Racial Disproportionality in School Discipline: Implicit Bias is Heavily Implicated

This issue brief shows that zero-tolerance policies that mandate automatic disciplinary consequences are applied unevenly across racial and ethnic groups, contributing to the disproportionality problem and creating risks of other negative life outcomes, such as higher drop-out rates, lower academic achievement, incarceration later in life and all of their collateral results

Interview: Professor Peter Weissberg, Medical Director of the BHF.

Dr James Rudd, Heart’s Digital Media Editor, interviewed Professor Peter Weissberg, Medical Director of the British Heart Foundation (BHF), in May 2016. As the largest independent funder of cardiovascular research in the UK (around £100 million annually), Peter has sage advice for young researchers considering a career in cardiovascular science. He looks back at some highlights from his 12 years at the BHF. Finally, Peter explains why there has never be en a better time to consider a career in cardiovascular research

Statistical exponential formulas for homogeneous diffusion

Let $\Delta^{1}_{p}$ denote the $1$-homogeneous $p$-Laplacian, for $1 \leq p \leq \infty$. This paper proves that the unique bounded, continuous viscosity solution $u$ of the Cauchy problem \left\{ \begin{array}{c} u_{t} \ - \ ( \frac{p}{ \, N + p - 2 \, } ) \, \Delta^{1}_{p} u ~ = ~ 0 \quad \mbox{for} \quad x \in \mathbb{R}^{N}, \quad t > 0 \\ \\ u(\cdot,0) ~ = ~ u_{0} \in BUC( \mathbb{R}^{N} ) \end{array} \right. is given by the exponential formula $$u(t) ~ := ~ \lim_{n \to \infty}{ \left( M^{t/n}_{p} \right)^{n} u_{0} } \,$$ where the statistical operator $M^{h}_{p} \colon BUC( \mathbb{R}^{N} ) \to BUC( \mathbb{R}^{N} )$ is defined by $$\left(M^{h}_{p} \varphi \right)(x) := (1-q) \operatorname{median}_{\partial B(x,\sqrt{2h})}{ \left\{ \, \varphi \, \right\} } + q \operatorname{mean}_{\partial B(x,\sqrt{2h})}{ \left\{ \, \varphi \, \right\} } \,$$ with $q := \frac{ N ( p - 1 ) }{ N + p - 2 }$, when $1 \leq p \leq 2$ and by $$\left(M^{h}_{p} \varphi \right)(x) := ( 1 - q ) \operatorname{midrange}_{\partial B(x,\sqrt{2h})}{ \left\{ \, \varphi \, \right\} } + q \operatorname{mean}_{\partial B(x,\sqrt{2h})}{ \left\{ \, \varphi \, \right\} } \,$$ with $q = \frac{ N }{ N + p - 2 }$, when $p \geq 2$. Possible extensions to problems with Dirichlet boundary conditions and to homogeneous diffusion on metric measure spaces are mentioned briefly

GCSE grades and GNVQ outcomes: results of a pilot study

This paper reports an investigation into the importance of basic skills in literacy and numeracy in the promotion of success on intermediate vocational courses at age 16+. Two measures of attainment in literacy and numeracy are examined; GCSE passes in English and Mathematics analysed by grade awarded and the Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit (ALBSU) tests in communication and numeracy. The study examines the relationship between prior attainment as attested by GCSE grades and ALBSU scores and course outcome. The extent to which a consistent relationship is found between GCSE grades and ALBSU scores is also examined. The study uses a random sample of 142 students drawn from a population of all first year 16/7 year old students who enrolled at a London Further Education college in 1994. A sub-sample of students on GNVQ Intermediate and NVQ level 2 courses is examined in greater depth. Data on course outcomes was collected at three points in time, 1995, one year after enrolment and on two occasions in 1996. It was therefore possible to chart the progress of students in the sample who took more than one year to complete an Intermediate (G)NVQ. Initial analysis found that at the GCSE middle grade range (Grades C,D,E,F) there was a wide range of literacy and numeracy outcomes as measured by the ALBSU literacy and numeracy tests. GCSE Maths and English passes at these grades do not appear to guarantee threshold attainment levels in basic numeracy and literacy. No significant relationship is found between prior attainment as measured by GCSE Maths and English grades and course outcomes. The ALBSU test scores proved to be more helpful in predicting student outcomes on the Intermediate GNVQ but were still fairly weak predictors. The high proportion of leaves from the sample, probably influenced by ''pull'' factors from the labour market, gives cause for concern. There is no evidence to indicate that weaker students leave Intermediate GNVQ courses early, if anything, the reverse is true. A significant proportion of Intermediate GNVQ courses early, if anything, the reverse is true. A significant proportion of Intermediate GNVQ students gained their awards after the prescribed one year study period. Commitment and motivation to succeed appear to be as - if not more - important than academic qualifications for success on Intermediate GNVQ. The study offers evidence that, for those motivated to persist with the studies, GNVQ can offer a valuable ''bridge'' to further and higher education opportunities to students who have performed poorly on ''academic'' GCSEs

First-principles calculation of mechanical properties of Si <001> nanowires and comparison to nanomechanical theory

We report the results of first-principles density functional theory calculations of the Young's modulus and other mechanical properties of hydrogen-passivated Si nanowires. The nanowires are taken to have predominantly {100} surfaces, with small {110} facets according to the Wulff shape. The Young's modulus, the equilibrium length and the constrained residual stress of a series of prismatic beams of differing sizes are found to have size dependences that scale like the surface area to volume ratio for all but the smallest beam. The results are compared with a continuum model and the results of classical atomistic calculations based on an empirical potential. We attribute the size dependence to specific physical structures and interactions. In particular, the hydrogen interactions on the surface and the charge density variations within the beam are quantified and used both to parameterize the continuum model and to account for the discrepancies between the two models and the first-principles results.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figure