US encouragement of a military coup in Venezuela is dangerous for both countries

Publicly condoning military action and using economic sanctions to provoke it will only exacerbate Venezuelan suffering and further damage the tattered reputation of the US on democracy and human-rights issues in the Western Hemisphere, writes Timothy M. Gill (University of North Carolina, Wilmington)

Diminishing Global Power, Downgrading Human Rights: Making Sense of American Foreign Policy under Donald Trump

President Donald Trump has generated much confusion concerning his foreign policy approach, and he has often displayed contradictory positions on an array of issues. Trump has, for example, praised authoritarian leaders in Eastern Europe, but condemned them in Latin America. The purpose of this paper is to make sense of Trump’s foreign policy approach, and its novelties and continuities, by putting his administration into comparative-historical focus alongside Bush II and Obama. I analyze their foreign policy approach by using Michael Mann’s IEMP model of power to draw out their distinctive qualities. Similar to Mann’s own analysis of Bush II, I show that Trump has prioritized the expansion of military power. Obama also utilized military force, but he sought to regain global support lost under Bush II by speaking the language of multilateralism, and opening up relations with former foes, particularly Cuba and Iran. Unlike Bush II and Obama, Trump has pursued some entirely divergent global policies, particularly involving his global trade war and bellicose rhetoric. Yet, similar to Bush, Trump has exacerbated the retreat from multilateral institutions by working to institutionalize them. Finally, I point out that the global ramifications of U.S. anti-globalism at this historical juncture differ from when Bush II occupied the White House. With the U.S. moving towards more isolationist policies, we can expect both China and Russia to accumulate global power relative to the U.S. and displace the U.S. as a hegemonic power in some areas of the world

Diminishing Global Power, Downgrading Human Rights: Making Sense of American Foreign Policy under Donald Trump

Scholars have remained puzzled about the direction that President Donald Trump might take the U.S. at the global level. Throughout his campaign, Trump often articulated contradictory ideas concerning his foreign policy approach. Trump evidenced warmth towards authoritarian leaders in Eastern Europe, but condemned them in Latin America. The purpose of this paper is to make sense of Trump’s foreign policy approach, and its novelties and continuities, by putting his administration into comparative-historical focus alongside Bush II and Obama. I analyze their foreign policy approach by using Michael Mann’s IEMP model of power to draw out their distinctive qualities. Similar to Mann’s own analysis of Bush II, I show that Trump has prioritized the expansion of military power. Obama also utilized military force, but he sought to regain global support lost under Bush II by speaking the language of multilateralism, and opening up relations with former foes, particularly Cuba and Iran. Unlike Bush II and Obama, Trump has pursued some entirely divergent global policies, particularly involving his global trade war and bellicose rhetoric. Yet, similar to Bush, Trump has exacerbated the retreat from multilateral institutions by working to institutionalize them. Finally, I point out that the global ramifications of U.S. anti-globalism at this historical juncture differ from when Bush II occupied the White House. With the U.S. moving towards more isolationist policies, we can expect both China and Russia to accumulate global power relative to the U.S. and displace the U.S. as a hegemonic power in some areas of the world

“Post-Western” diplomacy and the Venezuela crisis

Attempts by the Organization of American States to suspend Venezuela may not succeed. But as the Trump administration reshapes its relationship with multilateral institutions, there will be opportunities for “post-Western” diplomacy from within the region and beyond, write David Smilde and Timothy M. Gill

Teacher induction programs and their effectiveness on the retention of secondary trade and industrial teachers in Missouri

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on August 18, 2010).The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Dissertation advisor: Dr. Bob R. Stewart.Vita.Ph. D. University of Missouri--Columbia 2010.The purpose of this study was to ascertain the effectiveness of beginning teacher induction methods experienced by high school Trade & Industrial Career and Technical Education teachers in the state of Missouri. All of the induction methods utilized in the state of Missouri have the purpose of providing specific skills and support to aid new Trade & Industrial teachers in the transition from industry to the classroom. The data were collected with a survey developed specifically for this study using the research already completed on induction methods as a guide in developing the activities within each induction method. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Conclusions to the research were: 1) induction methods have an impact on teacher retention; 2) not all teachers are able to participate in all induction methods during their first year of teaching; 3) time and facilities/resources and leadership induction methods appear to be the most effective; 4) high professional standards, class size, and writing lesson plans are the most helpful induction activities; 5) induction activities associated with helping teachers process paperwork were the least helpful; and 6) college course work prior to teaching is more likely to help in the transition into teaching.Includes bibliographical reference

The efficacy of rotational control designs in promoting torsional stability of hip fracture fixation

Abstract Objectives: Proximal fractures of the femur are a common problem, and a number of orthopaedic devices are available for the treatment of such fractures. The objective of this study was to assess the rotational stability, a common failure predictor, of three different rotational control design philosophies, a screw, helical blade and a deployable crucifix. Methods: Devices were compared in terms of the mechanical work (W) required to rotate the implant by 6° in a bone substitute material. The substitute material used was Sawbones polyurethane foam of three different densities (0.08 g/cm3, 0.16 g/cm3 and 0.24 g/cm3). Each torsion test comprised a steady ramp of 1°/minute up to an angular displacement of 10°. Results: The deployable crucifix design (the X-Bolt), was more torsionally stable, compared to both the screw (DHS, p = 0.008) and helical blade (DHS Blade, p= 0.008) designs in osteoporotic bone substitute material (0.16 g/cm3 polyurethane foam). In 0.08 g/cm3 density substrate, the crucifix design (the X-Bolt) had a higher resistance to torsion than the screw (DHS, p = 0.008). There were no significant differences (p = 0.101) between the implants in 0.24 g/cm3 density bone substitute. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the clinical standard proximal fracture fixator design, the screw (DHS), was the least effective at resisting torsional load, and a novel crucifix design (X-Bolt), was the most effective design in resisting torsional load in osteoporotic bone substitute material. At other densities the torsional stability was also higher for the bolt, although not always statistically significant.<br/

Two Decades of Imperial Failure: Theorizing U.S. Regime Change Efforts in Venezuela from Bush II to Trump

Former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez ushered in the Pink Tide and the rise of the left in Latin America at the turn of the 21st century. Chávez initially won presidential elections in 1998 based on the promise of participatory democracy and tackling economic inequality, and thereafter by championing 21st Century Socialism. From the beginning, Chávez challenged U.S. global leadership by condemning its vision for the world and by cultivating an anti-imperial nexus of allies. This pattern has continued under current President Nicolás Maduro. In response, the U.S. has opposed the Venezuelan socialists throughout three successive presidential administrations: Bush II, Obama, and Trump. Taking influence from Michael Mann’s IEMP model of social power, we detail the ideological, economic, military, and political strategies these administrations have used to undermine the Venezuelan government and assist right-wing opposition parties and civil society groups in Venezuela. While Bush II and Obama primarily sought to depose Chávez by bolstering right-wing political parties and groups that aimed to unseat Chávez at the ballot box, Trump has recognized a parallel government open to an extra-legal change of government and openly called for coercive regime change through a military coup d’état

A novel method to continuously monitor litter moisture - a microcosm-based experiment

Litter decomposition is a key biogeochemical process that strongly affects carbon and nutrient cycling. Our understanding of the controls over decomposition in arid and semi-arid systems is currently limited by a lack of capability to measure or predict litter moisture. Despite its potential importance in controlling litter decomposition, litter moisture has rarely been continuously monitored due to the technical constraints in doing so. The objective of this study was to test the feasibility of using inexpensive, commercially available relative humidity (RH) loggers (iButtons) to continuously estimate the litter moisture. We incubated two types of litter (conifer and broadleaf) in microcosms and tested RH-litter moisture relationships during a series of dry-down events. The results showed that we could successfully predict litter gravimetric moisture using iButton RH measurements

None of Us Are as Smart as All of Us: Site Based Decision Making

In recent years, the educational system in the United States has been evolving from a largely centralized decision-making structure to a more decentralized one. This shift to school-based management requires fundamental changes to the organizational structure of the district as well as the roles within the organization. From administrators to parents, school based management demands a change in the status quo (Cotton, 1991). It involves shifting decision making from the central office administrators to that of local schools (Henkin, Cistone and Dee, 1999)