new species: Phidiana mimica sp. nov.; and Felimida atlantica sp. nov. Half of the species found have a wide geographical distribution, being not restricted to the Atlantic Ocean. However, traditional taxonomy based on few characters is probably masking complexes of species.Darwin Initiative (EIDCF012); CNPq-Brazil; DAAD-Germany; DFG [SCHR667/9,13]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Phylogenetic perspectives on reef fish functional traits

Functional traits have been fundamental to the evolution and diversification of entire fish lineages on coral reefs. Yet their relationship with the processes promoting speciation, extinction and the filtering of local species pools remains unclear. We review the current literature exploring the evolution of diet, body size, water column use and geographic range size in reef-associated fishes. Using published and new data, we mapped functional traits on to published phylogenetic trees to uncover evolutionary patterns that have led to the current functional diversity of fishes on coral reefs. When examining reconstructed patterns for diet and feeding mode, we found examples of independent transitions to planktivory across different reef fish families. Such transitions and associated morphological alterations may represent cases in which ecological opportunity for the exploitation of different resources drives speciation and adaptation. In terms of body size, reconstructions showed that both large and small sizes appear multiple times within clades of mid-sized fishes and that extreme body sizes have arisen mostly in the last 10 million years (Myr). The reconstruction of range size revealed many cases of disparate range sizes among sister species. Such range size disparity highlights potential vicariant processes through isolation in peripheral locations. When accounting for peripheral speciation processes in sister pairs, we found a significant relationship between labrid range size and lineage age. The diversity and evolution of traits within lineages is influenced by trait–environment interactions as well as by species and trait–trait interactions, where the presence of a given trait may trigger the development of related traits or behaviours. Our effort to assess the evolution of functional diversity across reef fish clades adds to the burgeoning research focusing on the evolutionary and ecological roles of functional traits. We argue that the combination of a phylogenetic and a functional approach will improve the understanding of the mechanisms of species assembly in extraordinarily rich coral reef communities