A study to explore perceptions of Michigan public school superintendents regarding charter schools

This research studied perceptions of public school superintendents in Michigan regarding charter schools. Superintendents in Genessee, Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw, and Wayne Counties comprising 111 school districts, completed a two-part survey about charter schools that was developed by Ogden (1995) and modified for the current study. The survey consisted of 5 sections that measured perceptions in the following areas of charter schools: personal reactions to charter schools, intentions of charter schools, responsiveness of charter schools, effects of charter schools on public education, and funding issues involving charter schools and a short demographic survey. Superintendents were provided the opportunity to comment in three areas: accountability of charter schools, protections for students and parents in charter schools, and general observations. The largest group of superintendents agreed that charter schools were part of the future of public education, but were very skeptical about the ability of charter schools to provide better educational outcomes for students. They also agreed that the intent of charter schools was to increase student success, but not in the vocational area. Superintendents were quite negative regarding the idea that charter schools were a response to the business community\u27s demand for change in education. Finally, superintendents were very concerned that charter schools were impacting negatively on public school funding. Their negativity in this area was supported by their voluntary responses in the comments section of the survey. Significant findings were indicated on several items in sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the survey when compared to Ogden\u27s study. Mean scores on two sections of the survey, responsiveness of charter schools and effects of charter schools on public education were significantly below the mean, indicating that superintendents generally disagreed with the statements in these sections. In the sections on personal reactions to charter schools and funding issues involving charter schools, were significantly above the mean, indicating the superintendents were in agreement in regards to these areas of charter schools. The superintendents\u27 mean scores on the fifth subscale, intentions of charter schools, did not differ from the neutral point

Gene Flow Between Great Lakes Region Populations of the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly, \u3ci\u3ePapilio Canadensis\u3c/i\u3e, Near the Hybrid Zone With \u3ci\u3eP. Glaucus\u3c/i\u3e (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae)

Papilio canadensis were sampled from three locations on either side of Lake Michigan to study gene flow near and through a butterfly hybrid zone. Allele frequencies at four polymorphic enzyme loci, as indicated by allozyme electrophoresis, were similar in all samples. Values for FST were close to zero, indicating that gene flow is high among these populations, even when separated by Lake Michigan. We developed a mitochondrial DNA marker with diagnostic differences between P. canadensis and its parapatric sister species Papilio glaucus, based on PCR-RFLP. P. glaucus haplotypes of this mtDNA marker and P. glaucus alleles of a diagnostic allozyme locus (PGD) were found in P. canadensis populations sampled in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula but not in the Upper Peninsula or Northern Minnesota. The presence of P. glaucus alleles in P. canadensis populations could be due to introgression through hybridization, or could be remnants of a P. glaucus population that was inundated by an influx of P. canadensis alleles

Continuity and change in initial police training: A longitudinal case study.

This thesis, the fieldwork for which was undertaken between 2010 and 2012, examined an initial police training programme in one police force, ‘Ashton Police’ and of one cohort of 20 student officers, over a two year period. I conducted interviews with student officers and training staff, observations of classroom and operational training and documentary analysis to produce a longitudinal case study of initial police training and early career socialisation. Whilst this was a small-scale research project, its findings are applicable to initial training and policing more broadly as well as to current reforms. I found that many of the cohort of student officers in my study already had policing experience, some in Ashton Police itself. This meant that pre-existing features of police culture served to partially undermine some of the formal intentions of the programme, from the outset. Furthermore, I found that the different types of training were all problematic. Formal, classroom based training was insufficiently connected with operational police work. Supervised field training was overly reliant on the allocation of a single field trainer for the duration of that period and was adversely affected by organisational change. Informal training (as members of operational reliefs) became so attenuated from the training process, it resembled far more a period of work rather than of training. For these reasons student officers often appeared inadequately prepared for police work. I conclude that despite the introduction of a new programme (the Initial Police Learning and Development Programme) in 2006 in Ashton Police, intended to allow innovation in the way in which initial training was delivered, considerable continuity existed alongside change. This was particularly noticeable in the long-standing conflict between, on the one hand, legalistic and procedural approaches to initial training and on the other, a more humanistic approach. It appeared at times that the purpose of initial training was not clear. In relation to the wider arena of initial police training, I argue that many of its problems originate in the historical and socioeconomic context. The reforms of initial training and the new programme, from 2006, took place in politically contentious times for the police and so, carried too great an expectation of their impact. Some aspects of reform were possibly necessary to make but were not sufficient for long-term change. I argue that a social democratic perspective of the police that focuses on the detrimental impact on the police of social conditions in ‘liberal’ (rather than ‘social’) democracies provides a fuller understanding of the limits of these and future initial training reforms

NATO and the Ukraine Crisis: Collective Securitisation

AbstractIn securitisation theory (ST) little attention has been paid to how actors undertake securitisation collectively. The empirical focus of that theory has also, paradoxically, neglected the military-strategic sector and with it regional security organisations like NATO. Such an oversight is worth correcting for three reasons. First, NATO is constantly engaged in securitisation across a range of issues, a process that reflects an underappreciated recursive interaction between the Alliance and its member states. Second, the Ukraine crisis has resulted in Russia being explicitly identified as a source of threat and so has triggered a successful collective (re)securitisation by the Alliance. Third, a framework that demonstrates NATO’s standing as a securitising actor has potential relevance to other regional security organisations. This article discusses and amends ST in service of an approach that permits securitisation by actors other than the state, in this case NATO. A model of collective securitisation is presented and then applied empirically to the post-Cold War desecuritisation of Russia and its subsequent resecuritisation following the annexation of Crimea. The implications of resecuritisation for the emergence of a self-reinforcing security dilemma in NATO-Russia relations are also considered.</jats:p

Elucidation of Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis in Tetrahymena Reveals an Evolutionarily Convergent Recruitment of Dynamin

Ciliates, although single-celled organisms, contain numerous subcellular structures and pathways usually associated with metazoans. How this cell biological complexity relates to the evolution of molecular elements is unclear, because features in these cells have been defined mainly at the morphological level. Among these ciliate features are structures resembling clathrin-coated, endocytic pits associated with plasma membrane invaginations called parasomal sacs. The combination of genome-wide sequencing in Tetrahymena thermophila with tools for gene expression and replacement has allowed us to examine this pathway in detail. Here we demonstrate that parasomal sacs are sites of clathrin-dependent endocytosis and that AP-2 localizes to these sites. Unexpectedly, endocytosis in Tetrahymena also involves a protein in the dynamin family, Drp1p (Dynamin-related protein 1). While phylogenetic analysis of AP subunits indicates a primitive origin for clathrin-mediated endocytosis, similar analysis of dynamin-related proteins suggests, strikingly, that the recruitment of dynamin-family proteins to the endocytic pathway occurred independently during the course of the ciliate and metazoan radiations. Consistent with this, our functional analysis suggests that the precise roles of dynamins in endocytosis, as well as the mechanisms of targeting, differ in metazoans and ciliates

Elucidation of Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis in <i>Tetrahymena</i> Reveals an Evolutionarily Convergent Recruitment of Dynamin

Ciliates, although single-celled organisms, contain numerous subcellular structures and pathways usually associated with metazoans. How this cell biological complexity relates to the evolution of molecular elements is unclear, because features in these cells have been defined mainly at the morphological level. Among these ciliate features are structures resembling clathrin-coated, endocytic pits associated with plasma membrane invaginations called parasomal sacs. The combination of genome-wide sequencing in Tetrahymena thermophila with tools for gene expression and replacement has allowed us to examine this pathway in detail. Here we demonstrate that parasomal sacs are sites of clathrin-dependent endocytosis and that AP-2 localizes to these sites. Unexpectedly, endocytosis in Tetrahymena also involves a protein in the dynamin family, Drp1p (Dynamin-related protein 1). While phylogenetic analysis of AP subunits indicates a primitive origin for clathrin-mediated endocytosis, similar analysis of dynamin-related proteins suggests, strikingly, that the recruitment of dynamin-family proteins to the endocytic pathway occurred independently during the course of the ciliate and metazoan radiations. Consistent with this, our functional analysis suggests that the precise roles of dynamins in endocytosis, as well as the mechanisms of targeting, differ in metazoans and ciliates.</p

Energy Expenditure Overestimation Bias in Elliptical Trainer Machine

Elliptical trainers are a common mode of aerobic exercise in recreationally active populations. Those with a weight loss goal might rely upon the energy expenditure (EE) estimation that many elliptical brands provide to keep track of calories (kcals) burned and make nutritional decisions. For this reason, it is important to evaluate the accuracy of the algorithms used by elliptical trainers to estimate EE. The purpose of this study was to compare EE estimates by a common brand of elliptical trainer to that measured using open circuit spirometry, at different combinations of resistance and pedal speed. Twenty subjects (10 male, 10 female; 34 ± 12 yr; 175.3 ± 10.7 cm; 77.1 ± 14.1 kg) consented to participate. Each completed three 15-min bouts of elliptical exercise on the same elliptical trainer, with at least 24 hr between exercise bouts. Pedal rates were held constant throughout each bout at 50, 60, or 70 RPM, and resistance was increased incrementally every 5 min from level 5 to 10 to 15. The different cadences were completed in a randomized order between participants. Expired gases were collected continuously throughout the 15 min. Heart rate, distance (mi), and EE from the elliptical readout were recorded every 1 min. RPE was collected twice per resistance level. A two-tailed paired samples t-test was used to compare elliptical EE to measured EE. A linear regression model was used to evaluate the ability of the elliptical EE to predict measured EE. Significance for all statistical measures was held at an alpha level of 0.05. The difference between EE estimates from the elliptical and measured VO2 was significant (p Measured EE = 0.95*(Elliptical EE) – 3.161 In conclusion, the elliptical trainer used for this study demonstrated a bias to overestimate EE. This should be taken into account by health/fitness professionals using these estimations to program for clients. There may be some variation in the EE correction regression depending on elliptical model, and proper machine calibration should be ensured