Olhando para além dos muros da escola: Uma análise do ambiente das Escolas Públicas de Minneapolis, 2004-2008

We provide an expanded environmental scan to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) faced by education communities. Grounded in the literature, we identified 48 indicators and grouped them into 6 broad categories: (1) budget levels, (2) funding patterns, (3) community needs, (4) external economic conditions, (5) political culture, and (6) children outcomes. We then created sub-categories for each of these six groupings based on whether the data came from school reports, non-school, governmental data, or not-for-profit entities. From these data, we developed a template with strategic guidelines for education leaders in varying environmental contexts. The discussion integrates school finance, fiscal condition analysis, leadership and organizational research to develop a framework that is then applied to the Minneapolis Public Schools for school years 2004 through 2008. The retrospective examination supports the utility of the strategic guidelines offered in the framework. Education leaders found a mixed educational climate in Minneapolis Public Schools for the years examined. There was cause for concern in the declining revenues for children services by other governmental agencies and increasing numbers of schools not making annual yearly progress. However, there were also opportunities apparent in the number of schools that offered International Baccalaureate and other rigorous programs and the support of schools as indicated by passage of local referenda.Proporcionamos una exploración del entorno ampliado para evaluar las fortalezas, debilidades, oportunidades y amenazas (análisis SWOT por sus iniciales en inglés) que enfrentan las comunidades educativas. Siguiendo la literatura especializada, se identificaron 48 indicadores y agrupados en 6 grandes categorías: (1) niveles presupuestarios, (2) modalidades de financiamiento, (3) necesidades de la comunidad, (4) condiciones económicas externas, (5) cultura política, y (6) resultados de los estudiantes. Se crearon subcategorías para cada uno de estos seis grupos en función de si los datos provienen de informes escolares, datos gubernamentales no escolares, o entidades sin fines de lucro. A partir de estos datos, hemos desarrollado una plantilla con directrices estratégicas para las autoridades educativas de los diferentes contextos. La discusión integra variables de financiamiento educativo, análisis de la situación fiscal, liderazgo e investigación de la organización para desarrollar un marco conceptual que fue aplicado para analizar las escuelas públicas de Minneapolis para los años escolares 2004 hasta 2008. El examen retrospectivo apoya la utilidad de las líneas estratégicas que se ofrecen en este marco. Los líderes educativos encontraron un clima educativo mixto en escuelas públicas de Minneapolis para los años examinados. Había preocupación por la disminución de los ingresos en los servicios infantiles de otras agencias gubernamentales y el creciente número de escuelas que no consiguieron las marcas de progreso anual. Sin embargo, también hubo oportunidades de mejora evidenciadas en el número de escuelas que ofrecen Bachillerato Internacional y otros programas rigurosos y el apoyo de las escuelas, como se indica por el paso de referendos locales. Nós fornecemos uma varredura expandida para avaliar os pontos fortes, pontos fracos, oportunidades e ameaças (análise SWOT por sua sigla em Inglês) que as comunidades educativas enfrentam. Com base na literatura, foram identificados 48 indicadores que foram agrupados em seis grandes categorias: (1) os níveis de orçamento, (2) as modalidades de financiamento, (3) as necessidades da comunidade, (4) condições econômicas externas, (5) cultura política e (6) resultados dos alunos. Em seguida, forma criadas subcategorias para cada um desses seis grupos, tomando como base a proveniência dos dados: se provêm de relatórios escolares, de instituições não-escolares do governo, ou de entidades sem fins lucrativos. A partir destes dados, foi desenvolvido um modelo com orientações estratégicas para autoridades educativas em diferentes contextos. A discussão inclui variáveis de financiamento da educação, a análise da situação, liderança e organização de investigação fiscal para desenvolver um marco conceitual que foi em seguida aplicado para analisar as escolas públicas de Minneapolis nos anos letivos de 2004 até 2008. O exame retrospectivo apoia a utilidade das estratégias oferecidas neste marco conceitual. Líderes educacionais encontraram um clima educacional misto nas escolas públicas de Minneapolis nos anos analisados. Houve uma grande preocupação sobre o declínio das receitas de serviços para crianças por outras agências do governo e do número crescente de escolas que não conseguiram atingir as metas de progresso anual. No entanto, houve também oportunidades de melhoria evidenciadas no número de escolas que oferecem Bacharelado Internacional e outros programas rigorosos e apoio das escolas, conforme indicado pela passagem de referendos locais.

Independent Directors\u27 Dissensions and Firm Value

Using a novel dataset of independent directors’ voting activities on items proposed by managers of Korean firms, we investigate whether independent directors’ dissension in board meetings plays an effective role in enhancing firm value through improved corporate governance. Our results indicate that dissension improves firm value. This finding is robust to different measures of firm value and alternative model specifications including subsample, propensity score matching, and instrumental variable analyses. Overall, we contribute to the understanding of the relation between corporate governance and firm value. Specifically, we provide new evidence that the monitoring by independent directors enhances firm value

Real-time delay-multiply-and-sum beamforming with coherence factor for in vivo clinical photoacoustic imaging of humans

In the clinical photoacoustic (PA) imaging, ultrasound (US) array transducers are typically used to provide B-mode images in real-time. To form a B-mode image, delay-and-sum (DAS) beamforming algorithm is the most commonly used algorithm because of its ease of implementation. However, this algorithm suffers from low image resolution and low contrast drawbacks. To address this issue, delay-multiply-and-sum (DMAS) beamforming algorithm has been developed to provide enhanced image quality with higher contrast, and narrower main lobe compared but has limitations on the imaging speed for clinical applications. In this paper, we present an enhanced real-time DMAS algorithm with modified coherence factor (CF) for clinical PA imaging of humans in vivo. Our algorithm improves the lateral resolution and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of original DMAS beam-former by suppressing the background noise and side lobes using the coherence of received signals. We optimized the computations of the proposed DMAS with CF (DMAS-CF) to achieve real-time frame rate imaging on a graphics processing unit (GPU). To evaluate the proposed algorithm, we implemented DAS and DMAS with/without CF on a clinical US/PA imaging system and quantitatively assessed their processing speed and image quality. The processing time to reconstruct one B-mode image using DAS, DAS with CF (DAS-CF), DMAS, and DMAS-CF algorithms was 7.5, 7.6, 11.1, and 11.3 ms, respectively, all achieving the real-time imaging frame rate. In terms of the image quality, the proposed DMAS-CF algorithm improved the lateral resolution and SNR by 55.4% and 93.6 dB, respectively, compared to the DAS algorithm in the phantom imaging experiments. We believe the proposed DMAS-CF algorithm and its real-time implementation contributes significantly to the improvement of imaging quality of clinical US/PA imaging system.11Ysciescopu

Efficient Graduated Non-Convexity for Pose Graph Optimization

We propose a novel approach to Graduated Non-Convexity (GNC) and demonstrate its efficacy through its application in robust pose graph optimization, a key component in SLAM backends. Traditional GNC methods often rely on heuristic methods for GNC schedule, updating control parameter {\mu} for escalating the non-convexity. In contrast, our approach leverages the properties of convex functions and convex optimization to identify the boundary points beyond which convexity is no longer guaranteed, thereby eliminating redundant optimization steps in existing methodologies and enhancing both speed and robustness. We show that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art method in terms of speed and accuracy when used for robust back-end pose graph optimization via GNC. Our work builds upon and enhances the open-source riSAM framework. Our implementation can be accessed from: https://github.com/SNU-DLLAB/EGNC-PGOComment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Evaluation of the effect of photoplethysmograms on workers’ exposure to methyl bromide using second derivative

Methyl bromide (MB) is worldwide the only effective fumigant heavily used for quarantine pre-shipment treatment and has a critical use exemption for soil fumigations due to its excellent permeability and insecticidal effect. However, MB should be replaced as it is an an ozone-depleting substance and also highly toxic to humans. Recently, MB has been shown to be hazardous even for asymptomatic workers, affecting their central and autonomic nervous systems. However, the effects of MB exposure on vascular health have not been explored. This study aimed to determine whether MB affects the arterial system of asymptomatic workers. We measured the second derivative of the photoplethysmogram (SDPTG) indices, which are indicators of vascular load and aging, and urinary bromide ion (Br−) concentrations in 44 fumigators (study group) and 20 inspectors (control group) before and after fumigation. In fumigators, the mean values of post-work SDPTG indices (b/a, c/a, d/a, e/a, and SDPTG aging index) and Br− levels were significantly changed compared to their pre-work values (p < 0.05), indicating a negative effect on their cardiovascular health. In contrast, SDPTG indices and Br− levels in inspectors did not show any differences before and after work. All SDPTG indices except c/a showed significant correlations with Br− levels in all individuals (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the Br− levels and SDPTG indices of fumigators varied after MB work, and they experienced negative effects on their health despite being asymptomatic