Disability Employment Policies and Practices in U.S. Federal Government Agencies

A survey of U.S. Federal agencies was initiated by the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities, and 403 representatives of U.S. Federal agencies were surveyed to determine their response to the employment nondiscrimination, affirmative action, and accommodation requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended

Survey of the Federal Government on Supervisor Practices in Employment of People with Disabilities

In 1999, the Presidential Task Force on the Employment of Adults with Disabilities (PTFEAD) funded Cornell University to conduct a survey of federal sector HR and EEO representatives regarding their experience implementing the employment disability nondiscrimination requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990(ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. One of the recommendations from this research was to conduct a follow-up study of federal agency supervisors and managers about their experience in accommodation and employment of persons with disabilities in the federal sector, and in addition to inquire about their awareness of the series of Executive Orders issued in 2000 supporting employment and accommodation of individuals with disabilities in the Federal workforce. This report provides information on the results from this survey, which was conducted in 2001

Solitary Waves in Discrete Media with Four Wave Mixing

In this paper, we examine in detail the principal branches of solutions that arise in vector discrete models with nonlinear inter-component coupling and four wave mixing. The relevant four branches of solutions consist of two single mode branches (transverse electric and transverse magnetic) and two mixed mode branches, involving both components (linearly polarized and elliptically polarized). These solutions are obtained explicitly and their stability is analyzed completely in the anti-continuum limit (where the nodes of the lattice are uncoupled), illustrating the supercritical pitchfork nature of the bifurcations that give rise to the latter two, respectively, from the former two. Then the branches are continued for finite coupling constructing a full two-parameter numerical bifurcation diagram of their existence. Relevant stability ranges and instability regimes are highlighted and, whenever unstable, the solutions are dynamically evolved through direct computations to monitor the development of the corresponding instabilities. Direct connections to the earlier experimental work of Meier et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 91}, 143907 (2003)] that motivated the present work are given.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figure

Disability Employment Policies and Practices in U.S. Federal Government Agencies: EEO/HR and Supervisor Perspectives

The Presidential Task Force on the Employment of Adults with Disabilities (PTFEAD) provided support to Cornell University to conduct research on the policy and practice efforts of federal agency personnel in recruiting and retaining persons with disabilities in Federal employment. A survey of U. S. federal agency HR/EEO responses to the employment disability nondiscrimination requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was completed in 1999. A follow-up study of federal agency supervisors and managers about their experience in accommodation and employment of persons with disabilities was initiated in Spring of 2001. This report is a summary of major findings from each of these surveys, and in addition includes a comparison across selected items where appropriate

Christian doctrine in the poetry of T. S. Eliot and W. H. Auden: an investigation of the religious ideas of these writers in relation to modern sensibility

This thesis investigates the differing ways in which the Christian religion finds expression in the poetry of two modern, avowedly Christian, poets. The discussion centres upon the ways in which the two cardinal Christian doctrines – Incarnation and Atonement – are apprehended, and examines the distinctive relation each poet bears to the religious sensibility of the twentieth century. Auden’s understanding of the Christian vision of life and his grasp on the essential connection between the fundamental doctrine prove, on close comparative examination, to be fuller and surer than Eliot’s. The first two chapters deal with the relation between religious and artistic values – primarily in the theological and poetic developments of the present century must be understood. The following three chapters trace in Eliot’s poetry his changing attitudes to man’s condition and his destiny. Because of a distinctive preoccupation with metaphysical problems of Time and Reality, the Christian beliefs of the later poetry revolve around the single doctrine of the Incarnation by which Eternal and Temporal, Supernatural and Natural are united. Chapter Six briefly examines the plays, in which a largely unsuccessful attempt is made at conveying the meaning of sin and atonement. By contrast, Auden’s work, even in its early stages, shows a concern with the immediate human experience of self-contradiction and guilt, conflict and suffering. Consequently his Christian faith is characterised by an emphasis on the transformation of this condition by the sacrificial act known as the Atonement. Nonetheless, the absolute interdependence of Atonement and Incarnation is clearly expressed, so that Auden’s work, though frequently inferior, poetically, to Eliot’s, at times embodies the Christian vision with a fullness that Eliot’s never achieved. The concluding chapter outlines current theological trends and the ways in which the two poets reflect the distinctive sensibility of the present century

Characterisation of morphogenesis mutants in Arabidopsis

In this thesis is described the identification and characterisation of two morphogenesis mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana. One, vertically challenged (vch1) exhibits much reduced cellular elongation. The second, altered suspensor fate (asf1) is embryonic- lethal. A thorough phenotypic analysis of both mutants is presented, as are the results of genetic analysis. Vch1 exhibits a severe reduction in cellular elongation throughout the plant, resulting in a dwarfed phenotype. Despite its stunted morphology, vch1 exhibits normal cellular patterning, demonstrating that cell morphogenesis can be uncoupled from correct cellular pattern formation, vch1 follows a normal life history by all parameters examined demonstrating that the timing of developmental events can be uncoupled from correct morphogenesis. The phenotype of vch1 cannot be rescued by the exogenous supply of a range of hormones, signalling inhibitors or growth conditions, although it can respond to each, in a proportionately similar manner to wild type seedlings. No defects in cell wall architecture nor in cytoskeletal organisation were detected during this study. Speculative models for the role of the VCH gene are proposed. In asf1, the embryo proper arrests at the transition stage of embryogenesis. The wild type suspensor is a single file of cells which serves to anchor the embryo proper to the maternal tissue and acts as a conduit for, and source of, nutrients to the developing embryo. In asf1, suspensor cells undergo inappropriate proliferation following the arrest of the embryo proper. Evidence is presented from cytological and ultrastructural examination, and expression of spatially restricted gus-fusion marker genes, that the ectopically divided suspensor cells take on aspects of embryo proper-like character. Models for the role of the ASF1 gene are proposed. It is likely that the mutant phenotype results from disruption of intercellular communication between the embryo proper and suspensor

Some effects of adverse weather conditions on performance of airplane antiskid braking systems

The performance of current antiskid braking systems operating under adverse weather conditions was analyzed in an effort to both identify the causes of locked-wheel skids which sometimes occur when the runway is slippery and to find possible solutions to this operational problem. This analysis was made possible by the quantitative test data provided by recently completed landing research programs using fully instrumented flight test airplanes and was further supported by tests performed at the Langley aircraft landing loads and traction facility. The antiskid system logic for brake control and for both touchdown and locked-wheel protection is described and its response behavior in adverse weather is discussed in detail with the aid of available data. The analysis indicates that the operational performance of the antiskid logic circuits is highly dependent upon wheel spin-up acceleration and can be adversely affected by certain pilot braking inputs when accelerations are low. Normal antiskid performance is assured if the tire-to-runway traction is sufficient to provide high wheel spin-up accelerations or if the system is provided a continuous, accurate ground speed reference. The design of antiskid systems is complicated by the necessity for tradeoffs between tire braking and cornering capabilities, both of which are necessary to provide safe operations in the presence of cross winds, particularly under slippery runway conditions

Infusing Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Into Science Methods Courses Across Virginia

This article outlines the results of a collaborative study of the effects of infusing problem-based learning (PBL) into K-12 science methods courses across four universities in Virginia. Changes in pre-service teachers\u27 attitudes surrounding science teaching were measured before and after completing a science methods course in which they experienced PBL first-hand as participants, and then practiced designing their own PBL units for use in their future classrooms. The results indicate that exposure to PBL enhances pre-service teachers\u27 knowledge of inquiry methods and self-efficacy in teaching science

Interference and complementarity for two-photon hybrid entangled states

In this work we generate two-photon hybrid entangled states (HES), where the polarization of one photon is entangled with the transverse spatial degree of freedom of the second photon. The photon pair is created by parametric down-conversion in a polarization-entangled state. A birefringent double-slit couples the polarization and spatial degrees of freedom of these photons and finally, suitable spatial and polarization projections generate the HES. We investigate some interesting aspects of the two-photon hybrid interference, and present this study in the context of the complementarity relation that exists between the visibilities of the one- and two-photon interference patterns.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures. Accepted in Physical Review