Alternative Pathways to High School Graduation: An International Comparison

Evaluates alternative pathways to high school graduation -- such as school- or employment-based technical or vocational training programs -- in different countries, in terms of content, graduation requirements, inclusiveness, and outcomes

'It Depends on the Students Themselves': Independent Language Learning at an Indonesian State School

There is continuing interest in the notion of learner autonomy, both as an effective means and valid goal of a language learning curriculum. However, the concept is recognised as emanating from Western tertiary educational contexts and as open to question in different sociocultural settings. This paper reports on a study of language learning attitudes and activity among adolescents in provincial Indonesia, during their first year in junior high school. Combining questionnaire, interview and classroom observation data, the study found that even younger learners are already learning English independently of their teacher's prescriptions, both inside the classroom and outside formal school. Their openness to the increasing learning opportunities in the local environment is often not recognised in local curricula, however, which instead impose a rigid diet of language items transmitted by teachers and their textbooks and assessed in national exams. In this local context, it seems that the promotion of appropriate forms of learner autonomy is essential if the majority of school pupils are not to be frustrated in their struggle to learn English

The Study and Expression of Bharatanatyam Classical India Dance

Bharatanatyam is a classical Southern style of Indian dance originating from Tamil Nadu, and is now practiced all over the world. During my stay in India, I learned from Dr. Joshi, Nupur Bharatnattyam Nrityalaya. According to my teacher, this specific dance style is designed to accompany songs that honor and/or describe a God’s story. The dance can vary according to the song and its specific meaning or intent. In my Honors Capstone Project, I composed a fusion choreography using original Bharatnatyam movements performed to Eastern European Slavic Music (artist: Kitka). Every hand, eye, foot, and body movement has a meaning and was incorporated into this choreography. The choreography was then taught to the local dance troupe, Cold Fusion, and performed at Tundra Caravan’s showcase, featuring Suzanne DelVecchio. The performance of this choreography was well received and performed at many other local events. My Capstone Project helped lead the way for more Indian dance to be taught in Fairbanks, AK, as well as further expand my own knowledge

Analysis of data on retention of high school band students

Includes bibliographical references

Insertion Heuristics for Central Cycle Problems

A central cycle problem requires a cycle that is reasonably short and keeps a the maximum distance from any node not on the cycle to its nearest node on the cycle reasonably low. The objective may be to minimise maximumdistance or cycle length and the solution may have further constraints. Most classes of central cycle problems are NP-hard. This paper investigates insertion heuristics for central cycle problems, drawing on insertion heuristics for p-centres [7] and travelling salesman tours [21]. It shows that a modified farthest insertion heuristic has reasonable worstcase bounds for a particular class of problem. It then compares the performance of two farthest insertion heuristics against each other and against bounds (where available) obtained by integer programming on a range of problems from TSPLIB [20]. It shows that a simple farthest insertion heuristic is fast, performs well in practice and so is likely to be useful for a general problems or as the basis for more complex heuristics for specific problems