An Explorational Study of Educational Leaders\u27 Attitudes, Opinions, Understanding, and Application of Student Growth Percentile (SGP) Data

Student Growth Percentiles have recently become popular as a way to report student progress over time. Because of the perception that they are relatively simple to understand, they have also become a popular tool to use when evaluating teachers and school-based administrators, even though this is not the purpose of their design. Previous studies have examined the impact of student growth measures on teachers who are evaluated annually with a tool that includes a component of student growth. This study builds on the previous work of Clauser, Keller, and McDermott (2016) and Collins (2014). It examines the actions and opinions of school-based leaders in a suburban school district in Metro Atlanta evaluated with the Georgia Leader Keys Effectiveness System, of which Student Growth Percentiles will be a component beginning in the 2021-2022 school year. Research participants completed an online survey and participated in a semistructured interview to identify what leaders think of these measures, how they utilize these measures in their educational practice, how they interpret these measures, and what decisions they make in response to these measures. The researcher identifies misinterpretations and misunderstandings of how to interpret Student Growth Percentile data and discusses their implications for future leader development. Because this study is limited to a single school district, there are many areas identified for future research

Hydrogen activation and catalytic reduction using low-valent group 14 complexes

Main group chemistry, and chemical catalysis using main group elements, has undergone a renaissance in the new millenium. Low-valent main group complexes have demonstrated reactivity once thought possible only for the transition metals (TM), and the advent of ‘frustrated Lewis pair’ (FLP) chemistry has enabled main group compounds to perform efficient catalysis, most notably catalytic hydrogenation. This thesis describes advancements that have been made by combining the TM-like nature of the low-valent group 14 elements with the concept of FLP chemistry. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the history and study of catalysis, the structure, bonding and reactivity of low-valent group 14 compounds, and FLP chemistry. Chapter 2 explores the FLP-type oxidative addition of H2 to a stannylene, catalysed by Lewis bases. A comprehensive mechanistic understanding is developed from a host of experimental and computational techniques. The use of Sn(IV) hydrides as reducing agents is subsequently investigated, and found to be limited in potential. Chapter 3 investigates the scope of stannylenes and germylenes that can participate in the FLP-mediated H2 activation reaction. A second mechanism is identified, generating transient E(II) monohydrides which are found to be potent reductants for ketones. Chapter 4 applies the understanding gained from the previous chapters to catalysis, uncovering the first example of catalytic hydrogenation of an imine using a tetrylene. Amidotetrylenes are further investigated as hydroboration catalysts, and found to be highly active with strongly electron-withdrawing ligands. Chapter 5 describes the ligand development undertaken for improvement of the catalytic hydrogenation system. Whilst no improved system is ultimately discovered, this chapter outlines the likely direction of successful future work. Chapter 6 contains experimental details of all the syntheses and reactions performed. A summary of all numbered structures is included on pages 22-24, and repeated in Appendix E for ease of reference.Open Acces

Mine water utilization as a secondary heat source and heat storage in a smart local heating and cooling distribution system

Mine water has been gaining increasing attention in recent years as a potential source for heat recovery and storage. This is due to its unique properties that make it an ideal medium for capturing and storing large amounts of thermal energy. Mine water is naturally heated by the earth's geothermal energy and typically has a constant temperature throughout the year, making it an excellent source of renewable energy. Additionally, the water's high thermal conductivity and large volumes provide an effective means for storing and transferring heat. With the increasing demand for sustainable energy sources and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the utilization of mine water for heat recovery and storage has become an attractive option for many industries and communities. In this project, we will explore the benefits of using mine water for heat recovery and storage, as well as some of the risks and challenges that need to be overcome to fully realize its potential as a renewable energy source

Federal Contracting: Senior Leaders Should Use Leading Companies’ Key Practices to Improve Performance

Excerpt from the Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual Acquisition Research SymposiumEach year, federal agencies spend over $500 billion to buy a wide variety of products and services, ranging from cutting-edge military aircraft to common office supplies. Given the federal funds spent and the missions these contracts support, it is critical that agencies’ procurement leaders manage their organizations effectively. GAO found procurement leaders at six of the federal government’s largest agencies did not consistently use key practices that leading companies use to improve the performance of their procurement organizations. For example, only the procurement leaders at NASA collaborated with end users when developing performance metrics. Corporate procurement leaders told GAO that collaboration with end users during the development and implementation of performance metrics increases coordination and improves performance at the strategic level. Additionally, GAO found procurement leaders at most of the agencies reviewed had ongoing or planned efforts to use performance metrics to measure at least one of the four procurement outcomes identified as important by corporate procurement leaders: (1) cost savings/avoidance, (2) timeliness of deliveries, (3) quality of deliverables, and (4) end-user satisfaction. However, all of the leaders had work to do to fully implement metrics measuring these outcomes. The original GAO report is accessible at www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-491.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Federal Contracting: Senior Leaders Should Use Leading Companies’ Key Practices to Improve Performance

Excerpt from the Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual Acquisition Research SymposiumEach year, federal agencies spend over $500 billion to buy a wide variety of products and services, ranging from cutting-edge military aircraft to common office supplies. Given the federal funds spent and the missions these contracts support, it is critical that agencies’ procurement leaders manage their organizations effectively. GAO found procurement leaders at six of the federal government’s largest agencies did not consistently use key practices that leading companies use to improve the performance of their procurement organizations. For example, only the procurement leaders at NASA collaborated with end users when developing performance metrics. Corporate procurement leaders told GAO that collaboration with end users during the development and implementation of performance metrics increases coordination and improves performance at the strategic level. Additionally, GAO found procurement leaders at most of the agencies reviewed had ongoing or planned efforts to use performance metrics to measure at least one of the four procurement outcomes identified as important by corporate procurement leaders: (1) cost savings/avoidance, (2) timeliness of deliveries, (3) quality of deliverables, and (4) end-user satisfaction. However, all of the leaders had work to do to fully implement metrics measuring these outcomes. The original GAO report is accessible at www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-491.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Senior Leaders Should Use Leading Companies’ Key Practices to Improve Performance

Symposium PresentationApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

A Case Study of the Integration of Mine water into Smart Cooling and Heating Network systems

Minewater presents a significant opportunity as an energy source and store in the UK and elsewhere. This research investigates the feasibility and factors necessary to successfully integrate minewater into smart cooling and heating network systems that can support acceleration towards the UK’s net zero target. Heat recovery from minewater offers a lowcarbon source of energy for either heating or cooling and can provide thermal storage, potentially valuable for inter-seasonal demand. The work builds on a feasibility study in Barnsley, Yorkshire, which explored the design of a heat network that integrates heat, power, and mobility and uses waste heat from a glass factory. This work focusses on analyzing the subsurface factors including flowrate, yield, mine void volume, and interconnectivity, which affect the flow and consequently thermal behavior of the available minewater. A 3D model using Petrel and Groundhog have been created combining data from the available boreholes and Coal Authority maps to characterise the subsurface conditions