INVESTIGATING THE RANSOMWARE INFECTION RATE OF K12 SCHOOL DISTRICTS DURING THE COVID PANDEMIC

Ransomware attacks have become part of the normal vernacular, as more organizations get attacked and must deal with the outcome in the media. School districts are in a unique position because of COVID and the sudden shift to online or hybrid learning. Over the past few years, ransomware attacks on K12 school districts have been widely reported in the news, leading to questions on whether K12 school districts are more vulnerable to these attacks. This project focused on: the prevalence of ransomware attacks in K12 School Districts in the USA in general and in the Inland Empire in particular, examining what value attackers gain by attacking a school district as well as looking at the costs incurred to the district because of an attack, whether K12 School districts in the Inland Empire are following cybersecurity best practices to protect in case of a ransomware attack. The findings are: that school districts are at a higher risk of ransomware attacks because they are soft targets with understaffed under budgeted IT departments, school districts do not pay ransoms and are left with the higher cost or remediation, there is a lack of security focus in the job descriptions for IT managers working in K12 in the Inland Empire, temporary school shutdowns due to ransomware are shown to negatively affect the GDP in the long term. The recommendations are: school districts should use COVID relief funds to hire/contract a CISO and figure out a way to keep the position funded into the future, [1] [2] school districts in the Inland Empire should hire more IT staff and focus on security awareness training for its users including students, schools should move away from passwords and replace it with 2FA using badge and pins. For future study the issues of long term funding for CISO positions and the creation of security awareness for K12 students needs to be addressed

The Chancellor's Model School Project (CMSP)

What does it take to create and implement a 7th to 8th grade middle school program where the great majority of students achieve at high academic levels regardless of their previous elementary school backgrounds? This was the major question that guided the research and development of a 7-year long project effort entitled the Chancellor's Model School Project (CMSP) from September 1991 to August 1998. The CMSP effort conducted largely in two New York City public schools was aimed at creating and testing a prototype 7th and 8th grade model program that was organized and test-implemented in two distinct project phases: Phase I of the CMSP effort was conducted from 1991 to 1995 as a 7th to 8th grade extension of an existing K-6 elementary school, and Phase II was conducted from 1995 to 1998 as a 7th to 8th grade middle school program that became an integral part of a newly established 7-12th grade high school. In Phase I, the CMSP demonstrated that with a highly structured curriculum coupled with strong academic support and increased learning time, students participating in the CMSP were able to develop a strong foundation for rigorous high school coursework within the space of 2 years (at the 7th and 8th grades). Mathematics and Reading test score data during Phase I of the project, clearly indicated that significant academic gains were obtained by almost all students -- at both the high and low ends of the spectrum -- regardless of their previous academic performance in the K-6 elementary school experience. The CMSP effort expanded in Phase II to include a fully operating 7-12 high school model. Achievement gains at the 7th and 8th grade levels in Phase II were tempered by the fact that incoming 7th grade students' academic background at the CMSP High School was significantly lower than students participating in Phase 1. Student performance in Phase II was also affected by the broadening of the CMSP effort from a 7-8th grade program to a fully functioning 7-12 high school which as a consequence lessened the focus and structure available to the 7-8th grade students and teachers -- as compared to Phase I. Nevertheless, the CMSP does represent a unique curriculum model for 7th and 8th grade students in urban middle schools. Experience in both Phase I and Phase II of the project allowed the CMSP to be developed and tested along the broad range of parameters and characteristics that embody an operating public school in an urban environment

La expresión corporal en el marco normativo de la LOE. Educación Secundaria Obligatoria

La Ley Orgánica de Educación (LOE) de 2006, modifica el Sistema Educativo español, estableciendo unas enseñanzas mínimas como primer nivel de concreción y delegando en las Administraciones educativas su desarrollo. Durante los años siguientes, las Comunidades Autónomas (CCAA) han venido articulando este segundo nivel de concreción. El presente trabajo analiza el bloque de Expresión Corporal, dentro de la asignatura de Educación Física, comparando el currículo establecido por el Ministerio con los aprobados por cada Comunidad. Analizamos el grado de concreción que llevan a cabo las Administraciones educativas sobre la propuesta ministerial, así como las modificaciones realizadas sobre el currículo de la LOE, centrando la atención sobre los contenidos propuestos en la materia. Los resultados muestran un heterogéneo grado de concreción sobre la propuesta del Estado. En dicha concreción observamos un posicionamiento común por parte de Comunidades de la misma tendencia política, que se desvinculan en ciertos aspectos de la LOE para recuperar los planteamientos de la legislación anterior. En cuanto a las aportaciones novedosas realizadas por las CCAA sobre los contenidos, estas son mayoritariamente de carácter procedimental, centradas principalmente en el aprendizaje de técnicas concretas más que en el aprendizaje a través de ellas. Son numerosas también las aportaciones actitudinales, en ocasiones de forma redundante. En algunas Comunidades, las aportaciones conceptuales rellenan el inexplicable hueco dejado por la propuesta de la LOE. Finalmente, no observamos una estructuración clara en el planteamiento de este bloque de contenidos por parte del Ministerio, como tampoco se encuentra tras la concreción de las CCA

Los contenidos de expresión corporal en la licenciatura en ciencias de la actividad física y del deporte

A partir del curso académico 2007/08 se produce un cambio en la formación universitaria en Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte ya que, conforme al Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior, es el último curso en que se imparte como Licenciatura por todas las universidades, siendo sustituida entre los cursos 2008/09 y el presente 2010/11 por el título de Grado. Ante tal situación planteamos una reflexión sobre la formación universitaria impartida en relación con la Expresión Corporal (EC), con el objetivo de analizar y comparar los contenidos presentes en las universidades públicas españolas. Tratamos de inferir orientaciones en cuanto al enfoque de la EC, así como las posibles diferencias en la formación del alumnado sobre esta materia obligatoria, incluida dentro de las Manifestaciones Básicas de la Motricidad Humana. Enmarcamos la investigación desde un paradigma naturalista, seleccionando como método el análisis documental y utilizando como herramienta el análisis de contenido que, tras la delimitación de las categorías a utilizar, aplicamos sobre los programas o guías docentes de las asignaturas, al considerar estos como el documento vinculante entre docente y alumnos respecto de la asignatura. Tras este análisis podemos concluir que la EC recibe un tratamiento heterogéneo en cuanto a los contenidos impartidos en las diferentes universidades públicas españolas, por lo que se puede afirmar la existencia de diferencias sustanciales en la formación recibida por los alumnos de las distintas universidades. Existe sin embargo un marco teórico común, fruto de la madurez de la materia, así como un consenso al considerar la Comunicación No verbal como contenido relacionado con la EC. Las principales diferencias surgen del tratamiento de las manifestaciones expresivo-corporales mostradas, así como del enfoque profesional al que se vincula la materia, pudiendo ser estos indicadores válidos para deducir la tendencia o enfoque adoptado sobre esta materia

La expresión corporal en la Enseñanza Secundaria Obligatoria y concrección por las Comunidades Autónomas

La Ley Orgánica de Educación de 2006 supone un cambio del sistema educativo vigente en España. En el presente artículo realizamos un análisis comparativo sobre el enfoque dado a la Expresión Corporal que, dentro de la asignatura de Educación Física, propone esta Ley respecto de la anterior legislación. Analizamos también el segundo nivel de concreción realizado por las Comunidades Autónomas, centrándonos principalmente en los contenidos mínimos. Encontramos aspectos relevantes referidos a contenidos, objetivos y criterios de evaluación, así como al paradigma desde el que se sitúa la labor docente que dificultan su aplicación en el aula. Al final del estudio se plantea la necesidad de estructurar los contenidos de esta materia de forma clara y sistemática en el ámbito de la Educación Secundaria

The top-quark mass in SU(5)xU(1) supergravity

We show that the currently experimentally preferred values of the top-quark mass (\ie, 130\lsim m_t\lsim180\GeV) are naturally understood in the context of string models, where the top-quark Yukawa coupling at the string scale is generically given by $\lambda_t={\cal O}(g)$, with $g$ the unified gauge coupling. A detailed study of the Yukawa sector of $SU(5)\times U(1)$ supergravity shows that the ratio of the bottom-quark to tau-lepton Yukawa couplings at the string scale is required to be in the range 0.7\lsim\lambda_b/\lambda_\tau\lsim1, depending on the values of $m_t$ and $m_b$. This result is consistent with $SU(5)\times U(1)$ symmetry, which does {\em not} require the equality of these Yukawa couplings in the unbroken symmetry phase of the theory. As a means of possibly predicting the value of $m_t$, we propose a procedure whereby the size of the allowed parameter space is determined as a function of $m_t$, since all sparticle and Higgs-boson masses and couplings depend non-trivially on $m_t$. At present, no significant preference for particular values of $m_t$ in $SU(5)\times U(1)$ supergravity is observed, except that high-precision LEP data requires m_t\lsim180\GeV.Comment: latex, 10 pages, 4 figures (included), CERN-TH.7138/94, CTP-TAMU-05/9

Fungicide Sensitivity of \u3ci\u3eSclerotinia sclerotiorum\u3c/i\u3e Isolates from Five States with Different Fungicide Treatments

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a plant pathogenic fungus that causes a disease called white mold that can infect more than 450 plant species including soybeans, dry beans, green beans, canola, and sunflower. This pathogen is capable of up to $252M in losses every year (U.S. Canola Association, 2014). Fungicides are widely used in developed agricultural systems to control disease. However, resistance to the most effective fungicides has emerged and spread in pathogen populations and there have been multiple reports of S. sclerotiorum isolates becoming resistant to certain fungicides. Since different fields in different states use different fungicide treatments on plants and different numbers of applications depending on environmental conditions, we hypothesize that isolates with the lowest fungicide sensitivity will be those that come from fields with more intensive fungicide applications. We aim to determine the fungicide sensitivity of S. sclerotiorum isolates from five states to assess the risk of resistance. Isolates were selected from dry bean fields from five states from the selection of isolates in the Evertart lab. Isolates were screened against boscalid, tetraconazole, picoxystrobin, and thiophanate methyl fungicides using discriminatory concentrations previously determined by members of the Everhart lab, and their EC50(D) was calculated. Differences in EC50(D) in different states hints at S. sclerotiorum developing resistance to commonly used fungicides. However, the hypothesis was only partially supported by the data since the baseline isolates (isolates that have never been exposed to fungicides) EC50(D) is not the lowest for all fungicides

Fungicide Sensitivity of \u3ci\u3eSclerotinia sclerotiorum\u3c/i\u3e Isolates from Five States with Different Fungicide Treatments

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a plant pathogenic fungus that causes a disease called white mold that can infect more than 450 plant species including soybeans, dry beans, green beans, canola, and sunflower. This pathogen is capable of up to $252M in losses every year (U.S. Canola Association, 2014). Fungicides are widely used in developed agricultural systems to control disease. However, resistance to the most effective fungicides has emerged and spread in pathogen populations and there have been multiple reports of S. sclerotiorum isolates becoming resistant to certain fungicides. Since different fields in different states use different fungicide treatments on plants and different numbers of applications depending on environmental conditions, we hypothesize that isolates with the lowest fungicide sensitivity will be those that come from fields with more intensive fungicide applications. We aim to determine the fungicide sensitivity of S. sclerotiorum isolates from five states to assess the risk of resistance. Isolates were selected from dry bean fields from five states from the selection of isolates in the Evertart lab. Isolates were screened against boscalid, tetraconazole, picoxystrobin, and thiophanate methyl fungicides using discriminatory concentrations previously determined by members of the Everhart lab, and their EC50(D) was calculated. Differences in EC50(D) in different states hints at S. sclerotiorum developing resistance to commonly used fungicides. However, the hypothesis was only partially supported by the data since the baseline isolates (isolates that have never been exposed to fungicides) EC50(D) is not the lowest for all fungicides

Fungicide Sensitivity of \u3ci\u3eSclerotinia sclerotiorum\u3c/i\u3e Isolates from Five States with Different Fungicide Treatments

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a plant pathogenic fungus that causes a disease called white mold that can infect more than 450 plant species including soybeans, dry beans, green beans, canola, and sunflower. This pathogen is capable of up to $252M in losses every year (U.S. Canola Association, 2014). Fungicides are widely used in developed agricultural systems to control disease. However, resistance to the most effective fungicides has emerged and spread in pathogen populations and there have been multiple reports of S. sclerotiorum isolates becoming resistant to certain fungicides. Since different fields in different states use different fungicide treatments on plants and different numbers of applications depending on environmental conditions, we hypothesize that isolates with the lowest fungicide sensitivity will be those that come from fields with more intensive fungicide applications. We aim to determine the fungicide sensitivity of S. sclerotiorum isolates from five states to assess the risk of resistance. Isolates were selected from dry bean fields from five states from the selection of isolates in the Evertart lab. Isolates were screened against boscalid, tetraconazole, picoxystrobin, and thiophanate methyl fungicides using discriminatory concentrations previously determined by members of the Everhart lab, and their EC50(D) was calculated. Differences in EC50(D) in different states hints at S. sclerotiorum developing resistance to commonly used fungicides. However, the hypothesis was only partially supported by the data since the baseline isolates (isolates that have never been exposed to fungicides) EC50(D) is not the lowest for all fungicides