Teacher Perceptions on the Ethics of Using Corporate-Sponsored Curriculum in the Classroom

Corporate involvement in education has always been a hotly debated issue. Is it a conflict of interests if companies provide material and information to schools? Or is it their civic responsibility and best interest to help promote education in order to create exceptional future employees? As budget cuts continue to devastate public schools throughout the United States, districts and teachers are looking for alternative means to provide the best education that they can. Many corporations are providing additional resources at minimal to no cost to schools, but with what consequences? Corporate created curriculum does not have as rigorous restrictions or overview as state/district adopted curriculum. Companies are essentially allowed to produce whatever they see fit, often leading to biased information and covert advertising. This study takes a critical look at the ethics surrounding the use of corporate-sponsored curriculum in public schools from a teacher perspective. Elementary teachers participated in a survey to research their perspectives on the effects of using corporate-sponsored curriculum within a classroom. Results were mixed, and teachers did not seem aware of the possible ramifications of using corporate-sponsored curriculum in their classroom. Overall, this study found that teachers need to learn more about corporate-sponsored curriculum and its possible effects on students. Teachers, sites, and districts should create a protocol to review commercial materials, and consider both the positive and negative consequences of bringing them into a classroom

Sheep fertility in Western Australia

Why do one-quarter of the ewes that are joined in W.A. fail to lamb? Sheep and Wool Adviser Dr. R. J. Lightfoot analyses the eight stages in sheep reproduction, explaining the causes and possible prevention of infertility at each stage

A detailed study of streamer chambers

This thesis describes the construction and operation of a neon helium streamer chamber. The design of a fast high voltage pulsing system, which utilises the energy stored in a water dielectric capacitor and has been charged by a Marx generator, is discussed in detail. The performance of the system is examined and its characteristics are investigated particularly where they are relevant to its use as a particle detector. A statistical model has been programmed and is used to predict and interpret the results obtained directly from the streamer chamber. The agreement between theory and practice is found to be good. The spacial accuracy of the device is measured and its resolution estimated. No significant sensitivity to ionisation has been found but a time resolution of less than 1 µsec appears feasible. Suggestions to improve the streamer chamber system are made and proposals for a second generation streamer chamber are given

The effects of shearing time and stocking rate on wool production

THE results of the first experiment comparing autumn versus spring shearing over a two-year period were published in 1960. In this experiment the autumn-shorn ewes cut heavier greasy fleeces (even though they also reared considerably more lambs) with less tender wool, resulting in a higher average return per head from this group. The autumn-shorn wool carried more seed, was less attractive and contained relatively more pieces than did the spring-shorn wool

Doublegee control in pasture : what is it worth

A recent study showed that the cost of spraying to control a heavy doublegee infestation can be recovered in the first year of the spraying

Grow more wool

THE amount of wool that each sheep grows is determined by many things, including the amount and quality of pasture available or how the sheep are fed, the stocking rate, the general health and thrift of the sheep and other management considerations such as cropping and the time of lambing

Flock testing : weighing, sampling and measurement procedures for fleece measurement

An outline of shearing-shed procedure for the collection of greasy fleece weight records and sampling of the fleece for detailed measurement by the Department of Agriculture Flock Testing Service for Merino stud breeders