Perceived Training Needs of Principals in Northeast Tennessee: Analysis of Data in Two Selected Years

The problem of this study was to compare perceived training needs of public school administrators at two points in time and to analyze those needs as to age, sex, educational degree, and experience of respondents. The survey population consisted of public school principals in the 14 systems of the First Educational District in Northeast Tennessee. A descriptive research design was chosen for the study. A follow-up questionnaire was developed based on the 1986 Brown Survey which surveyed the same population for demographic and professional characteristics in addition to the perceived training needs of principals, superintendents, and school board members. Respondents prioritized training needs from most beneficial to least beneficial. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in answering five research questions which directed the study. The statistical analyses revealed the following: perceived training needs remained stable during the 2 year period, clusters of training needs consistently appeared in the top five and bottom five interest areas, and various approaches were utilized by First Educational District principals to address their perceived training needs. Curriculum and Instruction was identified by all groups of respondents as their top priority for additional training, indicating a recognition of need for more training in the fundamentals of teaching and learning. Others included in the top five training needs were Staff Evaluation, Leadership, Staff Development, and Effective Schools. Those consistently reported in the bottom five training needs included Organizational Governance, Organizational Communication, Law/Policy, Budget, and Problem Solving. The results of this study should prove useful to institutions of higher education in planning programs and courses of study for school administrators. An abundance of opportunities exists to provide much needed advanced training for principals in Northeast Tennessee

The Life of Mother Marie-Joseph De L’enfant Jesus, Or, How a Little English Girl from Wells Became a Big French Politician

In 1703 seven-year-old Esther Wheelwright was kidnapped from her home by the Wabanaki during an attack on the town of Wells, Maine. Ultimately sold to a French missionary and taken to Quebec, she converted to Catholicism, entered the Ursuline convent, and rose to become their first and last English-born Mother Superior. Her biographers have seen Esther Wheelwright/Mother Esther de L’Enfant Jesus as a passive instrument of religion and politics and have rendered her nothing more than an antiquarian curiosity. This study instead explores how her ability to cross many borders— national, religious, and linguistic—enabled Mother Esther to become both an influential religious leader and a skilled diplomat. By exploring the political dimensions of her life, this essay also reconciles the often competing demands of biography, which can work to diminish women’s lives, and women’s history, which seeks to put women’s experiences at the center of historical analysis. Ann M. Little is an Assistant Professor of History at Colorado State University. She has recently completed a book manuscript, Abraham in Arms: Gender and Power on the New England Frontier, 1620-1760. This essay is a preliminary exploration of a second book, a biographical study of Mother Esther de L‘Enfant Jesus

A Phonetic Context Analysis of Nine Frequently Misarticulated Sounds

No abstract provided by author

Identification of a novel Wilms' tumour 1 binding protein

The paediatric, nephroblastoma Wilms' Tumour, affecting 1 in 10,000 children, is a disease where the disruption in the normal events of kidney development leads to tumour formation. The WT1 gene has been shown by knockout experiments to be crucial in kidney and gonadal development. The structure of the protein, which contains four zinc fingers of the Kriippeltype, together with in vitro work, suggests WT1 is a transcription factor. Other work however also suggests that the protein may be involved in post-transcriptional regulation as WT1 localises and co-immunoprecipitates with splicing factors. The structure of the protein also backs up this possible role as WT1 has a putative RNA recognition motif and the zinc fingers can bind RNA in vitro.The genuine functions of WT1 are thus not clear so this project set out to address what WT1 is doing at the molecular level. By looking for WT1-binding proteins, 1 aimed to investigate which components of the cellular machinery WT1 is interacting with, as it is only once we comprehend the molecular mechanism behind development that we will begin to understand the link with tumourigenesis.Using a yeast two hybrid screen I identified a protein that interacts with the C-terminus of WT1. As this protein is novel, with no homologues found in the yeast or invertebrate databases, it was called NAL (Novel Associating Ligand). NAL was mapped, using FISH, to human chromosome 6q26-27, a location which possibly harbours a tumour suppressor gene. The mouse homologue was cloned and, at the amino acid level, is 94% identical to the human clone. This sequence conservation suggests that whatever the role of this novel protein may be, its structure must be important for function. Using FISH and the EUCIB resource, the mouse homologue was mapped close to the centromere on chromosome 17, a region which has conserved synteny with human 6q26-27 and which maps close to the murine T-locus.In vitro assays showed that the interaction between NAL and WT1 could occur outside of the yeast two hybrid system and in vivo co-immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that the interaction is physiologically relevant as it occurs in WT1-expressing cells. Expression studies using RT-PCR and whole mount in situ hybridisation showed that NAL is ubiquitously expressed. The expression pattern of NAL during development of the kidney and testis was also investigated to see if, like WT1, NAL is confined to the developing nephron and Sertoli cells respectively. Immunohistochemistry revealed that NAL is expressed in all cells of these organs and thus is not exclusively localised to cells expressing WT1, suggesting that NAL may play a housekeeping role.Immunofluorescence indicated that N AL is a nuclear protein and its distribution within the nucleus was interesting as it resembled that of WT 1: a speckled pattern within an overall diffuse staining. Immunocytochemistry confirmed that this protein, like WT1, does indeed co-localise with splicing factors. Thus it will be of interest to see if this protein really is involved in splicing. Unfortunately no further functional assays could be carried out and so future work needs to be carried out to determine its true role and the potential significance of its interaction with WT1

The White Elephant in the Classroom: A Case Study on Understanding Whiteness to Become an Antiracist Teacher in the Rural Classroom

While the public-school classroom has increasingly become more diverse, the teaching population has not. Research studies on race and its role in the classroom have been necessary considering the predominantly white teaching force and the opportunity gap that exists in the education outcomes of students of color and that of their white peers; furthermore, a gap in rural and urban studies on white teachers working with students of color provided the additional impetus for the study. This study seeks to add to the emerging field of second-wave white teacher identity studies. The purpose of this case study was to discover the ways in which white rural teachers were engaging in anti-racist teaching and challenging systemic racism by understanding their perceived biases and beliefs about race. By using a Critical Race Theory lens but situating the study as a second wave white teacher study, this study is significant by providing an asset-based examination of how white rural teachers have worked to understand their whiteness and are engaging in culturally responsive pedagogy with antiracist teaching practices as a means of challenging institutionalized racism in rural schools and communities. Using an interview protocol, field notes, and researcher journal, the following themes became evident in this study: (1) the lack of pre-service preparation or in-service professional development in understanding the structures of whiteness or racism in education, (2) the lack of space and leadership for white teachers to unpack feelings and reflect upon race, (3) the use of antiracist teaching practices, (4) the awareness that rural, majority white, schools need antiracist education for teachers and students. Keywords: whiteness, critical race theory, second wave white teacher identity studies, critical whiteness studies, culturally responsive teaching, social justice, antiracist teaching, pedagog

Passionate Histories

This book examines the emotional engagements of both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous people with Indigenous history. The contributors are a mix of Indigenous and Non-Indigenous scholars, who in different ways examine how the past lives on in the present, as myth, memory, and history. Each chapter throws fresh light on an aspect of history-making by or about Indigenous people, such as the extent of massacres on the frontier, the myth of Aboriginal male idleness, the controversy over Flynn of the Inland, the meaning of the Referendum of 1967, and the policy and practice of Indigenous child removal

Theoretical approach to oxygen atom degradation of silver

Based on available Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and ellipsometry data obtained on silver specimens subjected to atomic oxygen attack in low Earth orbit STS flight 41-G, a theory was developed to model the oxygen atom degradation of silver. The diffusion of atomic oxygen in a microscopically nonuniform medium is an essential constituent of the theory. The driving force for diffusion is the macroscopic electrochemical potential gradient developed between the specimen surface exposed to the ambient and the bulk of the silver specimen. The longitudinal electric effect developed parallel to the gradient is modified by space charge of the diffusing charged species. Lateral electric fields and concentration differences also exist due to the nonuniform nature of the medium. The lateral concentration differences are found to be more important than the lateral electric fields in modifying the diffusion rate. The model was evaluated numerically. Qualitative agreement exists between the kinetics predicted by the theory and kinetic data taken in ground-based experiments utilizing a plasma asher

Passionate Histories

This book examines the emotional engagements of both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous people with Indigenous history. The contributors are a mix of Indigenous and Non-Indigenous scholars, who in different ways examine how the past lives on in the present, as myth, memory, and history. Each chapter throws fresh light on an aspect of history-making by or about Indigenous people, such as the extent of massacres on the frontier, the myth of Aboriginal male idleness, the controversy over Flynn of the Inland, the meaning of the Referendum of 1967, and the policy and practice of Indigenous child removal

Response to Intervention (RTI) and Promising Practices: What Works at the Secondary Level

The primary focus of RtI has been at the elementary school level. However, over the past few years there has been a shift, and RtI has been expanding to secondary schools. Through this expansion, it is unclear if RtI has been effectively implemented at the secondary level. The ultimate goal for any school implementing change is institutionalization or sustainability. Therefore, this qualitative case study examined the institutionalization or sustainability of RtI systems in one high school. This study was designed to deepen the understanding of secondary RtI and to add to the literature on RtI at the secondary level. The purpose was to understand how one secondary school addressed the complexity and uniqueness of the secondary environment while sustaining RtI practices. The participants in this study shared several research-based practices that they believed assisted struggling students to become academically successful. The findings regarding RtI practices and implementation were supported by researchers whose works were analyzed in the literature review. The study concluded that understanding the phases of change, the three major forces which influenced change and a clear, well thought out plan are vital components to success

Adaptation and Art: An Examination of the Costume Design Process in a Global Pandemic

Exploring experiences in the Costume Design and Technology Program at the University of South Carolina, this thesis entails the extensive journey from the first trepidatious costume rendering to fully designing costumes for a studio feature film that may be sold to Hallmark. Through a comprehensive curriculum that involved designing costumes for three realized productions, acquiring proficient skills in drawing, painting, digital rendering, patternmaking, and draping, I was able to finish off with an internship semester that encompassed five professional jobs in the industry. My odyssey highlights the ability to adapt to new challenges, including navigating the global pandemic as an artist. This thesis showcases how art and adaptation work hand in hand, emphasizing the importance of creative flexibility in the Costume Design Industry