In the United States, diverse learners, defined by race, ethnicity, language, and socioeconomic status, do poorly in mathematics in disproportionate numbers. Research suggests that teachers who use instructional practices that build on the cultural strengths of racial and ethnic minorities can increase academic achievement for these students. Using culturally relevant pedagogy as a theoretical framework, this qualitative case study investigated the equity pedagogy of three secondary mathematics student interns in an alternative teacher preparation program during their student teaching experience. The following research questions were also investigated: What school factors do the interns perceive to influence their decisions in implementing equity pedagogy? Which aspects of the teacher education program do the interns perceive to most influence their implementation of equity pedagogy? For the purpose of this study, equity pedagogy is defined as modifying instructional practices in order to facilitate the academic achievement of students from diverse racial, ethnic, and/or socioeconomic backgrounds by applying the components of Zeichner et al.'s (1998) curriculum and instruction principles specifically to the secondary mathematics classroom. Data collected through videotaped classroom observations, field notes, semistructured interviews, and examination of the participants’ reflective journals were analyzed and categorized as follows: building on prior knowledge, high expectations for diverse learners, knowing students well, culturally responsive pedagogical skills, critical consciousness, sharing of power, and multiple funds of knowledge. Data analysis showed evidence of all seven aspects of equity pedagogy by one or more of the participants, although they demonstrated these practices to varying degrees. Colorblindness, lack of appropriate mentors, time constraints, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards (NCTM, 2000), and culturally responsive pedagogical skills that had been modeled in their mathematics methods courses most affected the interns’ implementation of equity pedagogy. These results indicate that preservice teachers need a framework to critically reflect on issues of equity in education, time to develop equitable teaching practices, and teacher educators that go beyond didactic discussions of inequity to make explicit the equitable teaching practices they want their students to learn.

No description available.

Nowadays, organizations have to deal more and more with cultural diversity concerning their workforce due to globalization. The challenge for these organizations is to manage the cross cultural workforce in an effective way. Therefore, they have to have skills and the necessary knowledge in order to conduct cross cultural management. For this reason, the purpose of this study was to investigate how a cross cultural workforce could be managed effectively. In order to get insights into what differences exist between employees of different cultures, what kind of problems can arise out of these differences and how these problems can be overcome through cross cultural management, a qualitative research approach in form of a case study was conducted. Hereby, interviews with three managers including two head of departments were conducted. These interviews have used the frame of reference as foundation including well-known theories like Hofstede, Inglehart, the eight value orientations, McGregor and some other theories. The statements of the interviews were evaluated and analyzed in order to find answers to the research questions stated in the thesis. The findings of this study show that the management team at LTU is not necessarily focusing on cross cultural differences as the impact is less negative than expected. However, conflicts that still arise do not really seem to have bad consequences at LTU. Therefore, these conflicts can be fixed relatively easy by applying the most important variables connected to encountering cross cultural challenges in the frame of reference. These are: human skills, good communication, creating unity, respect, empathy, body language as well as harnessing differences. Especially the personal attitude as well as the human skills of managers and employees play an essential role.

Trata-se aqui de pesquisa teórica que tem por objeto a relação entre o tema do limite das exculpantes penais e o uso da inexigibilidade de conduta diversa como topoi, tendo em vista a justiça do caso concreto. A idéia é demonstrar que, a partir dessa relação, é possível garantir a segurança que um dia a razão penal prometeu ao indivíduo. Autônomo, igual, livre, e ainda dotado de razão e subjetividade, o indivíduo que a razão moderna contempla é aquele que fez a passagem da dependência para a emancipação e, assim, tornou-se capaz de responsabilidades. Concebido desse modo, ele se liga, de um lado, ao consenso que gerou o Estado pela via do contrato social, e, de outro, à legalidade penal que daí resultou. Neste caso e para justificá-la, o direito penal elegeu a promessa de segurança jurídica como peça central de seu discurso. Ela seria deduzida, ora dos crimes (e das penas correspondentes) como previsão determinada e escrita, ora do delito como sistema fundado numa ação combinadamente típica, ilícita e culpável. A experiência jurídica, no entanto, mostra-se desapontada com aquela promessa. É o que se dá no setor da culpabilidade, especificamente com as exculpantes. Fora dos casos–padrão, suas insuficiências [lacunas] ficam evidentes quando exigências de justiça material se articulam com casos-limite. Assim são considerados aqueles casos para os quais a lei penal não contempla hipóteses que permitam deduzir todas as conseqüências de uma ação na qual o indivíduo não pôde, por conta de circunstâncias anormais, tomar a norma como fonte de inspiração. Nesse ponto, instaura-se um problema cuja solução é encontrada no conceito de inexigibilidade de conduta diversa. Sem lugar definido nos domínios da legalidade, seu uso é sustentado, não a partir do sistema penal, mas do problema concreto, e assim é assumido como topoi, uma categoria emprestada das teorias da argumentação._________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT: What we have here is theoretical research that deals with the relation between the theme of the limit of penal exculpates and of the use of undemanding diverse conduct as topoi, taking into consideration the justice of the case itself in a concrete way. The idea is to demonstrate that from this relation it is possible to guarantee the security that penal reason once promised the individual. Independent, equal, free, and yet endowed with reason and subjectivity, the individual that modern reason contemplates is that who made the passage from dependency to liberation thus becoming capable of responsibilities. Conceived this way, he associates himself, on one end to the consensus that generated the State through the way of a social contract and, on the other end, to the penal legality that arose afterwards. In this case and also to justify it, penal law chose to promise judicial security as the main piece of its speech. Such promise would be inferred, at times from the felonies (and from the corresponding arbitrated punishments) as determined and written foresight, and at times from the felony itself as a founded system within a combined action i.e. typical, illegal and culpable. However, the judicial experience shows itself disappointed with such promise. This is what happens in the field of culpability, more specifically with exculpates. Aside from average cases, their insufficiencies (omissions) are evident when demands from material justice articulate themselves with borderline cases. This is how cases are considered, those for which the penal law does not contemplate hypothesis that allow inferring all the consequences of an action in which the individual was not able, because of abnormal circumstances, to take such norms as a source of inspiration. At this point, a problem is established and the solution is found in the concept of undemanding of diverse conduct. Without a defined place in the realms of legality, its usage is sustainable, not because of the penal system, but of the concrete problem in itself and thus it is absorbed as topoi, a category borrowed from the theories of argumentation.

The purpose of the study was to determine the degree of relationships among GRE scores, undergraduate GPA (UGPA), and success in graduate school, as measured by first year graduate GPA (FGPA), cumulative graduate GPA, and degree attainment status. A second aim of the study was to determine whether the relationships between the composite predictor (GRE scores and UGPA) and the three success measures differed by race/ethnicity and sex. A total of 7,367 graduate student records (masters, 5,990; doctoral: 1,377) from 2000 to 2010 were used to evaluate the relationships among GRE scores, UGPA and the three success measures. Pearson’s correlation, multiple linear and logistic regression, and hierarchical multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were performed to answer the research questions. The results of the correlational analyses differed by degree level. For master’s students, the ETS proposed prediction that GRE scores are valid predictors of first year graduate GPA was supported by the findings from the present study; however, for doctoral students, the proposed prediction was only partially supported. Regression and correlational analyses indicated that UGPA was the variable that consistently predicted all three success measures for both degree levels. The hierarchical multiple linear and logistic regression analyses indicated that at master’s degree level, White students with higher GRE Quantitative Reasoning Test scores were more likely to attain a degree than Asian Americans, while International students with higher UGPA were more likely to attain a degree than White students. The relationships between the three predictors and the three success measures were not significantly different between men and women for either degree level. Findings have implications both for practice and research. They will provide graduate school administrators with institution-specific validity data for UGPA and the GRE scores, which can be referenced in making admission decisions, while they will provide empirical and professionally defensible evidence to support the current practice of using UGPA and GRE scores for admission considerations. In addition, new evidence relating to differential predictions will be useful as a resource reference for future GRE validation researchers.

No description available.

Density Functional Theory (DFT) is an effective tool for studying diverse metal systems. Presented herein are studies of a variety of metal systems, which can be applied to accomplish transformations that are currently difficult/impossible to achieve. The specific topics studied utilizing DFT include: 1) C–H bond activation via an Earth-abundant transition metal complex, 2) C–H bond deprotonation via an alkali metal superbase, 3) and amination/aziridination reactions utilizing a CuI reagent. Using DFT, the transformation to methanol (CH3OH) from methane (CH4) was examined. The transition metal systems studied for this transformation included a model FeII complex. This first-row transition metal is an economical, Earth-abundant metal. The ligand set for this transformation includes a carbonyl ligand in one set of complexes as well as a phosphite ligand in another. The 3d Fe metal shows the ability to convert alkyls/aryls to their oxidized counterpart in an energetically favorable manner. Also, “superbasic” alkali metal amides were investigated to perform C—H bond cleavage. Toluene was the substrate of interest with Cs chosen to be the metal of interest because of the highly electropositive nature of this alkali metal. These highly electrophilic Cs metal systems allow for very favorable C—H bond scission with a toluene substrate. Finally, the amination and aziridination of C–H and C=C bonds, respectively, by a CuI reagent was studied. The mechanism was investigated using DFT calculations. Presently, these mechanisms involving the use of coinage metals are debated. Our DFT simulations shed some insight into how these transformations occur and ultimately how they can be manipulated.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / This article is about the problem and development of a fashion virtual assistant proposed by using a Kinect v2 camera and image processing, for fashion retail stores. It comes up mainly as a response to the inability of providing unique experiences during the shopping process through the use of diverse devices. Because of this, similar virtual assistant solutions, oriented to provide clothing recommendations, were analyzed to be able to provide software that could give a more personalized suggestion for the users based on their physical characteristics. / Revisión por pares

No description available.

Learning to organize the diverse interests of small groups in a Reggio inspired emergent curriculum is complex. No need to move all children through a process. Several small interest groups can emerge and thrive. Teachers can be sure that all children will receive significant learning from the diverse interest groups through the thoughtful and consistent use of small group and whole group classroom meetings. Techniques and real life examples will be shared. Discussion will be encouraged.