6,175 research outputs found
An Examination of Professional Development Activities Available to Teachers in the Mid-America Region of the Association of Christian Schools International
The spotlight in education in recent years has been focused on the areas of professional development activities for teachers and the development of professional learning communities. However, the majority of research has omitted the Christian school community which requires its own body of research examining the unique conditions in which both private school students and educators learn and work. While the need for student achievement remains constant in both public and private schools, the social, philosophical, political, financial, and emotional contexts are quite dissimilar. The purpose of this study is to examine the availability and utilization of professional development activities in select schools in the Mid-America Region of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) that support the development of professional learning communities (PLC).
By identifying effective and affordable professional development for Christian schools, this study provides usable information that can minimize teacher isolation and encourage the professional development necessary for continued teacher growth and quality as well as student achievement. The findings also support the need for teachers to become less isolated and confident in their craft through engagement in appropriate professional activities. As teacher quality and student achievement increase, this may also positively affect the future of the Christian school community, strengthening enrollment and stability
Book Reviews
Abandonment of Settlements and Regions: Ethnoarchaeological and Archaeological Approaches, edited by Catherine M. Cameron and Steve A. Tomka. Cambridge University Press. 1993.
The Ouachita Mountains: A Guide for Fishermen, Hunters, and Travelers, by Milton D. Rafferty and John C. Catau. Norman: The University of Oklahoma Press. 1991. 308 pages, notes, references, index
Nitrous Oxide: Mechanism of Its Antinociceptive Action
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an anesthetic gas known to produce an analgesic effect at sub-anesthetic concentrations. This analgesic property of N2O can be clinically exploited in a broad range of conditions where pain relief is indicated. The mechanism of this analgesic effect was long thought to be nonspecific in nature, but a landmark study by Berkowitz and others in 1976 first implicated an opioid mechanism of action, possibly via N2O-stimulated neuronal release of endogenous opioid peptides to activate opioid receptors. N2O-induced release of opioid peptide has been demonstrated in both in vivo and in vitro preparations. Reversal of N2O-induced antinociception in animals by narcotic antagonists has been reported by a number of laboratories. Subsequent studies have utilized more selective opioid antagonists to identify the opioid receptor subtypes involved in the antinociceptive effect of N2O. Extensive pharmacological testing in the mouse abdominal constriction and rat hot plate paradigms have established that N2O-induced antinociception is mediated by κ-opioid receptors in the former and by µ- and -opioid receptors in the latter. Current studies focus on two recent developments. The poor responsiveness of the DBA/2J mouse strain to N2O has led to pharmacogenetic studies that hope to identify the underlying genetic basis for antinociceptive responsiveness to N2O. Other research suggests an involvement of nitric oxide (NO) in mediating the antinociceptive effects of N2O in both rats and mice
Stripe Disordering Transition
We have recently begun Monte Carlo simulations of the dynamics of stripe
phases in the cuprates. A simple model of spinodal decomposition of the holes
allows us to incorporate Coulomb repulsion and coherency strains. We find
evidence for a possible stripe disordering transition, at a temperature below
the pseudogap onset. Experimental searches for such a transition can provide
constraints for models of stripe formation.Comment: 4 pages LaTex, 2 ps figures (U. of Miami Conference HTS99
Heat-load simulator for heat sink design
Heat-load simulator is fabricated from 1/4-inch aluminum plate with a contact surface equal in dimensions and configuration to those of the electronic installation. The method controls thermal output to simulate actual electronic component thermal output
SO(6)-Generalized Pseudogap Model of the Cuprates
The smooth evolution of the tunneling gap of Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8 with doping
from a pseudogap state in the underdoped cuprates to a superconducting state at
optimal and overdoping reflects an underlying SO(6) instability structure of
the (pi,0) saddle points. The pseudogap is probably not associated with
superconductivity, but is related to competing nesting instabilities, which are
responsible for the stripe phases. We earlier introduced a simple Ansatz of
this competition in terms of a pinned Balseiro-Falicov (pBF) model of competing
charge density wave and (s-wave) superconductivity. This model gives a good
description of the phase diagram and the tunneling and photoemission spectra.
Here, we briefly review these results, and discuss some recent developments:
experimental evidence for a non-superconducting component to the pseudogap; and
SO(6) generalizations of the pBF model, including flux phase and d-wave
superconductivity.Comment: 6 pages LaTex, 4 ps figures (U. of Miami Conference HTS99
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