Are school administrators and teachers\u27 attitudes toward inclusion influence by the change process?

The purpose of this research study was to examine the relationship between the change process for inclusive teaching practices and the attitudes of educators toward inclusion of students with disabilities in the general educational setting. This research study was based upon the theoretical construct of Rogers\u27 (2003) Diffusion of Innovations, which identifies the specific process in which any innovation is introduced within a social organization. A descriptive correlational design was used to examine the quantitative data collected from teachers and administrators from school districts. Teachers and administrators completed the Opinions Relative to the Integration of Students with Disabilities (ORl; Antonak & Larrivee, 1995) and the Change Process Survey (CPS; Keaster, 2007). The ORl assessed the educators\u27 attitudes toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general classroom across four constructs. In addition, the CPS measured participants\u27 responses to the change process in regards to the implementation of inclusion within the schools. The sample consisted of 96 educators (83 teachers and 13 administrators) from 7 schools within a geographical region of south central Kentucky. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, and inferential analysis consisting of both parametric and nonparametric methodologies: t-test for independent samples, Mann-Whitney U test, and ANOVA. The results indicated a statistically significant positive correlation between the change process constructs and the educators\u27 attitudes toward the inclusive innovation. However, teachers\u27 attitudes varied significantly as compared to administrators\u27 perceptions of teachers\u27 attitudes, as teachers indicated the need for further training on inclusion in order for the program to be successful. This research contributes to the education field by highlighting the necessity for both teacher preparation programs and school districts to infuse their programs with training on topics of special education, particularly on the inclusive teaching practices for students with disabilities. The results also point out the importance of attention to all parts of the change process when any innovation is introduced in educational settings

Things Invisible To See: State Action & Private Property

This Article revisits the state action doctrine, a judicial invention that shields “private” or “non-governmental” discrimination from constitutional scrutiny. Traditionally, this doctrine has applied to discrimination even in places of public accommodation, like restaurants, hotels, and grocery stores. Born of overt racial discrimination, the doctrine has inflicted substantial injustice throughout its inglorious history, and courts have continuously struggled in vain to coherently apply the doctrine. Yet, the United States Supreme Court has not fully insulated “private” or “horizontal” relations among persons from constitutional scrutiny. The cases in which it has applied constitutional norms to non-governmental actors should be celebrated rather than shunned. This Article proposes reinterpreting the state action doctrine to mitigate its historical and contemporary harms. Ultimately, the Authors draw from property law theory to contend that the doctrine should be fundamentally reformed in favor of a more egalitarian conception of the state’s role in ensuring equal protection of law. The insights of property law theory lead the Authors to conclude that: (1) equal protection depends on law, not action; (2) common law is law and, whether it is coercive or permissive, it must comply with the Equal Protection Clause; and (3) common law that allows discriminatory exclusion from the marketplace violates the Equal Protection Clause. What matters, for the purposes of constitutional protection, is not “state action” but whether the law violates the norms of liberty, equality, and dignity recognized by free and democratic societies

Examining the Impact of School Suspension on High School Students: Highlighting Student Perspectives and the Significance of Student Voice in the Literature on High School Suspension and Dropout Rates

The existing literature on the topic of high school suspension reveals that heightened suspension rates lead to heightened dropout rates. An extensive body of literature exists with statistical information to back up this finding; however, very little literature provides student voice on the topic. Students currently enrolled in an alternative school in a small city in central North Carolina were surveyed and interviewed about their experience with suspension. The results show that these students do not find suspension to be an effective means of punishment as it caused them academic setbacks and heightened their negativity towards school. Through the responses of these students some possible alternatives to suspension were revealed. This information should be shared with high school educators and administrators to encourage development of policies that have more potential to result in high school graduation for students at risk of failure.Bachelor of Art

Species‐ and C‐terminal linker‐dependent variations in the dynamic behavior of FtsZ on membranes in vitro

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146365/1/mmi14081.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146365/2/mmi14081-sup-0001-FigS1-S5.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146365/3/mmi14081_am.pd

Design Qualification of an External Store for a Fighter Aircraft

Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE) has designed and developed an externalstore for fitment on a fighter aircraft. The external store has the poded structure and can be usedfor installation of a variety of payloads up to 250 kg. The mechanical details of the electronicsto be fitted inside the pod can be worked out as per application. The pod has been designedkeeping this in mind and based on the functional, mechanical, structural, and aerodynamicrequirements. The designed and fabricated pod has undergone various qualification tests. Thepaper brings out the details of the pod design, and the various structural and environmentalqualification tests carried out. The pod thus designed and qualified has been validated throughcarriage trials by fitting the pod on the platform intended for it. The pod is likely to be inductedinto the Services shortly

Удосконалення керування інноваційним потенціалом у сфері житлово-комунального господарства в умовах децентралізації регіонів

The aim of the research is to improve the management of innovative potential in the field of Housing and Communal Services (HCS) under conditions of establishment of decentralization of the regions and the formation of measures to provide reforms in this area. Theoretical and methodological basis of the research is the scientific papers and designs of local and foreign authors; the State program of reforming HCS. To achieve the set purpose, we applied general scientific, as well as comparative and analytical methods. The need to manage the innovative potential under conditions of growing competition among national manufacturers in their pursuit of integration into the world economic space was researched. The performed analysis found technical–technological and financial state of HCS in the regions unsatisfactory. Formation of measures to implement the State program of reforming and development of HCS was substantiated. It was demonstrated that the way to engage foreign investments stumbled into certain obstacles, related to the excessive centralization of financial resources and their insufficiency for economic freedom of the regions. Special attention is paid to the fact that innovation activity in Ukraine has low level of development that can be explained by insufficiency of financing of scientific activities (applied research, designs), as well as the lack of incentives for its implementation. Unfavorable macroeconomic situation and the activities of the government bodies to withdraw working capital, increasing taxation burden lead to decrease in innovation activity of enterprises. It was demonstrated that the priority fields of the economy of the state, which need stimulation of investment and innovation, also include HCS, which remains one of the most technically backward industries of the national economy. It was proven that the current state of technological infrastructure did not meet the requirements of a market-driven economy. The qualitative analysis of technological backwardness of HCS in Ukraine by the leading foreign specialists was cited, in particular by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the need to improve the management of innovative potential and to develop proposals of consistent reforms in the area of HCS. Practical significance of the work is to provide recommendations to the urban residents regarding the implementation of the advantages of setting up ACMAB. The prospect of further research is the analysis of existing ACMAB in the regions and preparation of proposals for elimination of the shortcomings in their activity

Matthew Welch: The many branches of actin regulation

Welch investigates how host cells and pathogens initiate actin polymerization

Pivotal role of VASP in Arp2/3 complex–mediated actin nucleation, actin branch-formation, and Listeria monocytogenes motility

The Listeria monocytogenes ActA protein mediates actin-based motility by recruiting and stimulating the Arp2/3 complex. In vitro, the actin monomer-binding region of ActA is critical for stimulating Arp2/3-dependent actin nucleation; however, this region is dispensable for actin-based motility in cells. Here, we provide genetic and biochemical evidence that vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) recruitment by ActA can bypass defects in actin monomer-binding. Furthermore, purified VASP enhances the actin-nucleating activity of wild-type ActA and the Arp2/3 complex while also reducing the frequency of actin branch formation. These data suggest that ActA stimulates the Arp2/3 complex by both VASP-dependent and -independent mechanisms that generate distinct populations of actin filaments in the comet tails of L. monocytogenes. The ability of VASP to contribute to actin filament nucleation and to regulate actin filament architecture highlights the central role of VASP in actin-based motility