Ready Educators Quality Improvement Pilot: Linking Program Improvement to Child Outcomes

This report is an evaluation of the first year of the Ready Educators Quality Improvement Pilot (REQIP), part of Thrive in 5's city-wide Ready Educators strategy. The pilot provided technical assistance and support to early education and care programs in centers and family child care homes that serve children from birth to age five. The REQIP theory of change posits that, to meet the goal of improved child outcomes, programs need to build "sustainable independent capacity to operationalize a continuous quality improvement process (CQI)." As the Pilot was envisioned, CQI involved the development of a Program Improvement Plan (PIP) through an assessment based on child-level and program data and with support from a Quality Improvement Partner (QIP). The PIP would then serve as the basis for technical assistance to meet the goals of the PIP, followed by a re-assessment using program and childlevel data. This CQI process would be sustained over time, in an ongoing continuous loop. In July 2013, after a competitive RFP process and with funding from the Barr Foundation, Thrive in 5 selected Wellesley Centers for Women to serve as the QIP

Bonding, Bridging, and Social Change

This paper discusses the efficacy of using Robert Putnam’s theory of social capital as the framework for forming long-term reciprocal relationship amongst Writing students, faculty, clients and staff of a community-based agency. In particular, I explore the ways the bonding and bridging relationships that Robert Putnam describes provide a conceptual framework for harnessing the gravitational push and pull we experience daily, as we cooperate and collaborate in various ways depending on circumstance and purpose. To illustrate my point, I provide an account of an on-going relationship between my students and the clients and staff of the James L. Maher Center, an agency that provides meaningful vocational, educational, educational, athletic, and social activities for differently-abled adults

Immigrant Integration: Educator Resource Guide

Recommends ways for district administrators, school administrators, and teachers to promote immigrant integration in schools in critical areas, including school enrollment, classroom instruction, student assessment, and family and community outreach

MANAGING AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS OVERSEAS: LESSONS FROM THE PAST

The prospect of trade liberalization at both the regional and global level opens up the possibility of increased agricultural investment in developing countries. Such opportunities can be very appealing to developed-country producers who face high domestic costs, particularly for land and labor. Further, foreign investment could be an extremely positive development in terms of using developed country technical knowledge to increase global food production. However putting this experience into practice overseas has not always been successful in the past. The history of expatriate investment in developing country agriculture does not offer many encouraging examples. Often overlooked in the literature of both agricultural economics and management, private investment in large-scale agricultural production, mostly undertaken by agribusinesses, has a poor record. Five case studies examined in this paper offer examples of what goes wrong which such investments. Based on the experience of these operations, it is the thesis of this paper that the main adaptation that these projects might have made is in the role of management.International Relations/Trade,

The growth and harvesting of algae in a micro-gravity environment

Algae growth in a micro-gravity environment is an important factor in supporting man's permanent presence in space. Algae can be used to produce food, oxygen, and pure water in a manned space station. A space station is one example of a situation where a Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) is imperative. In setting up a CELSS with an engineering approach at the Aerospace department of the University of Colorado, questions concerning algae growth in micro-g have arisen. The Get Away Special (GAS) Fluids Management project is a means through which many questions about the effects of a micro-g environment on the adequacy of growth rates, the viability of micro-organisms, and separation of gases and solids for harvesting purposes can be answered. In order to be compatible with the GAS tests, the algae must satisfy the following criteria: (1) rapid growth rates, (2) sustain viability over long periods of non-growth storage, and (3) very brief latency from storage to rapid growth. Testing indicates that the overall growth characteristics of Anacystis Nidulans satisfy the specifications of GAS's design constraints. In addition, data acquisition and the method of growth instigation are two specific problems being examined, as they will be encountered in interfacing with the GAS project. Flight testing will be two-fold, measurement of algae growth in micro-g and separation of algae from growth medium in an artificial gravitation field. Post flight results will provide information on algae viability in a micro-g environment as reflected by algal growth rates in space. Other post flight results will provide a basis for evaluating techniques for harvesting algae. The results from the GAS project will greatly assist the continuing effort of developing the CELSS and its applications for space

THE DEMAND FOR PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS: LAND TITLING, CREDIT, AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY IN MEXICO

Land titles can increase agricultural productivity by increasing access to collateralized credit. However, increased credit use depends on the assumption that farmers face asset-based credit rationing. This assumption is tested using data from Mexico's voluntary land titling program. The results do not support the existence of widespread credit rationing.Land Economics/Use,