Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2014

A joint effort by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and National Center for Education Statistics, this annual report examines crime occurring in schools and colleges. This report presents data on crime at school from the perspectives of students, teachers, principals, and the general population from an array of sources--the National Crime Victimization Survey, the School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the School Survey on Crime and Safety, the Schools and Staffing Survey, EDFacts, and the Campus Safety and Security Survey. The report covers topics such as victimization, bullying, school conditions, fights, weapons, the presence of security staff at school, availability and student use of drugs and alcohol, student perceptions of personal safety at school, and criminal incidents at postsecondary institutions

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2013

A joint effort by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and National Center for Education Statistics, this annual report examines crime occurring in schools and colleges. This report presents data on crime at school from the perspectives of students, teachers, principals, and the general population from an array of sources--the National Crime Victimization Survey, the School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the School Survey on Crime and Safety, the School and Staffing Survey and the Campus Safety and Security Survey

Experimentelle Analyse zweier logik-basierter Lernverfahren

Ein entscheidendes Problem des logik-basierten Lernens liegt in der Grösse des Hypothesenraumes. Möglichkeiten der Einschränkung sind das heuristische Durchsuchen eines vollständigen Hypothesenraums (z.B. FOIL) oder das vollständige Durchsuchen eines eingeschränkten Hypothesenraums (z.B. RDT). Während die theoretische Analyse die Lernbarkeit untersucht, wollen wir durch einen experimentellen Vergleich von RDT und FOIL feststellen, wie sich die unterschiedlichen Einschränkungen des Suchraums in der Praxis auswirken. Für unsere Experimente haben wir zum einen den KRK-Sachbereich und ausserdem einen neu modellierten Sachbereich, die Wohnortwahl für Studenten, verwendet. The paper is written in German

CORA - a knowledge based system for the analysis of case control studies

Carrying out a statistical analysis the researcher is concerned with the problem of choosing an appropriate statistical technique from a large number of competing methods. Most common statistical software offer different methods for analysing the data without giving any support concerning the adequacy of a method for a particular data set. This paper outlines the main features of the computer system CORA which provides a statistical analysis of stratified contingency tables and additionally supports the researcher at the different steps of this analysis. Here, the support given by the system consists of two different aspects. On the one hand, the help system of CORA contains general information on the implemented statistical methods which can be obtained on request. On the other hand an advice tool recommends an adequate statistical method which depends on the actual empirical casecontrol data to be analysed. To build up the advice tool a set of rules being discovered by machine learning from simulation studies is integrated into the system CORA. The paper is written in English

STRUTEX: A prototype knowledge-based system for initially configuring a structure to support point loads in two dimensions

Only recently have engineers begun making use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in the area of conceptual design. To continue filling this void in the design process, a prototype knowledge-based system, called STRUTEX has been developed to initially configure a structure to support point loads in two dimensions. This prototype was developed for testing the application of AI tools to conceptual design as opposed to being a testbed for new methods for improving structural analysis and optimization. This system combines numerical and symbolic processing by the computer with interactive problem solving aided by the vision of the user. How the system is constructed to interact with the user is described. Of special interest is the information flow between the knowledge base and the data base under control of the algorithmic main program. Examples of computed and refined structures are presented during the explanation of the system

Stroboscopic Interferometer for Measuring Mirror Vibrations

Stroboscopic interferometry is a technique for measuring the modes of vibration of mirrors that are lightweight and, therefore, unavoidably flexible. The technique was conceived especially for modal characterization of lightweight focusing mirror segments to be deployed in outer space; however, the technique can be applied to lightweight mirrors designed for use on Earth as well as the modal investigation of other optical and mechanical structures. To determine the modal structure of vibration of a mirror, it is necessary to excite the mirror by applying a force that varies periodically with time at a controllable frequency. The excitation can utilize sinusoidal, square, triangular, or even asynchronous waveforms. Because vibrational modes occur at specific resonant frequencies, it is necessary to perform synchronous measurements and sweep the frequency to locate the significant resonant modes. For a given mode it is possible to step the phase of data acquisition in order to capture the modal behavior over a single cycle of the resonant frequency. In order to measure interferometrically the vibrational response of the mirror at a given frequency, an interferometer must be suitably aligned with the mirror and adjustably phase-locked with the excitation signal. As in conventional stroboscopic photography, the basic idea in stroboscopic interferometry is to capture an image of the shape of a moving object (in this case, the vibrating mirror) at a specified instant of time in the vibration cycle. Adjusting the phase difference over a full cycle causes the interference fringes to vary over the full range of motion for the mode at the excitation frequency. The interference-fringe pattern is recorded as a function of the phase difference, and, from the resulting data, the surface shape of the mirror for the given mode is extracted. In addition to the interferometer and the mirror to be tested, the equipment needed for stroboscopic interferometry includes an arbitrary-function generator (that is, a signal generator), an oscilloscope, a trigger filter, and an advanced charge-coupled-device (CCD) camera. The optical components are positioned to form a pupil image of the mirror under test on the CCD chip, so that the interference pattern representative of the instantaneous mirror shape is imaged on the CCD chip

POR UMA VIDA BONITA: O RECONHECIMENTO DO OUTRO COMO LEGÍTIMO OUTRO, A LIDERANÇA ÉTICA E SERVIDORA E O CUIDADO DE SI - REFLEXÕES ACERCA DA EDUCAÇÃO E DA GESTÃO DE PESSOAS MEDIADAS POR MATURANA E FOUCAULT

Este texto pretende tecer conversações entre Humberto Maturana (2009) e o conceito foucaultiano do “cuidado de si”, a fim de pensar uma Educação que tenha como prerrogativa a aceitação do “outro como legítimo outro”. Busca relacionar os conceitos de Maturana e de Foucault acerca de uma vida ética, que reconhece o outro como legítimo outro, e que cuida de si cuidando do outro também num processo de gerir pessoas através da liderança ética e servidora. Pensa-se em uma educação cujo anseio seja o de promover subjetividades que se constituam a partir das práticas éticas de convivência. Por uma sociedade mais harmônica e igualitária, uma educação que aposte na formação de sujeitos construtores de si mesmo e de uma vida mais bela no coletivo da escola, com um processo iniciado na gestão de pessoas das instituições, e no caso específico deste artigo, o projeto “Novos Rumos da DGP”, que entende o gestor como líder que inspira e influencia a outras pessoas por entender que liderar é servir, é cuidar de si e do outro numa relação que promove uma vida bonita, porquanto transformada

La culture du coton ne bouleverse pas les échanges traditionnels de semences de sorgho

La plupart des cultivateurs de sorgho produisent leurs propres semences ou les obtiennent par échange. Ils utilisent peu les variétés proposées par les systèmes semenciers formels. C'est que l'échange de semences renforce les réseaux traditionnels de solidarité et favorise une gestion collective des risques, dans des conditions de culture particulièrement précaires. Notre étude vise à caractériser ces échanges et à vérifier si leur fréquence ou leurs modalités peuvent être modifiées dans un village produisant une culture commerciale, en l'occurrence, du coton. Elle a été conduite en 2004 et 2005 dans cinq villages du Burkina Faso. Les agriculteurs enquêtés ont été échantillonnés suivant la méthode " boule de neige ", qui permet de reconstituer plus facilement l'ensemble des liens d'échange. Les résultats montrent que les agriculteurs achètent et vendent peu de semences lorsque leurs récoltes sont suffisantes. La plupart des mouvements de semences sont gratuits ou non marchands, et ils tendent à suivre des règles traditionnelles. Plus les individus sont proches géographiquement et socialement, plus les échanges sont nombreux. Ainsi, l'échange a le plus souvent lieu entre personnes de même village, de même ethnie, ou de même famille. Néanmoins, ces pratiques ne sont pas exclusives et elles coexistent avec des échanges entre personnes non apparentées et de villages éloignés. En 2005, la comparaison d'un village " coton " (Siby) avec un village sans coton (Tiogo) a montré que les producteurs de coton se comportent comme les autres agriculteurs. Ils échangent autant de semences et de la même manière. Les réseaux informels d'échanges ne semblent donc pas menacés par le coton. Ceux du village cotonnier sont moins fournis mais plus étendus. Le don et les échanges intra-ethniques restent privilégiés et les échanges marchands n'ont pas augmenté. En revanche, l'organisation sociale engendrée par le coton a favorisé le développement d'échanges nouveaux, entre amis, alors que, dans le village sans coton, les échanges sont restés essentiellement familiaux. Grâce au coton, certains agriculteurs peuvent thésauriser et accéder à un mode alternatif et individuel de gestion de risque, mais ils restent néanmoins impliqués dans le système traditionnel tout en intégrant de nouveaux membres dans leurs échanges. (Résumé d'auteur