Graph reconstruction numbers

One of the most important open questions in graph theory is the graph reconstruction conjecture, first proposed by P. J. Kelly and S. M. Ulam in 1941. The conjecture states that every graph with at least 3 vertices is reconstructible if there exists some multi-subset of vertex-deleted subgraphs that reconstructs G uniquely up to isomorphism. This project computes the existential and universal reconstruction numbers for all graphs of order at most nine. The existential reconstruction number is the number of vertex-deleted subgraphs, or cards, required to reconstruct G uniquely up to isomorphism. The universal reconstruction number is the minimum num- ber of cards for which all multi-subsets of that size reconstruct G uniquely up to isomorphism. The graph reconstruction conjecture is still unproven, but the results of this project help provide more information. Many theorems relating to the existential reconstruction number were verified by my results. The universal reconstruction number has been researched very little so far. The reconstruction numbers produced by this project help support the opinion that most graphs are easily reconstructible

Implementing state initiatives in a PK-1 primary school: a case study exploring instructional leadership

The purpose of this mixed methods case study is to explore the practices that a principal has used to address the individual needs of students through instructional and cultural changes, which resulted in increased student achievement. Using Lambert’s (1998) Leadership Capacity Survey, the espoused beliefs of the principal are correlated to the teachers’ ratings of the principal’s performance. The findings indicate an overall emergent theme that the principal uses broad-based leadership and skillful participation to establish reciprocal trust among the staff by creating teacher leaders. An additional theme of the community’s principal illuminates the work the principal’s efforts to establish broad-based parental and faculty participation in the change work established to create a child-centered environment aimed at high student achievement. Principals in the field can learn how this was accomplished through the examination of reflective practice, establishing a culture where innovation is the norm, and an inquiry-based use of information

Local Delivery of Growth Stimulators for Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A Preliminary in Vitro Study

Diabetic foot ulcers affect approximately 15% of the almost 20.8 million people with diabetes mellitus, costing approximately $10.9 billion annually. Diabetic foot ulcers are particularly difficult to treat due to neuropathy and healing deficiencies. The objective of this in vitro study was to measure the effects of adenosine and glutathione on fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis while improving the availability of these compounds at the wound site with the use of a chitosan sponge as a localized delivery vehicle. This study found adenosine (500µM) and glutathione (250µM) enhanced fibroblast proliferation by approximately 100% and 46% increase as compared to untreated controls respectively, and enhanced collagen synthesis in normal fibroblasts. Furthermore, chitosan sponges effectively released active concentrations of adenosine and glutathione, up to 500µM and 250µM respectively, over a period of three days. The results of this study suggest that chitosan sponges loaded with adenosine and glutathione may be effective in treating diabetic foot ulcers in patients under closely managed glucose conditions

Designing Disability Services in South Asia: Understanding the Role that Disability Organizations Play in Transforming a Rights-based Approach to Disability

Since the advent of the Disability Rights Movement in the 1960's and 1970's, practitioners and scholars have sought ways of conceptualizing disability and understanding the strategies employed in its management. The push for a rights-based approach to disability first begun in North America and Europe has become globalized, influencing the discourse, strategies, and day-to-day activities of international policy-making bodies, non-governmental organizations working on disability, and individuals with disabilities worldwide. Scholarship within disability studies has fixed attention on a small range of models for explaining the meanings and experience of disability. However, the adequacy of these models in describing the relationship between international institutions, disability organizations, and individuals with disabilities has not been examined. Similarly, scholars have not examined the influence these different theoretical models have on the everyday work of organizations working with individuals with disabilities. This paper explores the way in which two organizations in South Asia have framed and defined organizational goals and a "rights based" approach to disability. It employs ethnographic data from preliminary field projects in Kathmandu, Nepal and Delhi, India to examine the underlying theoretical models of disability that each organization operationalizes through its programming. Analysis of each organization's values, programming, and disability discourse suggests that organizations are differently defining disability rights, leading to heterogeneity in the types of services available to people with disabilities. I suggest that this heterogeneity in available services across organizations, as well as within a single organization is the product of organizations employing different theoretical understandings of the meaning of disability. However, programming opportunities available to an individual with a disability not only stem from different theoretical models of disability, but also forge new hybrid models of disability that incorporate multiple theoretical constructs in order to address the challenges facing individuals with disability. This suggests that disability organizations are actively engaged in defining and transforming disability policy and discourse at the local level and beyond. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications these findings have on how we understand and study disability, as well as design and implement services for individuals with disabilities

The Cost of Quality Out-of-School-Time Programs, Executive Summary

Funders and program planners need a clear understanding of the costs of quality afterschool or summer programs to make sound investments. With support from The Wallace Foundation, P/PV partnered with The Finance Project to embark on one of the largest and most rigorous out-of-school-time (OST) cost studies to date, collecting detailed data from 111 programs that varied dramatically in their focus, content, location, staffing, management and hours of operation.This executive summary highlights the full report's key findings, summarizes variations in program costs and provides recommendations for policymakers and funders who seek to build and sustain quality OST programs for children and youth in their communities.In addition, a companion online cost calculator that provides stakeholders with estimates for various program options is available atwww.wallacefoundation.org/cost-of-quality

The Cost of Quality Out-of-School-Time Programs

Funders and program planners want to know: What does it cost to operate a high-quality after-school or summer program? This study answers that question, discovering that there is no "right" number. Cost varies substantially, depending on the characteristics of the participants, the goals of the program, who operates it and where it is located. Based on detailed cost data collected from 111 out-of-school-time programs in six cities, this report, along with an online calculator (www.wallacefoundation.org/cost-of-quality), provides cost averages and ranges for many common types of programs

High School Students as Mentors: Findings From the Big Brothers Big Sisters School-Based Mentoring Impact Study Executive Summary

Recently, high schools have become a popular source of mentors for school-based mentoring (SBM) programs. This executive summary outlines key findings and recommendations from our High School Students as Mentors report, which drew on data from our large-scale random assignment impact study of Big Brothers Big Sisters SBM (Herrera, et al. 2007). Our research indicated that, on average, high school students were much less effective than adults at yielding impacts for the youth they mentor, but it also identified several program practices that were linked with longer, stronger and more effective high school mentor relationships

Aging, Spirituality, and Narrative: Loss and Repair

In this paper, we explore how narrative loss may impact upon one’s sense of self and the spiritual process of meaning-making and purpose. We argue that we are narrative beings that make sense of our selves and our social, physical, and ideational worlds in and through narrative and that this process, which involves matters of purpose, truth, and values, is at one and the same time a spiritual activity, as both spirituality and narrative involve a sense of openness and indeterminacy, and the generation of meaning and purpose. As we age, however, physical, mental and social changes may disrupt how we narrativize our lives, and social and ideological (or meta-) narratives might frame what stories we can tell, and how we can tell them, in ways different from the past. We explore some of the narrative losses associated with aging and then, drawing on practices in spiritual direction, discuss some possible ways of countering such losses, in particular the development of narrative literacy, the re-ignition of narrative desire, the making of narrative connections, and the deepening of autobiographical reasoning. In this way, we hope to illustrate how narrative works in the spiritual lives of older adults

Mississippi State University Libraries’ Annual E.O. Templeton, Jr. History & Genealogy Fair

Mississippi State University (MSU) Libraries has held an annual Genealogy Fair for the last twelve years as a way to engage the community. The fair, named for E.O. Templeton, Jr. in 2013, features a variety of sessions, workshops, and research opportunities for history and genealogy enthusiasts, including hands-on research help from MSU librarians and archivists. Attendees learn about genealogical resources at the MSU Libraries, improve their genealogical research skills, pick up tips for preserving their family history, and have the opportunity to tour MSU Libraries\u27 museums and exhibits. This poster presents information on how MSU hosts its fair, what it accomplishes in bringing community members to the library to discuss a popular hobby, and how other academic and public libraries in the state could host their own fairs