Asset Building in Low-income Communities of Color, Part 2

Examines practices and policies in states not ranked highly for promoting asset building in large communities of color. Compares factors viewed as supportive of asset accumulation as well as promising practices with those in states ranked highly

After the Bubble: The Survival and Ownership of Internet Marketplaces for Farmers and Agribusiness

This paper presents a theory of how industry structure and beliefs about Internet marketplace use have driven choice and ownership of marketplaces. The theory's predictions suggest that surviving Internet marketplaces will be those with strong historical linkages in an industry and those owned by or affiliated with major commodity buyers. Comparisons of these predictions with actual outcomes provide validation of the theory. Where predictions differ from results, observations are made as to the nature of the deviations.agricultural markets, electronic commerce, Internet markets, network externalities, technology adoption, Agribusiness,

LIFE3: A predictive costing tool for digital collections

Predicting the costs of long-term digital preservation is a crucial yet complex task for even the largest repositories and institutions. For smaller projects and individual researchers faced with preservation requirements, the problem is even more overwhelming, as they lack the accumulated experience of the former. Yet being able to estimate future preservation costs is vital to answering a range of important questions for each. The LIFE (Life Cycle Information for E-Literature) project, which has just completed its third phase, helps institutions and researchers address these concerns, reducing the financial and preservation risks, and allowing decision makers to assess a range of options in order to achieve effective preservation while operating within financial restraints. The project is a collaboration between University College London (UCL), The British Library and the Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute (HATII) at the University of Glasgow. Funding has been supplied in the UK by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) and the Research Information Network (RIN)

Requirements for implementing real-time control functional modules on a hierarchical parallel pipelined system

Analysis of a robot control system leads to a broad range of processing requirements. One fundamental requirement of a robot control system is the necessity of a microcomputer system in order to provide sufficient processing capability.The use of multiple processors in a parallel architecture is beneficial for a number of reasons, including better cost performance, modular growth, increased reliability through replication, and flexibility for testing alternate control strategies via different partitioning. A survey of the progression from low level control synchronizing primitives to higher level communication tools is presented. The system communication and control mechanisms of existing robot control systems are compared to the hierarchical control model. The impact of this design methodology on the current robot control systems is explored

E-COMMERCE IN AGRICULTURE: DEVELOPMENT, STRATEGY, AND MARKET IMPLICATIONS

Marketing,

BUILDING CAPACITY THROUGH A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE FOR STUDENTS WITH MODERATE TO SEVERE DISABILITIES SEEKING INCLUSION IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) is an urban school district in Louisville, Kentucky. While serving more than 100,000 students, JCPS is the 27th largest school system in the United States. JCPS serves students with moderate to severe disabilities (MSD) seeking to attain an alternative diploma upon exiting secondary school. Students with MSD enrolled in JCPS age 16 and older receive transition services to support post-secondary transition. Community stakeholders and JCPS central office staff are concerned about post school outcomes and transition for students with MSD. Based on a report by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), a majority of students with MSD in JCPS are not engaged in employment or higher education one year after exiting secondary schools (KYPSO 2013 Annual Report , 2013). While a national report shows this population accessing two-year and four-year colleges at a rate of 28% (U.S Department of Education IES, 2011), students with MSD in JCPS access two-year and four-year colleges at a diminished rate of 11% (KYPSO 2013 Annual Report , 2013). Based on my professional perception as transition administrator for JCPS’ Exceptional Child Education (ECE) Department and local data identifying post school outcomes for students with MSD, MSD teachers in JCPS lack capacity to facilitate the transition of their students into two-year and four-year colleges. The purpose of this action research was to build capacity in special education teachers and JCPS, through a Community of Practice (CoPs) for professional learning, to support a successful transition into two-year and four-year colleges for students with MSD. Using an action research design, this study utilized mixed methodologies to determine progress towards achievement targets. Applying the concurrent nested strategy model and triangulation of findings, the following three research questions will be informed: (a) what did the CoP actually do? (b) what changes occurred regarding the behaviors of special education teachers on identified achievement targets? (c) What were the teachers’ perceptions of the relationship, if any, between the actions of the CoP and noted changes in their professional behaviors? Action research participants included MSD teachers, central office staff, and external stakeholders. I served as both participant researcher and participant leader throughout the action research process. During a three-month period, four events were conducted in alignment with CoP framework (Wenger, McDermott, Snyder 2002). Data sources included documents (e.g., notes and agendas), participant exit interviews, survey questions, and observations of special education teachers’ professional learning. A comparative and ongoing analysis of data was used to support research questions. Special education teacher behaviors, aligned to achievement targets, were monitored using a Likert scale survey, every 30 days throughout the action. Categories and codes supported the development of themes for an analysis of MSD teacher exit interviews. Insights garnered were used to support future action and add to the body of research for educational leadership. The findings of this action research identified themes and data to support capacity building and leading within a central office support department of a large urban school district. The study revealed that special education teachers, when supported in professional learning, perceived an increase in their capacity to support MSD students and families seeking a transition to two-year or four-year colleges

Asset Building in Low-Income Communities of Color, Part 1

Examines practices and policies in states rated high on the Corporation for Enterprise Development's scorecard for asset building in poor communities of color. Analyzes socioeconomic, legislative, and other factors believed to support asset building

Theoretical and experimental studies of doping effects on thermodynamic properties of (Dy, Y)-ZrO2

Ionic oxide materials play a vital role in technical applications owing to their high-temperature capability and when used as thermal barrier coating (TBC) materials, for example, they have environmentally friendly effects such as improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. Doped ZrO2 based solid solution is attracting attention, whereas doping effects on thermodynamic properties are not well understood. This work reports the synthesis and characterization of doped ZrO2 with Dy3+ and Y3+ via a sol-gel route. The relationship between chemical composition and thermodynamic properties is investigated via experiment and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. MD simulation has been employed to theoretically explore the crystal structure and to calculate the intrinsic thermal conductivity, which agrees well with the experiment measurement. The thermal conductivity of dense samples is lower than that of conventional 6–8 wt.% Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2 (equivalent to 4 mol% Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2, 4YSZ) at room temperature. The coefficient of thermal expansion is higher due to the doping Dy3+ ion compared with that of 4YSZ. The thermochemical compatibility of Dy0.06Y0.072Zr0.868O1.934 with Al2O3 which is critical for the durability of the TBC system has been studied and can be maintained up to 1500 °C

Trends in Child Health 1997-2006: Assessing Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Low Birthweight

Examines the prevalence of low birthweight among African-American, Latino/Hispanic, and white children born in 1997-2006 and whether insurance status or type, region, family type, or parents' education, marital status, employment, or poverty are factors