Similar Districts with Different Results: Using The Baldrige Scale To Understand Outcome Differences in Rural School Districts in The Lower Rio Grande Valley

The research for this study describes the organizational characteristics and the personnel behaviors distinctive to high-achieving rural school districts. A comparison between two rural school districts, one high-achieving and the other low-achieving was completed using a survey instrument. The Baldrige National Quality Program instrument was administered used as the instrument from which seven dependent variables were utilized: (a) leadership, (b) strategic planning, (c) student, stakeholder, and market focus, (d) measurement, analysis, and knowledge management, (e) faculty and staff focus, (f) process management, and (g) perceptions of organizational performance. Fifty-eight teachers and administrators were sampled from two rural school districts in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. The survey used had been modified from the Baldrige National Quality Program to meet the needs of rural school districts. The modifications were made by Dr. Philip Meissen and the modified version was renamed the “Meissen-Are We Making Progress?” The statistical analysis employed consisted of checking reliability of the instrument, providing descriptive, exploratory, and confirmatory analyses. Significant differences were revealed between two districts in the sub-constructs of leadership and process management. Univariate analyses were performed which confirmed differences, p, is used for the proportion of variance in the dependent variable that is attributed to an effect size. Each respective effect size, measured by eta squared, was: .09, .08, .07, and .20. This shows that (1) leadership district mission=9% of the total variability, (2) leadership\u27s academic values=8% of the total variability, (3) work environment=7% of the total variability, and (4) leadership communication=20% of the total variability for the sub-construct leadership. Process management sub-construct had two questions which indicated significance for both high- and low-achieving school districts. Each respective effect size measured by eta squared was: .14, and .09. This means that the total variability for this sub-construct was 14% due to educational materials and 9% was due to control of the teaching process. No significant differences were found with regards to strategic planning, student, stakeholder, and market focus, measurement, analysis, and knowledge management, faculty and staff focus, and business results. The results of this study indicate that leadership and process management are different between high and low achieving school districts. Educational leaders in low-performing rural school districts may want to focus their attention on improving aspects of leadership and process management

Group Ministry for New Converts in Puerto Rico

Problem. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Puerto Rico is in need of programs to strengthen newly baptized converts. Method. Much literature related to disciple-building and small groups was researched in order to lay a spiritual foundation and find ways to meet the needs of new believers. Results/Conclusions. This study concludes that disciple-building is as much a rich biblical issue as any other subject of the sacred Book. However, this subject remains almost a virgin field from the standpoint of pragmatics. Although the problem is recognized both inside the Seventh-day Adventist Church and in other Christian bodies, very few plans have been developed to strengthen and retain new believers in the fold. In other words, much more time, money, and energy should be invested to keep these new believers in the church. This study establishes that the New Testament bears witness to the facts of (1) the relevance of disciple-building and (2) the involvement of Christ and the apostles in this particular ministry. It is not daring to say that the New Testament was and is a canon for disciple-building. After studying a large portion of the literature dealing with the field of small groups, it seems that, properly used, the strategy could be a means to offer new members both a support group and a small fellowship community to facilitate their integration into the larger church fellowship. Practical ideas as well as a curriculum is suggested in order to nurture new believers in the church through small group-ministry

Molecular characterization of the synapse from a proteomic perspective

The synapse is the most characteristic feature of the brain that allows the flow of information encoding our cognitive functions, behavior and memory. Slight perturbations in synaptic function can derive in wide range of psychiatric, neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the synaptic proteome and interactome in order to gain insights in the molecular mechanisms underlying synaptic function. To this end, we exploited the potential of multiple advanced mass spectrometry methodologies for protein identification, quantification, and protein interaction determination. In chapter 2, I investigated the molecular development of the synapse. This process requires prominent changes of the synaptic proteome and potentially involves thousands of different proteins at every synapse. We analyzed the cortical synaptic membrane proteome of juvenile, adolescent and adult mice brains using iTRAQ-based DDA quantitative proteomics. In several cases, proteins from a single functional molecular entity, e.g., subunits of the NMDA receptor, showed differences in their temporal regulation, which may reflect specific synaptic development features of connectivity, strength and plasticity. We also evaluated the function of Cxadr, a protein with high expression level at early stages and a fast decline in expression during neuronal development. Knockdown of the expression of Cxadr in cultured primary mouse neurons revealed a significant decrease in synapse density. Altogether, these results reveal the expression profile of synaptic proteome during development and provide new insights into the molecular processes underlying synaptogenesis and synapse maturation. In chapter 3, I explored the mechanism behind the synaptic modulation mediated by the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5. mGluR5 plays a major role in the modulation of synaptic function and plasticity, as well as in several brain disorders. Despite robust pre-clinical data, mGluR5 antagonists failed in several clinical trials, highlighting the need for a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying mGluR5 function. Using a proteomic approach, we determined the molecular response of the synapse to a reduction of mGluR5 activity by pharmacological inhibition and gene deletion. In both cases, the most prominent response of the synaptic proteome was the change in protein expression of key mitochondrial pathways. Together with this, we observed morphological and functional alterations of mitochondria in mGluR5 KO synapses. Our findings provide new insight into a functional connection of mGluR5 and specific mitochondrial function. In chapter 4, I applied XL-MS as entry into the synapse interactome, in particular to reveal the architecture and assembly of synaptic protein complexes. As a result, we generated to the first large-scale cross-linking repository in the brain. The reliability of the data was validated by several approaches as we deemed necessary for a recent methodology. In addition, a large part of the crosslink data contains novel information which allowed us to identify novel protein partners, to model protein conformational dynamics, and to delineate within and between protein interactions of main synaptic constituents, such as Camk2, the AMPA-type glutamate receptor, and associated proteins. Given the molecular complexity of the synapse and the large amount and depth of the data generated, we provided the complete dataset as an interactive web-based platform for further investigations (http://xlink.cncr.nl). Together, we generated one of the largest cross-linking collections that provided new entries into exploration of protein structures and interactions. Collectively, the application and development of multiple proteomic methodologies allowed us to reveal several aspects of the molecular architecture of the synapse, including protein composition, function, structure and interaction. Beyond the new insights uncovered for specific proteins in this thesis, the data resources generated can be further used for probing additional proteins and contributes to improve our understanding of synapse function and brain disease

Transcultural (dis-)orientations: Spain and England in Miguel y William (Inés París, 2007)

The film Miguel y William (Inés París, 2007) depicts a fictitious encounter between Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare in 1590 and fantasizes about the possibility of both writers competing for the love of the same woman while collaborating in creating a play. Criticism on this film has focused on the historical inaccuracies and the lack of realistic verisimilitude of this romantic comedy, which was clearly conceived as an exercise of fantasy and imagination rather than as a documentary biopic of the two literary giants. However, beyond the distorted specific details about the life of the two great writers as individuals, the film manages to create a compelling representation of two conflicting worlds (Renaissance England and Spain) which collide in the imagined encounter of the two geniuses. This paper will provide a reading of Miguel y William making use of the critical notion of “orientation”, as developed by Sara Ahmed in her influential work Queer Phenomenology, Orientation, Objects and Others (2006), in order to analyse the way the film constructs the opposing images of both nations at the time. If we look beyond its anachronisms and its conventional romantic comedy plot, Miguel y William can be read as a serious engagement with the authors’ time which reveals differing life attitudes that ultimately come to underline and reaffirm, in some cases through the traditional clichés and stereotypes about both countries taken from the “Black Legend”, the differences in their national identities.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Una mirada al capital cultural de los estudiantes de la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México

Durante 2012 los autores del presente artículo desarrollaron una investigación exploratoria en torno al capital cultural de los estudiantes de la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México. El propósito fue examinar sus hábitos de consumo cultural, lo cual implicaba su asistencia, recurrente o habitual, a la oferta universitaria, a través de instancias culturales oficiales. Se partió de la deducción de que no todos los estudiantes universitarios son iguales, pues están ubicados en niveles disímiles de formación, estudian diferentes carreras y provienen de distintos estratos sociales y económicos. En función de los resultados obtenidos, se propone una tipología sobre el capital cultural de los estudiantes, ligada al nivel formativo alcanzado y a la orientación académica de sus trayectorias escolares

La visita del ángel, de Vicente Leñero: un acercamiento a su mensaje social

Vicente Leñero es uno de los dramaturgos mexicanos más representativos de la segunda mitad del siglo XX. En el teatro, enfocó sus obras al Realismo para dotarlas de credibilidad y hacer posible la transmisión de su crítica social. La visita del ángel, obra escrita en 1980 y puesta en escena en 1981, muestra cómo se relacionan las personas de la tercera edad, así como las circunstancias desfavorables que atraviesan. Por ello, aunque haya sido escrita hace más de tres décadas, el tema es de actualidad debido al incremento de la población de adultos mayores en México. Este ensayo muestra los elementos esenciales relativos a la construcción discursiva de la obra La visita del ángel, y aporta algunas reflexiones sobre la construcción del mensaje social y su recepción

Clinical Significance of Langerhans Cells in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Larynx

Langerhans cells (LCs) may be involved in the immunosurveillance against tumors as antigen-presenting cells. Our objective has been to determine the relevance of LC in progression of larynx squamous cell carcinomas and their relationship with different subpopulations of tumor-infiltrating cells. LCs were investigated by immunohistochemical methods using anti-CD1 antibody. LCs were detected in most of the primary tumors studied (44 out of 50) and also in metastases (6 out of 10) and recurrences (2 out of 3), but we did not find any statistical association between number of LCs and clinical-pathological parameters or survival. However, the number of LCs was increased in patients with evident infiltration of lymphocytes, mainly cytotoxic T cells. We can conclude that although LCs did not show clinical utility as prognostic marker, they may play a role in releasing an active immune response in larynx carcinomas, according to their ability to present antigens to sensitized T cells

Performance of a Photovoltaic Pumping System

In this work, a PV pumping system was installed in a building at the University of Malaga. The system simulates a conventional PV pumping system which in real conditions would supply a small agricultural installation. In the installation under examination it has been find that it is possible to improve the overall efficiency of the system obtaining a similar volume of water with a less photovoltaic modules installed. It can be concluded that the optimal performance allow a lower investment cost. Also a lower surface for the PV generator is a benefit.Pumping water with solar photovoltaic (PV) is an application of particular interest in isolated systems. This technology has proven over the years to be an effective way to supply drinking water to communities, as well as for agricultural use (irrigation) and livestock (troughs). The earlier installations of PV pumping were based on the use of DC motors of medium and low power directly coupled to the PV generator operating centrifugal pumps. Later they have been proposing and using various types of systems based on different combinations of DC motors, AC motors, DC brushless motors, centrifugal pumps, positive displacement pumps, DC/DC converters and DC/AC inverters. They all have the common characteristic of being a result of specific developments to efficiently use in PV pumping systems. In this work a PV pumping system was installed on a building at the University of Malaga. The system simulates a conventional PV pumping system. A set of experiments has been carried out to study the performance of the system. In the installation studied, it has been proved that it is possible to improve the overall efficiency of the system by reducing the photovoltaic power installed to obtain the same volume of water. As a conclusion it may be said that a lower investment and less surface occupied by photovoltaic system is achieved.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Strategic planning of biomass and bioenergy technologies

Il dimensionamento di sistemi energetici sostenibili e rispettosi dell'ambiente è una sfida fondamentale che deve essere affrontata dalle nazioni di tutto il mondo. Questa sfida è particolarmente rilevante nei paesi in via di sviluppo, in quanto vi sono aree remote ancora non elettrificate, vi è una eccessiva dipendenza da fonti convenzionali di energia, si registra una carenza di risorse finanziarie e non sono sviluppate ed implementate adeguate politiche e regolamentazioni. L'obiettivo di questa tesi è lo sviluppo di una metodologia per la pianificazione strategica delle tecnologie basate su biomasse e bioenergie in genere, nei paesi in via di sviluppo. L'approccio seguito è quello di iniziare da un approccio generale e poi passare ad uno specifico contesto di applicazione, che nel caso in esame è la Colombia. Le metodologie sviluppate ed applicate nella tesi sono relative a quattro aree principali. In primo luogo, viene sviluppato un metodo per stimare l’attuale potenziale energetico della biomassa e la sua incertezza a livello nazionale, per tenere conto del fatto che la disponibilità e la qualità dei dati possono essere limitati. A questo scopo, si propone un approccio focalizzato sul tipo di risorsa e bottom-up, con analisi statistica che utilizza un algoritmo Monte Carlo. In secondo luogo, viene sviluppato un metodo per stimare il futuro potenziale energetico della biomassa e il cambiamento di uso del suolo, per paesi il cui mercato nazionale non influenza i mercati internazionali. Il metodo proposto è una combinazione di approcci focalizzati sul tipo di risorsa e guidati dalla domanda, in cui l'energia potenziale della biomassa è influenzato dalla domanda interna, dall’uso del suolo, dall'economia, dalla macroeconomia e dall'uso di biocarburanti globale. In terzo luogo, la tesi propone un metodo per tracciare la roadmap per l’utilizzo di tecnologie energetiche, adattato alle condizioni dei paesi in via di sviluppo, e una nuova strategia per costruire il consenso sulla base del metodo Delphi. Questi strumenti sono impiegati per la definizione di un piano per implementare tecnologie bioenergetiche sostenibili in Colombia fino al 2030. Il piano è costituito da una serie di obiettivi a lungo termine, di tappe, di barriere e di “azioni” individuate da più di 30 esperti per le diverse aree tecnologiche. In quarto luogo, viene sviluppato un modello generale di simulazione per valutare gli impatti che l’implementazione a lungo termine delle tecnologie bioenergetiche potrebbe causare su domanda e richiesta di energia, emissioni e uso del territorio a livello nazionale. Il metodo combina elementi sia quantitativi sia qualitativi. L'elemento qualitativo integra i risultati della tecnologia di sviluppo della roadmap con analisi di scenari per indagare varie storie con diverse ipotesi circa le azioni di politica energetica da attuare. L'elemento quantitativo comprende quattro strumenti integrati, vale a dire il modello di sistema energetico (ESM), l'uso del suolo e un modello di mercato (LUTM), un modello economico e un modello che tiene conto del clima. Questi strumenti servono per quantificare in modo integrato gli impatti conseguenti all’attuazione di diversi scenari sul sistema energetico, le emissioni e l’uso del suolo a livello nazionale, così come i legami con l'economia e il clima. I risultati dello studio per il caso della Colombia indicano che la diffusione di tecnologie per la produzione di biometano, la generazione di energia e la cogenerazione dovrebbero essere le tecnologie sulle quali investire per il futuro, in quanto permettono di ridurre le emissioni di metano, la sostituzione dei combustibili fossili, la riduzione delle emissioni di CO2 e la massimizzazione della riduzione di gas serra per suolo incrementale utilizzato per la produzione di bioenergia.The design of sustainable, environmentally friendly energy systems which have adequate capacity is a critical challenge faced by nations across the globe. This challenge is compounded in developing countries, which contain with remote areas yet to be connected to the grid, an over- dependence on conventional sources of energy, a shortage of financial resources, and, limited supporting policies and legislation. The objective of this thesis is to develop methods for strategic planning of biomass and bioenergy technologies in developing countries. The approach followed is to start from the general and move to the specific. After a general formulation of methods, an exemplary case study of Colombia is presented. The formulated methods cover four main areas. Firstly, a method to estimate the current biomass energy potential and its uncertainty at a country level is formulated when availability and quality of data are limited. For this purpose, a bottom-up resource-focused approach with statistical analysis using a Monte Carlo algorithm is proposed. Secondly, a method to estimate the future biomass energy potential and land use change is formulated for countries with domestic markets unable to influence international markets. The proposed method is a combination of resource-focused and demand driven approaches, in which the biomass energy potential is influenced by the internal demand, land use, economics, macroeconomics and global biofuel use. Thirdly, a method for energy technology roadmapping adapted to the conditions of developing countries and a new strategy to build consensus based on the Delphi method are formulated. These tools are employed for defining a plan to deploy sustainable bioenergy technologies in Colombia until 2030. The plan consists of a set of long-term goals, milestones, barriers and action items identified by over 30 experts for different bioenergy technology areas. Fourthly, a modeling framework to evaluate the impacts that long-term deployment of bioenergy technologies might cause on the energy supply and demand, emissions and land use at a country level is proposed. The method combines a quantitative and a qualitative element. The qualitative element integrates outcomes of technology roadmapping with scenario analysis to investigate various storylines with different underlying assumptions on policy measures. The quantitative element comprises four integrated tools, namely the energy system model (ESM), the land use and trade model (LUTM), an economic model, and an external climate model. These tools quantify in an integrated manner the impacts of implementing different scenarios on the energy system, emissions and land-use at a country level as well as the linkages with the economy and climate. Results of the study case of Colombia suggest that the deployment of technologies for biomethane production, power generation & CHP should be prioritized. These technology routes avoid methane release, substitute fossil fuels, reduce CO2 emissions and maximize the GHG reductions per incremental land of bioenergy