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

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

Production and decomposition in floating soils of the Iberá wetlands (Argentina)

Floating soils grow due to the deposition of dead material onto their surface as well as the increment in belowground biomass. The imbalance between biomass production and decomposition is the source of organic matter accumulation. The Esteros del Iberá wetland (Argentina) features extensive areas of floating soils, locally known as "embalsados". The annual aboveground biomass production, decomposition rate, and changes in nitrogen content in Thalia multiflora, a common species of Iberá, were determined in order to assess the organic matter addition and the nitrogen dynamics in the floating soils dominated by this species. The aboveground net primary production was estimated by measuring the standing crop at the peak registered during the sampling period. The decomposition rates of leaves and stems were determined by the litterbag method. The litterbags were collected periodically during a year. The annual organic matter addition was estimated from the relation between aboveground production and the amount of mass lost in a year. The maximum aboveground biomass was 1368 g/m2 (± 271 SD), 71 % stems and 29 % leaves. The loss of weight in the sampling period (399 days) corresponds to 78 % of the initial mass: the total biomass exponential decay coefficient was significantly (ANCOVA; p<0.001) lower in stems (k = 0.0036) than in leaves (k = 0.0040). Both the decomposition rate value as well as the P/D ratio = 1.37, indicate that in T. multiflora stands the organic matter incorporated to the floating soil's surface is small when compared to other peatlands. Initial nitrogen concentration in leaves and stems was 1.07 % and 0.32 %, respectively, this value increased to 1.76 % and 1.25 % in both substrates. Immobilization was observed in intermediate stages; by day 399, when leaves and stems lost nearly 2/3 of their initial weight, N values were similar to the initials, in agreement with the low nutrient availability that is characteristic of peatlands.Los suelos flotantes crecen tanto debido al deposito de materia orgánica muerta en su superficie como al incremento en la biomasa subterránea. La acumulación de materia orgánica es el resultado de la diferencia entre la producción de biomasa aérea y su descomposición. Esteros del Iberá es un humedal que posee grandes extensiones de suelos flotantes, localmente llamados "embalsados". En este trabajo se determinaron la producción de biomasa aérea, la tasa de descomposición y los cambios en el contenido de nitrógeno de Thalia multiflora, una especie abundante en Iberá, con el propósito de estimar el agregado anual de materia orgánica y la dinámica del nitrógeno en los embalsados dominados por esta especie. La producción de biomasa aérea anual fue estimada como la biomasa máxima registrada durante el período. Las tasas de descomposición de hojas y tallos fueron determinadas mediante la recolección de bolsas con material muerto de la especie, periódicamente a lo largo de un año. El agregado anual de materia orgánica al embalsado se estimó como la relación entre la producción de biomasa aérea y el peso perdido en un año. La biomasa máxima fue de 1368 g/m2 (± 271 DE), 71 % de tallos y 29 % de hojas. En el período de muestreo se perdió el 78 % del peso inicial, la tasa de descomposición fue significativamente (p<0.001) más lenta para tallos (k = 0.0036) que para hojas (k = 0.0040). Tanto la tasa de descomposición como la razón P/D = 1.37 indican que T. multiflora incorpora en forma superficial a los embalsados una pequeña cantidad de materia orgánica si se compara con otros humedales. La concentración inicial de nitrógeno en hojas y tallos fue de 1.07 % y 0.32 % respectivamente, aumentando hasta 1.76 % y 1.25 %. Se observó inmovilización en etapas intermedias del período de estudio, pero al final de 399 días cuando las hojas y tallos habían perdido cerca de 2/3 de su peso inicial, los valores de nitrógeno eran próximos a lo iniciales, lo que concuerda con la baja disponibilidad de nutrientes señalada para humedales con características de turbera

Suspended Steel Roof of the Archeological Site of the School of Aristotle

The structural design of the cable-suspended steel roof covering the archaeological site of the School of Aristotle in Athens, Greece is presented. The preliminary architectural proposal, which was awarded first prize in a competition organized by the Greek Ministry of Culture, provided for 65m span, arch-type main structures, each suspended by means of five suspension cables from a single pylon, stabilized by a pair of back-stay cables. Main arches were spaced at 11m and connected by means of purlins and bracing. The structural design concentrated on avoiding deviations from architectural requirements. Nevertheless, as a result of the vaulted shape of the roof, several cables were found to relax under service loads, thus the number, locations, cross-sections and prestressing of cables had to be re-evaluated. The present paper focuses on nonlinear analyses for understanding the behavior, predicting all possible failure mechanisms, and evaluating the ultimate strength of the roof by means of commercially available finite element software. Emphasis is placed on the role of flexural buckling of the pylon and lateral-torsional buckling of the main arch beam in the bearing capacity of these two members, both having complex geometry and varying cross-section, thus requiring a novel approach extending beyond code specifications. Failure dominated by either material yielding or instability is addressed, as well as interaction of failure modes. Steps include setting up an appropriate finite element model, obtaining critical buckling modes from linearized buckling analysis (LBA), and then using a linear combination of these modes as imperfection pattern for a geometrically and material nonlinear imperfection analysis (GMNIA). Equilibrium paths accompanied by snapshots of deformation and stress distribution at characteristic points are used to evaluate the analysis results, identify the dominant failure modes and optimize the structural performance

Numerical Analysis of Buried Steel Pipelines

Various alternative numerical analysis methods that are used to simulate the response of buried steel pipelines subjected to large imposed displacements triggered by seismic fault activation are presented. Due to the grave financial, social and environmental consequences of a potential pipeline leakage, damage or failure is a problem deserving special attention. Advanced nonlinear numerical simulations are the only way to handle with sufficient accuracy the complexity of the physical problem associated with the surrounding soil and the relevant pipeline-soil interaction. During preliminary design, however, reliable numerical models are required that demand minimum computational effort. In this paper alternative simulations of the problem making use of beam-type finite elements are presented and compared in terms of accuracy and computational cost. Comparisons are carried out regarding the types of finite elements, whether geometric nonlinearity is included or not

Progressive Collapse of Buildings

The progressive collapse of buildings is an important ongoing research topic in civil engineering [...

QCD duality and the mass of the Charm Quark

The mass of the charm quark is analyzed in the context of QCD finite energy sum rules using recent BESII e+e- annihilation data and a large momentum expansion of the QCD correlator which incorporates terms to order (alpha_s)^2 (m_c^2/q^2)^6. Using various versions of duality, we obtain the consistent result m_c(m_c)=(1.37 +- 0.09)GeV. Our result is quite independent of the ones based on the inverse moment analysis

A Case Study of a Low-Income African American Career Academy’s Approach to Student Services

The provision of support services has been found critical for meeting the needs of students and their families, but related research in predominantly low-income, African American/Black communities, is limited. Thus, through a case study we explored how a school, located in a low-income area with a predominantly African American/Black population, adopted and enacted support services. The setting was an urban high school with an enrollment of 700 students who are predominantly African American (98%) and 100% low-income. We conducted interviews with district, school, and community stakeholders; and we followed a thematic approach for the analysis. A major finding was that the adoption of support services built on the shared belief that the school should serve as a central place of support for students and the community. We identified two distinct strands of support services, one represented by in-school supports for students and the other designed to help families in the community. Further, we found an underlying philosophy of removing obstacles for students as a means to help them succeed in school. Regarding implications for practice, it is important to note the difficulty in replicating the efficacy of support services without culturally relevant leadership at the district and school level

Artificial Time Histories of Wind ActionsFor Structural Analysis of Wind Turbines

A computational method for generating artificial time histories of wind loads on wind turbine towers is presented, based on wind turbine aerodynamics and a wind field model. First, the forces acting on the blades parallel and perpendicular to the rotor’s plane are calculated according to aerodynamics theory for given mean wind velocity. Due to the blades’ aerodynamic behavior the inflow wind velocity is transformed into the relative wind velocity, depending on the axial and tangential flow induction factors, the blades’ angular velocity and their radius. Then, the forces acting on the blades are calculated combining relative velocity with two-dimensional aerofoil coefficients depending on the blades’ geometry and crosssection. The flow induction factors are estimated by an iterative process taking into account the flow angle between the relative wind velocity and the rotor’s plane and the aerofoil coefficients. Next, the turbulence component of the wind is determined by the stochastic theory, in order to describe the total wind field model and compute more realistic wind induced actions on the blades. Each fluctuating component is modeled as Gaussian, stationary stochastic process with zero-mean value and is completely characterized by the correlation matrix in time domain or the power spectral density matrix in frequency domain. Wind time histories are simulated by the decomposition of the power spectral density matrix. Then, finite element models of the wind turbine tower are subjected to the load time histories derived above and dynamic analyses are performed. Ultimate objective of this research is to study fatigue at bolted and welded connections between adjacent parts of wind turbine towers and to investigate the importance of dynamic effects on local buckling of the tower shell

Desenho nos séculos XX e XXI:imagem, espaço e tempo

Tese de doutoramento, Belas-Artes (Desenho), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Belas-Artes, 2013Esta tese teórico-prática debruça-se sobre transformações ocorridas no campo do desenho ao longo do século XX e início do XXI, com importantes implicações para o presente desta área central da prática artística. Desde a prática bidimensional do desenho até à conquista efectiva do espaço e do tempo, estudam-se obras que se entendem como paradigmáticas nesse percurso. Num primeiro momento a tese incide sobre aspectos das obras de Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti e Pierre Bonnard, que contribuíram para renovar e manter a prática bidimensional do desenho; posteriormente são centrais as contribuições de Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline e Barnett Newman para a ampliação do âmbito do desenho. Além da representação, em direcção ao espaço e ao tempo mais vastos; as obras paradigmáticas de Robert Smithson e de James Turrell, respectivamente “Spiral Jetty” e “Roden Crater”, são reveladoras da conquista efectiva para o desenho de espaço e de tempo, entendidas estas variáveis num sentido concreto. Sem esquecer a diversidade de processos do desenho, a parte prática insiste na pertinência da manutenção da bidimensionalidade dentro do campo expandido do desenho.This teoretical and practical thesis is concerned with the transformations wich took place in the field of drawing during the past XX century and the beginning of the current century. Relating to these transformations paradigmatic works of art are studied, starting with bidimensionality towards the conquest of time and space. Important to the renovation of image in drawing, examples of the oeuvre of Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti and Pierre Bonnard are considered. The works of Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline and Barnett Newman are central to the expansion of the field of drawing away from the figure towards space and time. “Spiral Jetty” and “Roden Crater”, seminal works from Robert Smithson and James Turrell, reveal true space and time as part of the new elements of drawing. Without forgetting the huge diversity of existing drawing practices, the practical side of the thesis insists on the relevance of maintaining a focus on image-making through drawing