The Experiences of Teacher-Assistant Principals in Catholic Elementary Schools: Boundary Spanners and Player Managers

This article presents a phenomenological study of teacher-assistant principals (teacher-APs) in Catholic elementary schools. Drawing from player manager and role theories, this article describes the lived experiences of these individuals, particularly how they perceive the benefits and constraints of their unique role in both faculty and administration. Analysis of participant interviews reveals three heuristic models of the teacher-AP experience: boundary teachers who ally more closely with faculty; boundary administrators who take on a more executive identity; and player-managers who equally participate in, and perceive to bridge, the administrative and faculty spheres. Findings also suggest that the experiences of these teacher-APs are highly dependent on the current principal and his/her perceived administrative needs. Résumé Les expériences d’enseignants adjoints de chefs d’établissement dans les écoles élémentaires catholiques : Établir des passerelles et être entraîneur-joueur Cet article présente une étude phénoménologique d’enseignants adjoints de chef d’établissement dans les écoles élémentaires catholiques. Tirant parti des théories des entraîneurs-joueurs et des rôles sociaux, cet article décrit les expériences que ces personnes ont vécues, notamment la manière dont elles perçoivent les avantages et les contraintes du rôle unique qu’elles jouent à la fois dans le corps enseignant et l’administration. L’analyse des entretiens avec les participants révèle trois modèles heuristiques de l’expérience vécue par l’enseignant-adjoint du chef d’établissement : des enseignants et des administrateurs qui établissent des passerelles en s’associant plus étroitement aux enseignants, en se conduisant davantage en manager et en étant des entraîneurs-joueurs qui participent de manière égale aux sphères administratives et enseignantes en les reliant entre elles. Les conclusions de l’étude semblent aussi indiquer que les expériences de ces enseignants adjoints de direction dépendent en grande partie du chef d’établissement actuel et de sa perception des besoins administratifs. Resumen Las experiencias de los profesores ayudantes del director en las escuelas elementales católicas: Dilatadores de Límites y Profesores con Tendencia hacia la Administración Este artículo presenta un estudio fenomenológico de los profesores ayudantes del director (profesores-AD) en las escuelas elementales católicas. El presente artículo extrae elementos de los profesores con tendencia hacia la administración y de las teorías de roles para describir las experiencias vividas de estas personas, especialmente cómo perciben las ventajas y las limitaciones de su particular papel tanto en el profesorado como en la administración. El análisis de las entrevistas a los participantes revela tres modelos heurísticos de la experiencia profesores-AD: profesores con límites que se alían más con los enseñantes, administradores con límites que toman una identidad más gestora, y aquellos quienes adoptan un rol administrativo y participan en ambas esferas, la administrativa y la del profesorado, y quienes además perciben que hacen de puente entre ellas. Los hallazgos también sugieren que las experiencias de estos profesores-AD dependen en gran medida de los directores del momento y de la percepción de sus necesidades administrativas

The Experiences of Teacher-Assistant Principals in Catholic Elementary Schools: Boundary Spanners and Player Managers

This article presents a phenomenological study of teacher-assistant principals (teacher-APs) in Catholic elementary schools. Drawing from player manager and role theories, this article describes the lived experiences of these individuals, particularly how they perceive the benefits and constraints of their unique role in both faculty and administration. Analysis of participant interviews reveals three heuristic models of the teacher-AP experience: boundary teachers who ally more closely with faculty; boundary administrators who take on a more executive identity; and player-managers who equally participate in, and perceive to bridge, the administrative and faculty spheres. Findings also suggest that the experiences of these teacher-APs are highly dependent on the current principal and his/her perceived administrative needs. Résumé Les expériences d’enseignants adjoints de chefs d’établissement dans les écoles élémentaires catholiques : Établir des passerelles et être entraîneur-joueur Cet article présente une étude phénoménologique d’enseignants adjoints de chef d’établissement dans les écoles élémentaires catholiques. Tirant parti des théories des entraîneurs-joueurs et des rôles sociaux, cet article décrit les expériences que ces personnes ont vécues, notamment la manière dont elles perçoivent les avantages et les contraintes du rôle unique qu’elles jouent à la fois dans le corps enseignant et l’administration. L’analyse des entretiens avec les participants révèle trois modèles heuristiques de l’expérience vécue par l’enseignant-adjoint du chef d’établissement : des enseignants et des administrateurs qui établissent des passerelles en s’associant plus étroitement aux enseignants, en se conduisant davantage en manager et en étant des entraîneurs-joueurs qui participent de manière égale aux sphères administratives et enseignantes en les reliant entre elles. Les conclusions de l’étude semblent aussi indiquer que les expériences de ces enseignants adjoints de direction dépendent en grande partie du chef d’établissement actuel et de sa perception des besoins administratifs. Resumen Las experiencias de los profesores ayudantes del director en las escuelas elementales católicas: Dilatadores de Límites y Profesores con Tendencia hacia la Administración Este artículo presenta un estudio fenomenológico de los profesores ayudantes del director (profesores-AD) en las escuelas elementales católicas. El presente artículo extrae elementos de los profesores con tendencia hacia la administración y de las teorías de roles para describir las experiencias vividas de estas personas, especialmente cómo perciben las ventajas y las limitaciones de su particular papel tanto en el profesorado como en la administración. El análisis de las entrevistas a los participantes revela tres modelos heurísticos de la experiencia profesores-AD: profesores con límites que se alían más con los enseñantes, administradores con límites que toman una identidad más gestora, y aquellos quienes adoptan un rol administrativo y participan en ambas esferas, la administrativa y la del profesorado, y quienes además perciben que hacen de puente entre ellas. Los hallazgos también sugieren que las experiencias de estos profesores-AD dependen en gran medida de los directores del momento y de la percepción de sus necesidades administrativas

Encapsulation of Inorganic Nanoparticles by Anionic Emulsion Polymerization of Diethyl Methylene Malonate for Developing Hybrid Microparticles with Tailorable Composition

Colloidal particle self-assembly into higher-ordered structures has been of great interest due to the promise of creating metamaterials with novel macroscopic properties. The physicochemical properties of these metamaterials can be tailored to achieve composites with tunable functionalities, either by controlling the assembly morphology and/or chemistry of the colloidal building blocks. This work describes a strategy of developing microparticles with a hybrid configuration that have an inorganic and an organic part. The inorganic part comprises functional nanoparticles, which are embedded within an organic polymer particle composed of diethyl methylene malonate polymer [p(DEMM)] prepared using anionic emulsion polymerization. DEMM polymerization is initiated entirely by the presence of hydroxyl anions and the resulting particle diameter can be tuned between 300 nm and 1 micrometer by reaction pH. Inorganic nanoparticles with varying chemistry (TiO2, CdTe, ZnO) can be loaded into the p(DEMM) particle with a controlled weight fraction, as confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis. The colloidal stability of the composite microparticles is seen to be dependent on the ligand coating attached to the inorganic constituent. These results provide a synthetic groundwork for creating hybrid, stimuli-responsive microparticles

Spiders of soybean crops in Santa Fe Province, Argentina: Influence of surrounding spontaneous vegetation on lot colonization

Trials during two consecutive soybean cycles were performed in central Santa Fe in order to determine the main spider families present in the crop and to determine the influence of spontaneous margin flora on colonization towards the lot. Samplings were done by sweeping net and pitfall traps. It was concluded that: 1. Oxyopidae was the most frequent family in the herbaceous layer of both the margins and the soybean crop, and Lycosidae in the lower layer; 2. Margin strips in a soybean lot contribute to the colonization of the crop by spiders of aerial habits and also promote re-colonization following pesticide applications, since they act as shelters. The influence on spiders of terrestrial habits was somewhat lower; 3. The distribution of the populations of spiders of terrestrial habits was homogeneous in a soybean crop seeded directly and these predators had a greater capacity to control pests at all points of the lot.Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectore

Adsorption of homopolypeptides on gold investigated using atomistic molecular dynamics

We investigate the role of dynamics on adsorption of peptides to gold surfaces using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations in explicit solvent. We choose six homopolypeptides [Ala 10 , Ser 10 , Thr 10 , Arg 10 , Lys 10 , and Gln 10 ], for which experimental surface coverages are not correlated with amino acid level affinities for gold, with the idea that dynamic properties may also play a role. To assess dynamics we determine both conformational movement and flexibility of the peptide within a given conformation. Low conformational movement indicates stability of a given conformation and leads to less adsorption than homopolypeptides with faster conformational movement. Likewise, low flexibility within a given conformation also leads to less adsorption. Neither amino acid affinities nor dynamic considerations alone predict surface coverage; rather both quantities must be considered in peptide adsorption to gold surfaces.US Department of Energy, Office of Advanced Scientific Computing; grant number DE-FG02-02ER25535. Foundation for Science and Technology for post-doctoral fellowship SFRH/BPD/20555/2004/0GVL. USA National Science Foundation Grant # EEC-0353569 for participation in the REU program in Biomolecular Engineering

The Experiences of Teacher-Assistant Principals in Catholic Elementary Schools: Boundary Spanners and Player Managers

This article presents a phenomenological study of teacher-assistant principals (teacher-APs) in Catholic elementary schools. Drawing from player manager and role theories, this article describes the lived experiences of these individuals, particularly how they perceive the benefits and constraints of their unique role in both faculty and administration. Analysis of participant interviews reveals three heuristic models of the teacher-AP experience: boundary teachers who ally more closely with faculty; boundary administrators who take on a more executive identity; and player-managers who equally participate in, and perceive to bridge, the administrative and faculty spheres. Findings also suggest that the experiences of these teacher-APs are highly dependent on the current principal and his/her perceived administrative needs. Résumé Les expériences d’enseignants adjoints de chefs d’établissement dans les écoles élémentaires catholiques : Établir des passerelles et être entraîneur-joueur Cet article présente une étude phénoménologique d’enseignants adjoints de chef d’établissement dans les écoles élémentaires catholiques. Tirant parti des théories des entraîneurs-joueurs et des rôles sociaux, cet article décrit les expériences que ces personnes ont vécues, notamment la manière dont elles perçoivent les avantages et les contraintes du rôle unique qu’elles jouent à la fois dans le corps enseignant et l’administration. L’analyse des entretiens avec les participants révèle trois modèles heuristiques de l’expérience vécue par l’enseignant-adjoint du chef d’établissement : des enseignants et des administrateurs qui établissent des passerelles en s’associant plus étroitement aux enseignants, en se conduisant davantage en manager et en étant des entraîneurs-joueurs qui participent de manière égale aux sphères administratives et enseignantes en les reliant entre elles. Les conclusions de l’étude semblent aussi indiquer que les expériences de ces enseignants adjoints de direction dépendent en grande partie du chef d’établissement actuel et de sa perception des besoins administratifs. Resumen Las experiencias de los profesores ayudantes del director en las escuelas elementales católicas: Dilatadores de Límites y Profesores con Tendencia hacia la Administración Este artículo presenta un estudio fenomenológico de los profesores ayudantes del director (profesores-AD) en las escuelas elementales católicas. El presente artículo extrae elementos de los profesores con tendencia hacia la administración y de las teorías de roles para describir las experiencias vividas de estas personas, especialmente cómo perciben las ventajas y las limitaciones de su particular papel tanto en el profesorado como en la administración. El análisis de las entrevistas a los participantes revela tres modelos heurísticos de la experiencia profesores-AD: profesores con límites que se alían más con los enseñantes, administradores con límites que toman una identidad más gestora, y aquellos quienes adoptan un rol administrativo y participan en ambas esferas, la administrativa y la del profesorado, y quienes además perciben que hacen de puente entre ellas. Los hallazgos también sugieren que las experiencias de estos profesores-AD dependen en gran medida de los directores del momento y de la percepción de sus necesidades administrativas

Design and Control Using Stochastic Models of Deposition Reactors

The financial feasibility of the creation of a start-up company to sell software developed for the optimization and in-line control of thin film growth in deposition processes was investigated. An analysis of the current marketplace revealed potential for a small start-up company to be competitive with this novel product. The investigation concluded an IRR of 20% for a five year period before possible sale of the company. The kinetic Monte Carlo method was employed as the basis for all simulations in this work. This method retains atomic scale information while enabling simulation of process relevant features such as roughness, growth rate and efficiency. A model predictive controller was designed to reproducibly generate thin films with desired properties under a variety of initial condition disturbances for both single component and multi component systems. The substrate temperature and gas flux were employed as control variables. The control algorithms were investigated using a sensitivity analysis and shown to be robust under a wide range of conditions

Spiders of soybean crops in Santa Fe Province, Argentina: Influence of surrounding spontaneous vegetation on lot colonization

Trials during two consecutive soybean cycles were performed in central Santa Fe in order to determine the main spider families present in the crop and to determine the influence of spontaneous margin flora on colonization towards the lot. Samplings were done by sweeping net and pitfall traps. It was concluded that: 1. Oxyopidae was the most frequent family in the herbaceous layer of both the margins and the soybean crop, and Lycosidae in the lower layer; 2. Margin strips in a soybean lot contribute to the colonization of the crop by spiders of aerial habits and also promote re-colonization following pesticide applications, since they act as shelters. The influence on spiders of terrestrial habits was somewhat lower; 3. The distribution of the populations of spiders of terrestrial habits was homogeneous in a soybean crop seeded directly and these predators had a greater capacity to control pests at all points of the lot.Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectore

Successful application of PSF-R techniques to the case of the globular cluster NGC 6121 (M 4)

Context. Precise photometric and astrometric measurements on astronomical images require an accurate knowledge of the point spread function (PSF). When the PSF cannot be modelled directly from the image, PSF-reconstruction techniques become the only viable solution. So far, however, their performance on real observations has rarely been quantified. Aims. In this Letter, we test the performance of a novel hybrid technique, called PRIME, on Adaptive Optics-assisted SPHERE/ZIMPOL observations of the Galactic globular cluster NGC 6121. Methods. PRIME couples PSF-reconstruction techniques, based on control-loop data and direct image fitting performed on the only bright point-like source available in the field of view of the ZIMPOL exposures, with the aim of building the PSF model. Results. By exploiting this model, the magnitudes and positions of the stars in the field can be measured with an unprecedented precision, which surpasses that obtained by more standard methods by at least a factor of four for on-axis stars and by up to a factor of two on fainter, off-axis stars. Conclusions. Our results demonstrate the power of PRIME in recovering precise magnitudes and positions when the information directly coming from astronomical images is limited to only a few point-like sources and, thus, paving the way for a proper analysis of future Extremely Large Telescope observations of sparse stellar fields or individual extragalactic objects