A curriculum for ethnic diversity: documenting the process of change in a secondary school

This is a case study of a project in curriculum development which was undertaken in a Berkshire secondary school between 1986 and 1990. The aim of the study is to describe, analyse, and interpret the processes which were involved in the project: the reasons why it was undertaken, the strategies which it employed, and its impact upon the institution. The idea of an initiative in curriculum development was the product of long term educational and political changes outside the school. The study sets the project in its educational context, by tracing the origins of a theory of multicultural/anti-racist education. It then analyses the socio-political context, to explain why there was a shift in government education policy in the early 1980s, in the direction of multiculturalism. In 1986 Parkview school was invited to participate in a DES funded course, designed to pilot approaches in implementing the new policy. The project resulted from Parkview's participation. The study explains the situation of the school at that time, and shows how it influenced the way in which the project developed. Evaluation exercises carried out towards the end of the initiative suggested that the project led to significant development in the school's formal curriculum; that it contributed towards a change in the ethos of the school; and that it had other unanticipated but beneficial effects. The reasons for the success of the project are analysed, and compared with theories of change. Since the project was undertaken there have been considerable changes in the political context of education. In particular, there has been a decisive shift towards a market-led view of education as primarily concerned with economic growth rather than social justice. The study asks how the changes which have resulted (such as the National Curriculum, and the diminished role of LEAs) have affected the cause of multicultural/anti-racist education; and concludes by considering how teachers might contribute towards curriculum development in the future

A curriculum for ethnic diversity: documenting the process of change in a secondary school

This is a case study of a project in curriculum development which was undertaken in a Berkshire secondary school between 1986 and 1990. The aim of the study is to describe, analyse, and interpret the processes which were involved in the project: the reasons why it was undertaken, the strategies which it employed, and its impact upon the institution. The idea of an initiative in curriculum development was the product of long term educational and political changes outside the school. The study sets the project in its educational context, by tracing the origins of a theory of multicultural/anti-racist education. It then analyses the socio-political context, to explain why there was a shift in government education policy in the early 1980s, in the direction of multiculturalism. In 1986 Parkview school was invited to participate in a DES funded course, designed to pilot approaches in implementing the new policy. The project resulted from Parkview's participation. The study explains the situation of the school at that time, and shows how it influenced the way in which the project developed. Evaluation exercises carried out towards the end of the initiative suggested that the project led to significant development in the school's formal curriculum; that it contributed towards a change in the ethos of the school; and that it had other unanticipated but beneficial effects. The reasons for the success of the project are analysed, and compared with theories of change. Since the project was undertaken there have been considerable changes in the political context of education. In particular, there has been a decisive shift towards a market-led view of education as primarily concerned with economic growth rather than social justice. The study asks how the changes which have resulted (such as the National Curriculum, and the diminished role of LEAs) have affected the cause of multicultural/anti-racist education; and concludes by considering how teachers might contribute towards curriculum development in the future

Separation of suspended particles in microfluidic systems by directional-locking in periodic fields

We investigate the transport and separation of overdamped particles under the action of a uniform external force in a two-dimensional periodic energy landscape. Exact results are obtained for the deterministic transport in a square lattice of parabolic, repulsive centers that correspond to a piecewise-continuous linear-force model. The trajectories are periodic and commensurate with the obstacle lattice and exhibit phase-locking behavior in that the particle moves at the same average migration angle for a range of orientation of the external force. The migration angle as a function of the orientation of the external force has a Devil's staircase structure. The first transition in the migration angle was analyzed in terms of a Poincare map, showing that it corresponds to a tangent bifurcation. Numerical results show that the limiting behavior for impenetrable obstacles is equivalent to the high Peclet number limit in the case of transport of particles in a periodic pattern of solid obstacles. Finally, we show how separation occurs in these systems depending on the properties of the particles

Cottonwood Creek Preliminary Assessment

Cottonwood Creek is located in Powell County, Montana and flows through the town of Deer Lodge. The Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), will be working with ranch owners along Cottonwood Creek on restoration and conservation projects in the spring of 2001. In September and October of 2000, six graduate students from the University of Montana completed a baseline assessment of the lower Cottonwood Creek watershed, including the tributary Reese Anderson Creek. The assessment is the start of a more comprehensive assessment to be completed in the summer of 2001. The purpose of this baseline assessment is to characterize the current condition of Cottonwood Creek. The objectives of this study include: 1. To assess the current condition (“health”) of Cottonwood Creek’s riparian areas. 2. To provide baseline data needed to evaluate the benefits of conservation and restoration projects. 3. To gather information about the current and historical land-uses in the Cottonwood Creek Watershed. 4. To make recommendations on a landowner monitoring system. Study Approach The Fall 200 study synthesized existing data and conducted new field observations. Existing data includes maps, soil information, geology, climate, and historically and current land uses. The major component of the field research was the evaluation of the riparian corridor using University of Montana’s Riparian and Wetland Research Program’s (RWRP) Lotic Assessment Form. This method breaks up the riparian corridor into about ¼ mile to ¾ mile sections, called polygons, and evaluates each polygon’s vegetation, stream bank stability, and invasive species. Each polygon is then rated as “Properly Functioning”, “Functioning but at Risk”, or “Nonfunctioning”. Other field data collected included measurement of the stream cross section, photo documentation of the riparian area, and stream discharge. Summary of results The Fall 2000 assessment broke Cottonwood Creek into 11 polygons and Reese Anderson Creek into 4 polygons. The RWRP Lotic Health Assessment scored five polygons as Functioning but at Risk, and the remaining ten polygons, including all 4 on Reese Anderson Creek, were found to be Non-Functioning systems. A big factor in reduced functioning along Cottonwood Creek is over grazing which resulted in a streambank instability and lack of woody vegetation. This is most evident on Reese Anderson Creek and the downstream portion of Cottonwood Creek. Other concerns in the riparian corridor included dewatering, use of rip-rap and invasive species. Comparing the cross sections measurements made in each polygon showed a widening trend downstream. A likely cause for this trend is the lack of woody vegetation along the stream bank downstream. Also, the limited discharged data collected suggested that the stream loses water as it flows downstream. This is likely because of the amount of diversions along the stream. However, further measurements need to be taken in the spring of 2001 to gain a better understanding of how much of a loss there is

The Kondo Dynamics of YbIn(1-x)AgxCu4

We present an infrared/optical study of the dynamics of the strongly correlated electron system YbIn(1-x)AgxCu4 as a function of doping and temperature for x ranging from 0 to 1, and T between 20 and 300 K. This study reveals information about the unusual phase transition as well as the phases themselves. Scaling relations emerge from the data and are investigated in detail using a periodic Anderson model based calculation. We also provide a picture in which to view both the low and high-energy x-dependent features of the infrared data, including identification of high energy, temperature dependent features.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, submitted Phys. Rev.

Parallel Evolution of Tetrodotoxin Resistance in Three Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Genes in the Garter Snake Thamnophis sirtalis

Members of a gene family expressed in a single species often experience common selection pressures. Consequently, the molecular basis of complex adaptations may be expected to involve parallel evolutionary changes in multiple paralogs. Here, we use bacterial artificial chromosome library scans to investigate the evolution of the voltage-gated sodium channel (Nav) family in the garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis, a predator of highly toxic Taricha newts. Newts possess tetrodotoxin (TTX), which blocks Nav’s, arresting action potentials in nerves and muscle. Some Thamnophis populations have evolved resistance to extremely high levels of TTX. Previous work has identified amino acid sites in the skeletal muscle sodium channel Nav1.4 that confer resistance to TTX and vary across populations. We identify parallel evolution of TTX resistance in two additional Nav paralogs, Nav1.6 and 1.7, which are known to be expressed in the peripheral nervous system and should thus be exposed to ingested TTX. Each paralog contains at least one TTX-resistant substitution identical to a substitution previously identified in Nav1.4. These sites are fixed across populations, suggesting that the resistant peripheral nerves antedate resistant muscle. In contrast, three sodium channels expressed solely in the central nervous system (Nav1.1–1.3) showed no evidence of TTX resistance, consistent with protection from toxins by the blood–brain barrier. We also report the exon–intron structure of six Nav paralogs, the first such analysis for snake genes. Our results demonstrate that the molecular basis of adaptation may be both repeatable across members of a gene family and predictable based on functional considerations