Three new species and two new combinations in the Aizoaceae from the Western and Northern Cape of South Africa

Three new species of Aizoaceae from the Western Cape are described. Octopoma tanquanum Klak and Vlokia montana Klak are dwarf shrubby or mat-forming succulents which belong to the Ruschieae in the Ruschioideae. Mesembryanthemum knolfonteinense Klak of the Mesembryanthemoideae is a geophyte. Octopoma tanquanum inhabits relatively low lying arid areas within the Tanqua Karoo and the Little Karoo and is thought to be closely allied to the two species of Octopoma found in the Little Karoo. Both V. montana and M. knolfonteinense grow at relatively high altitudes within the fynbos biome. In addition, Ruschia littlewoodii L.Bolus is transferred to Phiambolia, and two new combinations are made in Antimima for Ruschia hexamera L.Bolus and Ruschia radicans L.Bolus

Community Philanthropy: How the Delta Region Revives, Embraces, and Promotes the Spirit of Giving

· Community philanthropy is the giving of time, talent, and treasure that when invested locally is characteristic of positive change and lasting development. · This article reports on a survey of 31 small Arkansas communities of 5,000 to 15,000 in population using open-ended descriptive questions. Responses were compared across communities to assess variation in giving/fundraising, civic engagement, and leadership. · Data confirm that giving/fundraising was substantial, particularly in communities with populations of 8,000 or less. · Findings show that people are giving not only their money, but also their services, time, and skills – especially in times of emergency response. Giving was not restricted to the wealthy but included various levels of generosity. · The same leaders engage repeatedly, resulting in leadership fatigue. · Community philanthropy is a viable innovation and, by growing the public will and momentum for its use, it could turn communities into healthy, equitable places where vulnerable families can succeed

Taxonomic studies in the Aizoaceae from South Africa: three new species and some new combinations

Two new species of Brownanthus, B glareicola Klak and B fratemus Klak and one new species of Scopelogena, S. bruynsii Klak are described. S. gracilis L.Bolus is reduced to synonymy under S. verruculata (L.) L Bolus. Three new combinations are made: Antimima excedens (L.Bolus) Klak. Erepsia dunensis (Sond.) Klak and Hammeria meleagris (L.Bolus) Klak and full synonomy is given  Lampranthus maximilianii (Schltr. & A.Berger) L Bolus is transferred back to Braunsia maximilianii (Schltr. & A Berger) Schwantes and the identity of Ruschia polita L Bolus is discussed. The taxonomic position of Mesembryanthemum purpureostylum L.Bolus is clarified

On the Production of Dissipation by Interaction of Forced Oscillating Waves in Fluid Dynamics

In the context of some bidimensionnal Navier-Stokes model, we exhibit a family of exact oscillating solutions $\{u_{\epsilon}\}_{\epsilon}$ defined on some strip $[0,T]\times\R^2$ which does not depend on $\epsilon\in]0,1]$. The exact solutions is described thanks to a complete expansions which reveal a boundary layer in time $t=0$. The interactions of the various scales (1, $1/\epsilon$ and $1/\epsilon^2$) produce a macroscopic effect given by the addition of a diffusion. To justify the existence of $\{u_\epsilon\}_{\epsilon}$, we need to perform various Sobolev estimates that rely on a refined balance between the informations coming from the hyperbolic and parabolic parts of the equations

Building Teacher Self-Efficacy to Improve Student Literacy

Literacy rates in schools across Nunavut has been a prevalent issue in recent years. Students are graduating with lower literacy levels than in many other parts of Canada. More specifically, the school in which I work also suffers from this issue. This organizational improvement plan has a problem of practice at its core that probes how current research can assist me, as principal, in supporting teachers to more effectively implement a balanced literacy program throughout my school for the purpose of improving students’ literacy levels in both of the community’s languages – English and Inuktitut. In order to address this gap in literacy skills, a comprehensive strategy is devised to be implemented aligning with best practices in literacy instruction. A distributed leadership approach will be used to collaboratively lead school staff towards effective execution of this plan utilizing Kotter’s 8 step Change Path model. Initial stages of this plan center on developing a shared vision of literacy in the school, and then reading skills, and writing skills at the K-9 level. Future considerations to this organizational improvement plan include foci on improving parental engagement with the school, and on writing skills at the high school level. Training for some aspects of balanced literacy has been conducted in previous years, however effective implementation has not been conducted in the past, thus the primary challenge of plan implementation is garnering staff support with this strategy. Keywords: Distributed Leadership, Shared Vision, Balanced Literacy, Teacher Efficacy

Radiation condition at infinity for the high-frequency Helmholtz equation: optimality of a non-refocusing criterion

International audienceWe consider the high frequency Helmholtz equation with a variable refraction index $n^2(x)$ ($x \in \R^d$), supplemented with a given high frequency source term supported near the origin $x=0$. A small absorption parameter $\alpha_{\varepsilon}>0$ is added, which somehow prescribes a radiation condition at infinity for the considered Helmholtz equation. The semi-classical parameter is $\varepsilon>0$. We let \eps and \a_\eps go to zero {\em simultaneaously}. We study the question whether the indirectly prescribed radiation condition at infinity is satisfied {\em uniformly} along the asymptotic process \eps \to 0, or, in other words, whether the conveniently rescaled solution to the considered equation goes to the {\em outgoing} solution to the natural limiting Helmholtz equation. This question has been previously studied by the first autor. It is proved that the radiation condition is indeed satisfied uniformly in \eps, provided the refraction index satisfies a specific {\em non-refocusing condition}, a condition that is first pointed out in this reference. The non-refocusing condition requires, in essence, that the rays of geometric optics naturally associated with the high-frequency Helmholtz operator, and that are sent from the origin $x=0$ at time $t=0$, should not refocus at some later time $t>0$ near the origin again. In the present text we show the {\em optimality} of the above mentionned non-refocusing condition, in the following sense. We exhibit a refraction index which {\em does} refocus the rays of geometric optics sent from the origin near the origin again, and, on the other hand, we completely compute the asymptotic behaviour of the solution to the associated Helmholtz equation: we show that the limiting solution {\em does not} satisfy the natural radiation condition at infinity. More precisely, we show that the limiting solution is a {\em perturbation} of the outgoing solution to the natural limiting Helmholtz equation, and that the perturbing term explicitly involves the contribution of the rays radiated from the origin which go back to the origin. This term is also conveniently modulated by a phase factor, which turns out to be the action along the above rays of the hamiltonian associated with the semiclassical Helmholtz equation