The Implication of Cultural Diversity in American Schools

The purpose of this article is to analyze the major factors responsible for the cultural diversity in America and their implications for professional educators. These factors include immigration, communication, linguistic diversity, cultural values, and desegregation. While some educators look to the demographics of the new student population, others consider historical clues as a method of understanding American diversity. Statistics about school achievement and dropout and graduation rates show the disparity among the ethnic groups. The new immigrants and ethnic groups may experience conflict as a result of cultural attitudes of teachers and peers. Individuals cannot be understood unless they are seen against the cultural history from which they have come and in terms of the situation in which they currently live. Because of the diversity in the American population, educators need to be sensitive to the cultural elements that may affect students\u27 performance and self-esteem

The argument of the broken pane: Suffragette consumerism and newspapers

Within the cut-throat world of newspaper advertising the newspapers of Britain's Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) Votes for Women and the Suffragette managed to achieve a balance that has often proved to be an impossible challenge for social movement press—namely the maintenance of a highly political stance whilst simultaneously exploiting the market system with advertising and merchandising. When the militant papers advocated window smashing of West End stores in 1912–1913, the companies who were the target still took advertisements. Why? What was the relationship between news values, militant violence and advertising income? ‘Do-it-yourself’ journalism operated within a context of ethical consumerism and promotionally orientated militancy. This resulted in newspaper connections between politics, commerce and a distinct market profile, evident in the customisation of advertising, retailer dialogue with militants and longer-term loyalty—symptomatic of a wider trend towards newspaper commercialism during this period

Nanostructured silicon photo-cathodes for x-ray generation

We report the fabrication and characterization of ultrafast laser triggered nanostructured silicon photo-cathodes for x-ray generation via inverse Compton scattering. A highly uniform array of ~2200 silicon pillars with 5 μm array pitch, where each pillar is capped by a nanosharp tip, shows stable current emission using 35 fs, 800 nm laser pulses. The cathodes can emit at 3.6 nA average current over 8-million 1.2 pC electron bunches when excited with 9.5 μJ laser pulses with no degradation of the emission characteristic of the cathode, showing that silicon-based photon-triggered cathodes processed with standard CMOS processes and operated at high vacuum can function for extended periods without performance degradation

Discipline-Specific Compared to Generic Training of Teachers in Higher Education

A recurrent theme arising in the higher education sector is the suitability and effectiveness of generic versus discipline-specific training of university teachers, who are often recruited based on their disciplinary specialties to become teachers in higher education. We compared two groups of participants who had undergone training using a generic post-graduate certificate in higher education (PGCertGeneric) versus a discipline-specific course in veterinary education (PGCertVetEd). The study was conducted using a survey that allowed comparison of participants who completed PGCertGeneric (n=21) with PGCertVetEd (n=22). Results indicated that participants from both PGCertGeneric and PGCertVetEd considered teaching to be satisfying and important to their careers, valued the teaching observation component of the course, and identified similar training needs. However, the participants of the PGCertVetEd felt that the course made them better teachers, valued the relevance of the components taught, understood course design better, were encouraged to do further courses/reading in teaching and learning, changed their teaching as a result of the course, and were less stressed about teaching as compared to the PGCertGeneric participants (p<.05). It is likely that the PGCertVetEd, which was designed and developed by veterinarians with a wider understanding of the veterinary sector, helped the participants perceive the training course as suited to their needs

Towards Harmonisation in Landscape Unit Delineation: An Analysis of Spanish Case Studies

[EN] The European Landscape Convention has encouraged member states to develop tools for landscape planning and management. Landscape character assessment is the most widespread approach. The aim of this paper is to identify the main trends in landscape unit delineation in Spain. For this purpose, 29 works are analysed by the Multiple Correspondence technique (MCA). Each work is characterised by a category of the variables: scale, type of extent, geomorphology, land matrix and visual boundaries. Results show that there is an implicit hierarchy in the way Spanish professionals are mapping landscape units. It is more apparent in variables related to geomorphology and less evident in variables related to land matrix. Regarding visual boundaries, they are not usually used at small scales and are more frequent at intermediate and large scales. The definition of clear criteria that allow comparable classifications and the increased consideration of cultural and perceptual factors is encouraged for future landscape character classifications.This work was supported by DGI and FEDER grant n8 AGL–2004-03263/AGR. We would like to thank Paz Aramburu, Rafael Escribano, Jordi Puig, the enterprise P&G and Florencio Zoido and Valencia Regional Department of Environment for the data provided for this research and also the R&D&I Linguistic Assistance Office at the Universidad Polite´cnica de Valencia for their help in revising and correcting this paper.Vallés-Planells, M.; Galiana, F.; Bru García, R. (2012). Towards Harmonisation in Landscape Unit Delineation: An Analysis of Spanish Case Studies. Landscape Research. 38(3):329-346. https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2011.647896S32934638

Public opinion on energy crops in the landscape: considerations for the expansion of renewable energy from biomass

Public attitudes were assessed towards two dedicated biomass crops – Miscanthus and Short Rotation Coppice (SRC), particularly regarding their visual impacts in the landscape. Results are based on responses to photographic and computer-generated images as the crops are still relatively scarce in the landscape. A questionnaire survey indicated little public concern about potential landscape aesthetics but more concern about attendant built infrastructure. Focus group meetings and interviews indicated support for biomass end uses that bring direct benefits to local communities. Questions arise as to how well the imagery used was able to portray the true nature of these tall, dense, perennial plants but based on the responses obtained and given the caveat that there was limited personal experience of the crops, it appears unlikely that wide-scale planting of biomass crops will give rise to substantial public concern in relation to their visual impact in the landscape

The relationship between general practice characteristics and quality of care: a national survey of quality indicators used in the UK Quality and Outcomes Framework, 2004–5

BACKGROUND: The descriptive information now available for primary care in the UK is unique in international terms. Under the 'Quality and Outcomes Framework' (QOF), data for 147 performance indicators are available for each general practice. We aimed to determine the relationship between the quality of primary care, as judged by the total QOF score, social deprivation and practice characteristics. METHODS: We obtained QOF data for each practice in England and linked these with census derived data (deprivation indices and proportion of patients born in a developing country). Characteristics of practices were also obtained. QOF and census data were available for 8480 practices. RESULTS: The median QOF score was 999.7 out of a possible maximum of 1050 points. Three characteristics were independently associated with higher QOF scores: training practices, group practices and practices in less socially deprived areas. In a regression model, these three factors explained 14.6% of the variation in QOF score. Higher list sizes per GP, turnover of registered patients, chronic disease prevalence, proportions of elderly patients or patients born in a developing country did not contribute to lower QOF scores in the final model. CONCLUSION: Socially deprived areas experience a lower quality of primary care, as judged by QOF scores. Social deprivation itself is an independent predictor of lower quality. Training and group practices are independent predictors of higher quality but these types of practices are less well represented in socially deprived areas

The Policy and Practice of Music Education in England, 2010-2020

Since the introduction of the National Plan for Music Education there have been significant changes in music education within England. Whilst some celebrate figures that report increased access and engagement, many teachers and others continue to have legitimate concerns regarding the quality of the music education on offer in schools and Music Education Hubs. There are concerns that the provision of music education is incoherent and patchy across the country. Many would argue that the opportunity to access high‐quality music education has become a ‘postcode lottery’. There is a sense that the fragmentation of music education as a result of curriculum reforms and the diversity of approaches taken by Music Education Hubs and other bodies has significantly enhanced this incoherence. This article seeks to review the policy and practice of music education in England over the last 10 years. It draws on recent research from various sources and maintains a particular focus on government policy and the consequences of this for the field as a whole. It reflects on how things could be improved in the future. It argues for a clearer focus on a practitioner‐led approach to research and advocacy, in particular one led by the notion of ‘policy as practice’ rather than continuing with the current approach and its intrinsic failings

Loop Interactions during Catalysis by Dihydrofolate Reductase fromMoritella profunda

Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) is often used as a model system to study the relation between protein dynamics and catalysis. We have studied a number of variants of the cold-adapted DHFR from Moritella profunda (MpDHFR), in which the catalytically important M20 and FG loops have been altered, and present a comparison with the corresponding variants of the wellstudied DHFR from Escherichia coli (EcDHFR). Mutations in the M20 loop do not affect the actual chemical step of transfer of hydride from reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate to the substrate 7,8-dihydrofolate in the catalytic cycle in either enzyme; they affect the steady state turnover rate in EcDHFR but not in MpDHFR. Mutations in the FG loop also have different effects on catalysis by the two DHFRs. Despite the two enzymes most likely sharing a common catalytic cycle at pH 7, motions of these loops, known to be important for progression through the catalytic cycle in EcDHFR, appear not to play a significant role in MpDHFR