Reflecting on Modern Public-School Teacher Experience: An Overview of Select Challenges Facing the Educator Workforce with an Emphasis on Teachers of Color

New demographic research shows that the school-aged population in the U.S. is rapidly diversifying in terms of student racial and ethnic identity. However, as the educator workforce also diversifies, teachers of color are less likely than White teachers to remain in the profession and persist at their current school. This backgrounder reviews a growing body of research outlining the multiple social and academic benefits associated with increasing diversity in the educator workforce. In addition, research on school working conditions, with a specific focus on accountability reforms and practices, and its impact on the retention of teachers of color is discussed. The backgrounder concludes by framing additional areas of research related to the current experiences of teachers and the workforce.Educatio

Correlating the Nevius Method with Church Planting Movements: Early Korean Revivals as a Case Study

John Nevius served as a missionary to China in the late nineteenth-century. From his field experience, Nevius argued for radical changes in missionary methodology. His greatest influence may have been on the mission to Korea beginning in the 1890s. David Garrison, currently serving in South Asia, served for several years in influential administrative roles within the International (formerly Foreign) Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. He studied and advocated Church Planting Movements [CPM], necessitating a change in contemporary missionary methodology. Both men have made major contributions to the practice of missions. This article endeavors to show the similarities between their methods, viz., the Nevius Method and CPMs, through the historical lens of the introduction of Protestant Christianity to Korea. The impetus behind this analysis is the role and value of missions history in developing missionary strategy. Both the Nevius Method and Church Planting Movements implement certain similar strategies that have proved effective and are worthy of consideration

Lessons Learned in the Southern Region after the First Year of Implementation of the New Commodity Programs

The development of the commodity programs in the 2008 Farm Bill involved the origination of two complex revenue support initiatives. The two new programs, Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) and Supplemental Revenue Assurance (SURE), expanded the risk management tool kit of agricultural producers. The SURE program is a permanent disaster assistance program, whereas the ACRE program is a revenue-based commodity program offered as an alternative to the price-based Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program (DCP) created in the 2002 Farm Bill. For the 2009 signup, only 7.7% of eligible U.S. farms enrolled in the ACRE program. In the southern region, three states had no farms electing ACRE and four others had less than 50. Excluding Oklahoma, less than 1% of all farms in 13 southern states made the ACRE election.farm policy, Food Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, Average Crop Revenue Election Program (ACRE), Supplemental Revenue Assistance (SURE), Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Farm Management, Political Economy, Q1,

On the dynamic characteristics of a variable- mass slender elastic body under high accelerations

Differential equations of motion for determining dynamic characteristics of variable mass slender elastic body moving under high acceleration

Autonomous propulsion of carbon nanotubes powered by a multienzyme ensemble

Covalent attachment of the enzymes glucose oxidase and catalase to carbon nanotubes enables the tandem catalytic conversion of glucose and H2O2 formed to power autonomous movement of the nanotubes.

An Edition of One: Xerographic Replacements to Meet Continuing Demand for Brittle Books in Book Format

Some books' lives in academic libraries resemble a paraphrased version of Thomas Hobbes's state of Nature: Their lives are nasty, brutish, and short. This is a fact of library life, and we routinely replace this category of common, heavily-used, worn out stock with reprint copies from whichever publishers can provide them, and we write it off as the cost of conducting the business of our educational enterprise. Unfortunately, we too often find another category of book for which a dismaying trio of circumstances makes the routine of simple replacement-with-reprint impossible. This sad triangle is bound on one side by the fact that the book is out of print (o.p.) or out of stock indefinitely (o.s.i.). Secondly, the paper of the copy in hand is too inflexible, or brittle, to allow for routine repair. The third and most important line completing the triangle is that the book, common or obscure, continues to be in demand as a book for a number of reasons. The resultant problem - or "challenge" to those preferring more positive euphemisms - is an irreparable book, reported o.p. or o.s.i. by the Acquisition Department, still needed in book format by the library's readers. A solution: The creation of a replacement edition of one or a few to meet demand. Although this solution is no longer a new idea, it remains a practical option that requires a systematic approach to work wel

Thermal Analysis of Low Layer Density Multilayer Insulation Test Results

Investigation of the thermal performance of low layer density multilayer insulations is important for designing long-duration space exploration missions involving the storage of cryogenic propellants. Theoretical calculations show an analytical optimal layer density, as widely reported in the literature. However, the appropriate test data by which to evaluate these calculations have been only recently obtained. As part of a recent research project, NASA procured several multilayer insulation test coupons for calorimeter testing. These coupons were configured to allow for the layer density to be varied from 0.5 to 2.6 layer/mm. The coupon testing was completed using the cylindrical Cryostat-l00 apparatus by the Cryogenics Test Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center. The results show the properties of the insulation as a function of layer density for multiple points. Overlaying these new results with data from the literature reveals a minimum layer density; however, the value is higher than predicted. Additionally, the data show that the transition region between high vacuum and no vacuum is dependent on the spacing of the reflective layers. Historically this spacing has not been taken into account as thermal performance was calculated as a function of pressure and temperature only; however the recent testing shows that the data is dependent on the Knudsen number which takes into account pressure, temperature, and layer spacing. These results aid in the understanding of the performance parameters of MLI and help to complete the body of literature on the topic

Sorption Properties of Aerogel in Liquid Nitrogen

Aerogel products are now available as insulation materials of the future. The Cryogenics Test Laboratory at the NASA Kennedy Space Center is developing aerogel-based thermal insulation systems for space launch applications. Aerogel beads (Cabot Nanogel ) and aerogel blankets (Aspen Aerogels Spaceloft ) have outstanding ambient pressure thermal performance that makes them useful for applications where sealing is not possible. Aerogel beads are open-celled silicone dioxide and have tiny pores that run throughout the body of the bead. It has also recently been discovered that aerogel beads can be used as a filtering device for aqueous compounds at room temperature. With their hydrophobic covering, the beads absorb any non-polar substance and they can be chemically altered to absorb hot gases. The combination of the absorption and cryogenic insulating properties of aerogel beads have never been studied together. For future cryogenic insulation applications, it is crucial to know how the beads react while immersed in cryogenic liquids, most notably liquid nitrogen. Aerogel beads in loose-fill situation and aerogel blankets with composite fiber structure have been tested for absorption properties. Depending on the type of aerogel used and the preparation, preliminary results show the material can absorb up to seven times its own weight of liquid nitrogen, corresponding to a volumetric ratio of 0.70 (unit volume nitrogen per unit volume aerogel). These tests allow for an estimate on how much insulation is needed in certain situations. The theory behind the different processes of sorption is necessary for a better understanding of the preparation of the beads before they are used in an insulation system