Discourse and the logic of education reform: crisis narratives in Kansas

Master of ScienceCurriculum and InstructionThomas VontzDiscourse analysis (DA) explores the relationships between discursive practices and wider social and cultural structures, relations, and processes. In this paper I explore, through a qualitative DA of education reporting in the Topeka Capital Journal (January 2014- January 2016), state press releases, and gubernatorial state speeches, how notions of fiscal crisis, both material and narratively cultivated, function to underscore the logic of neoliberalism. While considering potential context specific properties of local reporting and the cultural, geographical, and historical context of the region, I connect my findings with the larger, scholarly body of work pertaining to these issues. Connecting media language and policy discourse across local and global dimensions adds to a growing theoretical and qualitative understanding of the facets of education restructuring and reform within the framework of the global movement and adds material resources in the form of analysis as tools for educational practitioners and grassroots organizations working to craft alternatives to the neoliberal doctrine

Volumes and bulk densities of forty asteroids from ADAM shape modeling

Disk-integrated photometric data of asteroids do not contain accurate information on shape details or size scale. Additional data such as disk-resolved images or stellar occultation measurements further constrain asteroid shapes and allow size estimates. We aim to use all available disk-resolved images of about forty asteroids obtained by the Near-InfraRed Camera (Nirc2) mounted on the W.M. Keck II telescope together with the disk-integrated photometry and stellar occultation measurements to determine their volumes. We can then use the volume, in combination with the known mass, to derive the bulk density. We download and process all asteroid disk-resolved images obtained by the Nirc2 that are available in the Keck Observatory Archive (KOA). We combine optical disk-integrated data and stellar occultation profiles with the disk-resolved images and use the All-Data Asteroid Modeling (ADAM) algorithm for the shape and size modeling. Our approach provides constraints on the expected uncertainty in the volume and size as well. We present shape models and volume for 41 asteroids. For 35 asteroids, the knowledge of their mass estimates from the literature allowed us to derive their bulk densities. We clearly see a trend of lower bulk densities for primitive objects (C-complex) than for S-complex asteroids. The range of densities in the X-complex is large, suggesting various compositions. Moreover, we identified a few objects with rather peculiar bulk densities, which is likely a hint of their poor mass estimates. Asteroid masses determined from the Gaia astrometric observations should further refine most of the density estimates.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&

The Mass of the Milky Way: Limits from a Newly Assembled Set of Halo Objects

We set new limits on the mass of the Milky Way, making use of the latest kinematic information for Galactic satellites and halo objects. In order to bind these sample objects to the Galaxy, their rest-frame velocities must be lower than their escape velocities at their estimated distances. This constraint enables us to show that the mass estimate of the Galaxy is largely affected by several high-velocity objects (Leo I, Pal 3, Draco, and a few FHB stars), not by a single object alone (such as Leo I), as has often been the case in past analyses. We also find that a gravitational potential that gives rise to a declining rotation curve is insufficient to bind many of our sample objects to the Galaxy; a possible lower limit on the mass of the Galaxy is about 2.2 x 10^12 Msolar. To be more quantitative, we adopt a Bayesian likelihood approach to reproduce the observed distribution of the current positions and motions of the sample, in a prescribed Galactic potential that yields a flat rotation curve. This method enables a search for the most likely total mass of the Galaxy, without undue influence in the final result arising from the presence or absence of Leo I, provided that both radial velocities and proper motions are used. The most likely total mass derived from this method is 2.5^+0.5_-1.0 x 10^12 Msolar (including Leo I), and 1.8^+0.4_-0.7 x 10^12 Msolar (excluding Leo I).Comment: 14 pages, including 9 figures and 3 tables, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Self‐reported drug allergy in a general adult Portuguese population

Clin Exp Allergy. 2004 Oct;34(10):1597-601. Self-reported drug allergy in a general adult Portuguese population. Gomes E, Cardoso MF, Praça F, Gomes L, Mariño E, Demoly P. Serviço de Imunoalergologia, Hospital Maria Pia, Porto, Portugal. [email protected] Abstract AIM: To estimate the prevalence of self-reported drug allergy in adults. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey of a general adult population from Porto (all of whom were living with children involved in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood-phase three), during the year 2002, using a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: The prevalence of self-reported drug allergy was 7.8% (181/2309): 4.5% to penicillins or other beta-lactams, 1.9% to aspirin or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and 1.5% to other drugs. In the group 'allergic to beta-lactams', the most frequently implicated drug was penicillin G or V (76.2%) followed by the association of amoxicillin and clavulanic acids (14.3%). In the group 'allergic to NSAIDs', acetylsalicylic acid (18.2%) and ibuprofen (18.2%) were the most frequently identified drugs, followed by nimesulide and meloxicam. Identification of the exact name of the involved drug was possible in less than one-third of the patients, more often within the NSAID group (59.5%). Women were significantly more likely to claim a drug allergy than men (10.2% vs. 5.3%). The most common manifestations were cutaneous (63.5%), followed by cardiovascular symptoms (35.9%). Most of the reactions were immediate, occurring on the first day of treatment (78.5%). Only half of the patients were submitted to drug allergy investigations. The majority (86.8%) completely avoided the suspected culprit drug thereafter. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that self-reported allergy to drugs is highly prevalent and poorly explored. Women seem to be more susceptible. beta-lactams and NSAIDs are the most frequently concerned drugs. PMID: 15479276 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE

Your Journey to First-Year Success: A K-State First Companion Textbook

This textbook companion is a resource to help students successfully navigate through their first year at Kansas State University. It serves as part of the K-State First mission to create an outstanding university experience for every first-year student by helping with the transition to college-level learning and college life. The textbook helps improve chances for student success by focusing on fostering campus community, offering resources for diverse activities, highlighting academic expectations, and empowering students with personal responsibility and social agency. Instructors are encouraged to use the textbook in their K-State First classes, and it is also offered as a direct resource for students. In any university setting there are often unwritten rules that students are expected to understand, and this guide addresses and answers those questions directly. Ultimately, this guide encourages students to be engaged learners and to enjoy all facets of education, both inside and outside the classroom.https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/1019/thumbnail.jp

Nitrogen Excretion and Ammonia Emissions from Pigs Fed Modified Diets

Two swine feeding trials were conducted (initial body weight = 47 ± 2 and 41 ± 3 kg for Trials 1 and 2, respectively) to evaluate reduced crude protein (CP) and yucca (Yucca schidigera Roezl ex Ortgies) extract–supplemented diets on NH3 emissions. In Trial 1, nine pigs were offered a corn–soybean meal diet (C, 174 g kg−1 CP), a Lys-supplemented diet (L, 170 g kg−1 CP), or a 145 g kg−1 CP diet supplemented with Lys, Met, Thr, and Trp (LMTT). In Trial 2, nine pigs were fed diet L supplemented with 0, 62.5, or 125 mg of yucca extract per kg diet. Each feeding period consisted of a 4-d dietary adjustment followed by 72 h of continuous NH3 measurement. Urine and fecal samples were collected each period. Feeding the LMTT diet reduced (P \u3c 0.05) average daily gain (ADG) and feed efficiency (G:F) compared to diet L. Fecal N concentration decreased with a reduction in dietary CP, but urinary ammonium increased from pigs fed diet LMTT (2.0 g kg−1, wet basis) compared to those fed diet C (1.1 g kg−1) or L (1.0 g kg−1). When pigs were fed reduced CP diets NH3emission rates decreased (2.46, 2.16, and 1.05 mg min−1 for diets C, L, and LMTT). Yucca had no effect on feed intake, ADG, or G:F. Ammonium and N concentrations of manure and NH3 emission rates did not differ with yucca content. Caution must be executed to maintain animal performance when strategies are implemented to reduce NH3 emissions

Chemical Inhomogeneities in the Milky Way Stellar Halo

We have compiled a sample of 699 stars from the recent literature with detailed chemical abundance information (spanning -4.2 < [Fe/H] < +0.3), and we compute their space velocities and Galactic orbital parameters. We identify members of the inner and outer stellar halo populations in our sample based only on their kinematic properties and then compare the abundance ratios of these populations as a function of [Fe/H]. In the metallicity range where the two populations overlap (-2.5 < [Fe/H] < -1.5), the mean [Mg/Fe] of the outer halo is lower than the inner halo by ~0.1 dex. For [Ni/Fe] and [Ba/Fe], the star-to-star abundance scatter of the inner halo is consistently smaller than in the outer halo. The [Na/Fe], [Y/Fe], [Ca/Fe], and [Ti/Fe] ratios of both populations show similar means and levels of scatter. Our inner halo population is chemically homogeneous, suggesting that a significant fraction of the Milky Way stellar halo originated from a well-mixed ISM. In contrast, our outer halo population is chemically diverse, suggesting that another significant fraction of the Milky Way stellar halo formed in remote regions where chemical enrichment was dominated by local supernova events. We find no abundance trends with maximum radial distance from the Galactic center or maximum vertical distance from the Galactic disk. We also find no common kinematic signature for groups of metal-poor stars with peculiar abundance patters, such as the alpha-poor stars or stars showing unique neutron-capture enrichment patterns. Several stars and dSph systems with unique abundance patterns spend the majority of their time in the distant regions of the Milky Way stellar halo, suggesting that the true outer halo of the Galaxy may have little resemblance to the local stellar halo.Comment: Accepted for publication in AJ. Full tables available upon reques

Specific Heat of Liquid Helium in Zero Gravity very near the Lambda Point

We report the details and revised analysis of an experiment to measure the specific heat of helium with subnanokelvin temperature resolution near the lambda point. The measurements were made at the vapor pressure spanning the region from 22 mK below the superfluid transition to 4 uK above. The experiment was performed in earth orbit to reduce the rounding of the transition caused by gravitationally induced pressure gradients on earth. Specific heat measurements were made deep in the asymptotic region to within 2 nK of the transition. No evidence of rounding was found to this resolution. The optimum value of the critical exponent describing the specific heat singularity was found to be a = -0.0127+ - 0.0003. This is bracketed by two recent estimates based on renormalization group techniques, but is slightly outside the range of the error of the most recent result. The ratio of the coefficients of the leading order singularity on the two sides of the transition is A+/A- =1.053+ - 0.002, which agrees well with a recent estimate. By combining the specific heat and superfluid density exponents a test of the Josephson scaling relation can be made. Excellent agreement is found based on high precision measurements of the superfluid density made elsewhere. These results represent the most precise tests of theoretical predictions for critical phenomena to date.Comment: 27 Pages, 20 Figure

Effect of Vaccination on Bordetella pertussis Strains, China

Strains in China may differ from those in countries that have long histories of high vaccination coverage