This thesis explores the ways in which the work of women teachers in primary schools in one region of Brazil has been re-defined by agents within the school itself. The investigation was pursued through semi-structured interviews with 48 women teachers and 14 school managers working mainly in poor communities. It reflects the experiences of teachers from Municipal schools in one of the developed cities: Belo Horizonte. Informal talks with teachers involved in activities outside classroom, other school staff such as secretaries and door-keepers, and parents encountered at the school entrance (some parents agreed to participate in tape-recorded interviews) also provided useful information for the study. Among the secondary• material collected during the field work were visual and written didactic texts used inside schools, the school files relating to discipline problems between pupils/parents and teachers, and the school files of "Colegiado" meetings. Also inside schools, observations were made of school meetings with parents; pedagogical meetings and a extraschool activities such as paren& and pupils' preparation for a party and showing of a school video. A search of written material from local newspapers archived by the Teachers' Union related to teachers was conducted. Visits to, and contacts with, the Municipal Secretary of Education provided material on extra-school administration. Study at the local University, with its extensive archive of recent studies on the history and conditions of work of women teachers in Brazil, in the State of Minas Gerais and specifically in the Municipal schools of Belo Horizonte,was a rich source of academic material for this study. It is suggested that the domestication of teachers' roles has been promoted within schools by teachers, the school managers and others involved in school life (parents, pupils and other school staff). This has led to a considerable increase in the number of roles schools and teachers are required to fulfil in communities with serious economic and social limitations. In a society where state social support is insufficient, schools provide palliative solutions for a range of needs. However, as schools become increasingly involved in business other than formal education, teachers' roles have changed and thus are judged through a gendered filter iii which stresses femininity over professionalism. Women's acceptance of poor working conditions and their involvement in the immediate social problems of pupils and local communities has been beneficial for the Brazilian and State governments, as well as for the local community. However, there have been negative consequences for the development of better ways to teach children from these communities and the status and socio-economic position of teachers themselves. The domestication of the roles of women in teaching has thus had long-term negative consequences for the education of the poor.

Building upon work completed by the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) for the National Geothermal Data System (NGDS) this thesis develops a coherent strategy for assessing the value of geothermal resources for different regions within Texas. Valuing geothermal resources is difficult because energy output from a specified resource is predicated on the development strategy employed and the dynamic qualities of the reservoir being analyzed. To account for these factors a lumped parameter model is developed to provide a flexible means for assessing the value of different resources. The model is designed to quickly adapt to different reservoir geometries, provided by the NGDS, and account for the dynamic nature of geothermal resources, which will vary as a function of the development strategy employed. In this paper two development strategies for a field located in Hidalgo County have been modeled to illustrate the use of the model and explain how its structure allows for realistic and nuanced analysis. The two scenarios modeled have a sustainable outcome, where the geothermal resource produces a continual low amount of power, and an unsustainable outcome, where power generation is initially high but terminates before the expected life of the project. The outcomes from these two scenarios clearly illustrate the usefulness of using a lumped parameter model to assess the value of a geothermal resource with regards to a set of defined objectives. / text

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the current practice of the superintendent’s evaluation process in three public school districts in Texas. This study collected information about current criteria used, the process as described by superintendents and school board presidents, and their perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the instrument used to measure the performance of the superintendent. A qualitative case study research approach was used to provide the researcher with rich, in-depth, relevant data. The researcher conducted multiple interviews of three superintendents and school board presidents in public school districts in Education Service Region IV of Texas. Additional data was gathered through documents and a reflective journal. There were six themes that emerged from data collected regarding superintendent evaluation: timing, rating, alignment, relationships, performance-based evaluation, and local control. The participating district modified and adjusted criteria and the process to align with the district context to more closely measure the school districts goals and priorities. The perspectives of superintendents and school board members offer insight into the process and struggles that each has with the overwhelming nature of the job of measuring the performance of the superintendent. / text

As the population of the United States becomes more diverse, it is important that research be done to inform the implementation of psychological services that meet the needs of a wide variety of ethnic and socioeconomic groups. One current limitation to research in multicultural counseling competence (MCC) is the lack of reliable and valid measures that consider the perspectives of the client. The standardized measures currently available are self-report measures completed by practitioners regarding their own perceived competence. These self-report measures are based largely on the well-regarded MCC guidelines set forth by Sue and colleagues (1992). Unfortunately, these measures present an incomplete (and possibly erroneous) representation of MCC as experienced by the client. The current study outlines the development of a measure meant to meet this need--the Client Experience of Provider Cultural Competence (CEPCCI)--and investigates the relationship between provider and client perceptions of the providers' abilities in this area. The CEPCCI is anchored in Sue et al.'s (1992) well-regarded theory on cultural competence and a qualitative study of client perceptions of multicultural counseling competence (Davis, 2007). The resulting scale consists of 38 items loading on one subscale with demonstrated content and construct validity and good reliability. A significant correlation between provider and client perceptions of the providers' multicultural counseling competence was also found. The need to obtain a consumer perspective on practitioner MCC is well-documented in the literature, and the present study has created a measure to fill this gap. This measure will open up a wider range of possibilities for research in MCC, as well as allowing providers of mental health services a way to assess their performance and progress in this area. / text

This study investigated differences in R-PAS variables among two groups of participants, those who studied a Wikipedia article with information about the Rorschach (N=44) and those who did not (N=42). This study utilized a repeated measures design, wherein all of the participants took the Rorschach twice. The first time all participants completed the Rorschach under normal conditions. The second time all participants completed the Rorschach under the fake good condition, meaning they were motivated to present themselves in a favorable light. Participants in the experimental group were instructed to read the Wikipedia material before taking the test and to use this information to help them fake good. Results indicated that after reading the Wikipedia material, participants' responses demonstrated significantly improved perceptual accuracy (lower FQ-%). However, the overall findings suggested that most of the selected R-PAS variables were not significantly impacted by exposure to the Wikipedia material. All participants had changes in scores on a number of variables when asked to fake good, regardless of whether or not they were exposed to the Wikipedia material. Results indicated that when participants attempted to fake good, they were able to significantly improve markers of affect regulation (lower CF+C/SumC), coping effectiveness (higher MC-PPD), and interpersonal competency (lower PHR/GPHR). They were also likely to give less complex responses (lower Complexity) that were fewer in total number (lower R). Implications of these results and recommendations for forensic practice are discussed. / text

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether expert evaluators' assessments of teachers vary between observations of rehearsal frames that demonstrate effective student behavior change and observations of full rehearsals. Ten experienced evaluators rated 12 music teachers on 10 criteria. The evaluators first observed brief video recordings of two rehearsal frames (RF) of each teacher and then a recording of a full rehearsal (FV) taught by the same teacher. The evaluators rated the teachers on all 10 criteria following each observation. Evaluators in the present study tended to rate teachers more highly and express greater confidence in their ratings in the FV condition than in the RF condition. These differences indicate that observing brief video episodes of teaching does not lead to the same ratings of teacher effectiveness as does observing video recordings of full rehearsals. The differences between the two conditions were larger in terms of evaluator confidence (29% higher confidence ratings in the FV condition) than in terms of ratings of teacher effectiveness (7% higher ratings in the FV condition). Although all teachers were rated more highly overall in the FV condition than in the RF condition, the differences between the two conditions were small and varied considerably among teachers and among evaluators. / text

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The current study explored the health risk of E. coli O157:H7 to diarrhoeic confrimed and non-confirmed HIV/AIDS patients due to their exposure to presumed ingestion of water, meat, meat products and vegetables ostensibly contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. Strains of E. coli O157:H7 were isolated by enrichment culture and on Cefixime-Telurite Sorbitol MacConkey agar. Average counts of presumptive E. coli O157 were used for dose-response assessment.Probability of infection to confrimed and non-confirmedHIV/AIDS patients was 20 and 27 % from meat and meat products, 21% and 15% from vegetables and 100% due to ingestion of 1500ml person day of water. Drinking water had higher probability of transmitting E. coli O157 :H infections than meat and meat products and vegetables.Prabability of E coli O157:H7 infections were high for confrimed HIV/AIDS patients than for non-confirmed patients. Water and foods consumed by HIV/AIDS patients should be safe of any microbial contaminants, these waters and foods should as well be investigated for other enteric pathogens to establish their safety.

The primary intent of this degree paper is to discuss the participation of parents whose children are enrolled in the Atlanta Head Start Program. An attempt has been made to ascertain the extent to which parents are involved in the program. The participation of parents in the Head Start Program is very crucial to the program’s success. This study reveals that parent.participation in the activities of the three centers under study, namely, the Robinson Center, the Grady Homes Center, and the English Avenue Center is marginal and does not live up to the program’s standard of “maximum citizen participation.” On the other hand, the staff members at these centers discharge their respective duties in a manner that encourages maximum parent participation in the program’s activities. However, if the centers could provide transportation to and from the centers for classroom activities or parent meetings, the lack of parent participation could be resolved. The primary source of data for this study was obtained from interviews with the Director of the Head Start Program in the Atlanta metropolitan area, the Directors of the three centers involved in the study, the Parent Involvement Coordinator, as well as interviews with the parents whose children are enrolled in the three Head Start Centers. Also, a wide variety of secondary information, books, periodicals, and unpublished materials was used.

The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which student achievement in mathematics is impacted by early language deficiencies and other variables and if it can be improved when controlling these variables. Student achievement in the area of mathematics was identified as an area of problem at Urban Academy Elementary school and the greater Urban Public Schools District (UPS). The researcher wanted to explore specific strategies that could lead to improved student performance in the area of mathematics. The researcher proposed that the possible causal factors that yield an outcome of low student achievement in math were prior language development, socioeconomic status, leadership, teacher methodology, student efficacy/engagement. professional development, and parental involvement The researcher used instrumentation methods to gather information from parents. teachers and students in order to examine if there was a relationship between student achievement in mathematics and the referenced variables: prior language development. socio economic status, leadership, instructional practices, student efficacy, professional development, and parental involvement. A treatment was developed and implemented during the 2008-2009 school year (see Appendix A) based on the perceived impacting variables. The 2009 Criterion Referenced Competency Test was used as a posttest to determine if the treatment had a significant impact on student achievement. Additionally, a district wide benchmark assessment was administered during the months of September 2008 and February 2009 to monitor student achievement growth prior to the CRCT. The researcher found that there were significant relationships between the dependent variable, student achievement, and leadership, teacher professional development, and the winter benchmark assessment that is administered annually as a predictor of performance on the Criterion Referenced Competency Test. The results suggests that the treatment practices that considered fine-tuning teacher instructional practices by providing professional development gives explanation as to why the treatment was successful. The results substantiate how purposeful professional development for teachers can have an impact on student achievement. It was recommended that planned professional development be arranged and offered to teachers along with a student benchmark assessment that is similar in content, content weights, and item number as the state’s standardized test administered prior to formal testing.