Testing Times: A School Case Study

A highly successful, innovative and creative alternative to traditional education is confronted by the demands of contemporary standardized accountability. The account here is a chronicle of the resistance of a particular school, the Durant School, to the global changes that would destroy its local ecologya school whose fight against the imposition of state standards and mandated tests has been a fight to preserve its integrity, its mission, and its autonomy

α-Arrestins Aly1 and Aly2 Regulate Intracellular Trafficking in Response to Nutrient Signaling

Arrestins, known regulators of endocytosis, take on novel functions in nutrient-regulated endosomal recycling. Yeast α-arrestins, Aly1 and Aly2, redistribute the Gap1 permease from endosomes to the cell surface and interact with clathrin/AP-1. Aly2 is regulated by the Npr1 kinase and acts through mechanisms distinct from Aly1

Senegal: Presidential elections 2019 - The shining example of democratic transition immersed in muddy power-politics

Whereas Senegal has long been sold as a showcase of democracy in Africa, including peaceful political alternance, things apparently changed fundamentally with the Senegalese presidentials of 2019 that brought new configurations. One of the major issues was political transhumance that has been elevated to the rank of religion in defiance of morality. It threatened political stability and peace. In response, social networks of predominantly young activists, created in 2011 in the aftermath of the Arab Spring focused on grass-roots advocacy with the electorate on good governance and democracy. They proposed a break with a political system that they consider as neo-colonialist. Moreover, Senegal’s justice is frequently accused to be biased, and the servility of the Constitutional Council which is in the first place an electoral court has often been denounced

Malaria vector species in Colombia: a review

Here we present a comprehensive review of the literature on the vectorial importance of the major Anopheles malaria vectors in Colombia. We provide basic information on the geographical distribution, altitudinal range, immature habitats, adult behaviour, feeding preferences and anthropophily, endophily and infectivity rates. We additionally review information on the life cycle, longevity and population fluctuation of Colombian Anopheles species. Emphasis was placed on the primary vectors that have been epidemiologically incriminated in malaria transmission: Anopheles darlingi, Anopheles albimanus and Anopheles nuneztovari. The role of a selection of local, regional or secondary vectors (e.g., Anopheles pseudopunctipennis and Anopheles neivai) is also discussed. We highlight the importance of combining biological, morphological and molecular data for the correct taxonomical determination of a given species, particularly for members of the species complexes. We likewise emphasise the importance of studying the bionomics of primary and secondary vectors along with an examination of the local conditions affecting the transmission of malaria. The presence and spread of the major vectors and the emergence of secondary species capable of transmitting human Plasmodia are of great interest. When selecting control measures, the anopheline diversity in the region must be considered. Variation in macroclimate conditions over a species' geographical range must be well understood and targeted to plan effective control measures based on the population dynamics of the local Anopheles species

Test duress: A case study of a high school with a progressive mission and its response to high-stakes graduation tests

In this dissertation the author asks: if schools with a progressive mission provide a viable alternative to traditional schooling (Semel, 1999; Sizer, 1996), then how do these types of high schools respond when faced with state-mandated high-stakes graduation exams—a pervasive and growing phenomenon—that require the learning of specific content? To address this problem, the author examined how a small, urban public high school with a progressive mission responded to its state's policy of high-stakes graduation exams during the first two years of test implementation, why the school responded as it did, and the meaning the school imparted to the graduation tests. The author found that the school responded with both active resistance and compliance, employing four main tactics and several devices to garner a reprieve. Four main reasons for this resistance emerged: a clearly-defined alternative mission and approach, a commitment to the school by an experienced faculty, teacher commitment to the students, and the principal's leadership. The reason for the school's compliance with the mandates also stems from the teachers' commitment to the students. The case study is theoretically informed by Foucault's theories (1977/1995, 1978/1990, 1980) on discipline and power and conceptualizes the accountability system of high-stakes testing as a disciplinary system (Aper, 2002; Vinson & Ross, 2001). The data corpus consists of field notes, interviews and documents previously collected by the author over two years when working on the Spencer-funded project Change Over Time? (Hargreaves & Goodson, 2003). The analysis is guided both by a priori codes derived from Gore's (1998) work on Foucauldian techniques of power as well as emergent codes for the purpose of developing grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1990) about the response of schools with a progressive mission to high-stakes testing. The study is intended to extend the research on high-stakes testing as it increases understandings of its consequences on schools. A clearer understanding of these consequences will address assumptions proponents have made about the use of high-stakes testing and further the debate on whether standards-based accountability is improving our nation's schools

An Exploratory Study of Curiosity in Three-, Four- and Five-Year-Old Children

This study investigated the development of curiosity in young children. A previous study by Kreitler, Zigler, and Kreitler had identified five specific types of curiosity, manipulatory curiosity, perceptual curiosity, conceptual curiosity, curiosity about the complex, and adjustive-reactive curiosity. The basic problem was to describe the development of these five types of curiosity in three-, four-, and five-year-old children. A secondary problem was to determine if children follow a predictable pattern in their development of the five types of curiosity. Five tasks, measuring nineteen variables of curiosity, were administered individually to thirty three-year-olds, thirty four-year-olds, and thirty five-year-olds by a trained rater. Mean scores for each variable and each type of curiosity were calculated for each group

The American country girl,

Mode of access: Internet