The Role of Educational Leaders in Allocating Funding: A Multisite Case Study

In the state of California, economic uncertainties have made educational funding and student achievement a controversial topic. The recent adoption of the Local Control Funding Formula to address the state's overly complex and administratively costly school finance system suggests it is critical that educational leaders are prepared to make difficult budget decisions while maintaining a focus on increasing student achievement. The purpose of this case study was to clarify the decision-making process educational leaders use when allocating funding. The following research questions were explored: (a) How do school administrators describe their decision making processes and steps in allocating funding?, (b) What are the factors that influence school administrators when it comes to allocating funding?, and (c) How does student achievement factor into budget decisions? To provide critical background information for this case study, the three streams of research reviewed were: (a) the allocation of funding in public education, (b) the role of school administrators, and (c) the relationship between school funding and student achievement.Ed.D., Educational Leadership and Management -- Drexel University, 201

A high-resolution gamma-ray and hard X-ray spectrometer for solar flare observations in Max 1991

A long duration balloon flight instrument for Max 1991 designed to study the acceleration of greater than 10 MeV ions and greater than 15 keV electrons in solar flares through high resolution spectroscopy of the gamma ray lines and hard X-ray and gamma ray continuum is described. The instrument, HIREGS, consists of an array of high-purity, n-type coaxial germanium detectors (HPGe) cooled to less than 90 K and surrounded by a bismuth germanate (BGO) anticoincidence shield. It will cover the energy range 15 keV to 20 MeV with keV spectral resolution, sufficient for accurate measurement of all parameters of the expected gamma ray lines with the exception of the neutron capture deuterium line. Electrical segmentation of the HPGe detector into a thin front segment and a thick rear segment, together with pulse-shape discrimination, provides optimal dynamic range and signal-to-background characteristics for flare measurements. Neutrons and gamma rays up to approximately 0.1 to 1 GeV can be detected and identified with the combination of the HPGe detectors and rear BGO shield. The HIREGS is planned for long duration balloon flights (LDBF) for solar flare studies during Max 1991. The two exploratory LDBFs carried out at mid-latitudes in 1987 to 1988 are described, and the LDBFs in Antarctica, which could in principle provide 24 hour/day solar coverage and very long flight durations (20 to 30 days) because of minimal ballast requirements are discussed

Air Toxics Under The Big Sky – A High School Science Teaching Tool

A project has been developed between Big Sky High School and The University of Montana (UM) which has brought together high school students and teachers, university scientists, and county environmental health officials in a multilayered research experience focusing on the collection and analysis of specific air toxics, and investigating their relationship to respiratory diseases. The Air Toxics Under the Big Sky project allows students to benefit from an independent experience linking science, research, and local environmental issues. We see this as a long term project which will be built upon and expanded by future students during each new school year and as new schools are added. This project will foster a long-term scientific collaboration between UM and Montana high schools, and establishes high school students as valuable contributors to the scientific community while educating them about environmental issues

A facility for high resolution spectroscopy: Laboratory and ground based observations in support of upper atmospheric research

This research task consists of operating a facility for making spectroscopic observations in support of upper atmospheric research. The facility responds to the needs and interests of the visiting investigators. Therefore, the research objectives are not predetermined except in broad outline. The emphasis is on studies that take advantage of the particular strengths of the Fourier Transform Spectrometer on Kitt Peak: high spectral resolution combined with wide spectral range and low noise

Randomized Trial of Interventions to Improve Childhood Asthma in Homes with Wood-Burning Stoves

BACKGROUND: Household air pollution due to biomass combustion for residential heating adversely affects vulnerable populations. Randomized controlled trials to improve indoor air quality in homes of children with asthma are limited, and no such studies have been conducted in homes using wood for heating. OBJECTIVES: Our aims were to test the hypothesis that household-level interventions, specifically improved-technology wood-burning appliances or air-filtration devices, would improve health measures, in particular Pediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ) scores, relative to placebo, among children living with asthma in homes with wood-burning stoves. METHODS: A three-arm placebo-controlled randomized trial was conducted in homes with wood-burning stoves among children with asthma. Multiple preintervention and postintervention data included PAQLQ (primary outcome), peak expiratory flow (PEF) monitoring, diurnal peak flow variability (dPFV, an indicator of airway hyperreactivity) and indoor particulate matter (PM) PM2.5. RESULTS: Relative to placebo, neither the air filter nor the woodstove intervention showed improvement in quality-of-life measures. Among the secondary outcomes, dPFV showed a 4.1 percentage point decrease in variability [95% confidence interval (CI) = −7.8 to −0.4] for air-filtration use in comparison with placebo. The air-filter intervention showed a 67% (95% CI: 50% to 77%) reduction in indoor PM2.5, but no change was observed with the improved-technology woodstove intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Among children with asthma and chronic exposure to woodsmoke, an air-filter intervention that improved indoor air quality did not affect quality-of-life measures. Intent-to-treat analysis did show an improvement in the secondary measure of dPFV

What best animal science teachers do

Great teachers have the extraordinary ability to inspire and motivate even those students who resist learning. The top educators are knowledgeable not only about the content of the course they are teaching but also of the information, literature, and practice of instructional delivery to their audience. Many exemplary educators have been profiled and studied; however, there is a paucity of information pertaining to how the top animal science teachers teach. The objective of this study was to identify and describe characteristics of award-winning animal science teachers. The inclusion criterion for selecting faculty was being bestowed an excellence in teaching award through their professional organization. Each teacher answered a series of questions about themselves, their students, and the class being taught. Lecture was captured using a digital all-inclusive camera and later analyzed for pedagogical trends and instructor–student interactions. Despite a variety of topics being taught by award-winning teachers, there were multiple trends emerging from their classrooms. Common events included reviewing highlights of previous lectures, distributing something to students, posing questions during class, and calling on students by name. Each teacher taught differently, but they all understood their audience; they grasped the subject matter and most importantly, they valued students learning. Collectively, these findings can be utilized and applied by animal science teachers in their own environments in an attempt to foster improved student learning through excellent teaching

Atomic Hydrogen and Star Formation in the Bridge/Ring Interacting Galaxy Pair NGC 7714/7715 (Arp 284)

We present high spatial resolution 21 cm HI maps of the interacting galaxy pair NGC 7714/7715. We detect a massive (2 x 10**9 M(sun)) HI bridge connecting the galaxies that is parallel to but offset from the stellar bridge. A chain of HII regions traces the gaseous bridge, with H-alpha peaks near but not on the HI maxima. An HI tidal tail is also detected to the east of the smaller galaxy NGC 7715, similarly offset from a stellar tail. The strong partial stellar ring on the eastern side of NGC 7714 has no HI counterpart, but on the opposite side of NGC 7714 there is a 10**9 M(sun) HI loop 11 kpc in radius. Within the NGC 7714 disk, clumpy HI gas is observed associated with star formation regions. Redshifted HI absorption is detected towards the starburst nucleus. We compare the observed morphology and gas kinematics with gas dynamical models in which a low-mass companion has an off-center prograde collision with the outer disk of a larger galaxy. These simulations suggest that the bridge in NGC 7714/7715 is a hybrid between bridges seen in systems like M51 and the purely gaseous `splash' bridges found in ring galaxies like the Cartwheel. The offset between the stars and gas in the bridge may be due to dissipative cloud-cloud collisions occuring during the impact of the two gaseous disks.Comment: 31 pages, Latex, 11 figures, to be published in the July 10, 1997 issue of the Astrophysical Journa

OpenSHMEM Application Programming Interface, v1.0 Final

This document defines the elements of the OpenSHMEM Application Programming Interface. The purpose of the OpenSHMEM API is to provide programmers with a standard interface for writing parallel programs using C, C++ and Fortran with one-sided communication