This study was designed to determine if teachers in one public school in Virginia were prepared to be evaluated based on culturally responsive practices (CRP) after completing Virginia Department of Education's (VDOE) Cultural Competency Training Module. This qualitative study sample included eight teachers from a suburban school division. The conceptual framework illustrated the connections between the evaluation of CRP and teacher preparedness after teachers completed VDOE's Cultural Competency Training Module. The research questions that directed this study were: (1) How has Virginia Department of Education's Cultural Competency Training Module prepared teachers to implement culturally responsive practices? (2) To what extent do teachers feel prepared to be evaluated based on culturally responsive practices after completing Virginia Department of Education's Cultural Competency Training Module? The research method included a basic qualitative research design that used interview protocol. Interview prompts were created based on Virginia's Cultural Competency Domains that underpin legislation approved by the 2021 Virginia General Assembly requiring that teacher evaluations include a standard for CRP. Interviews took place during the summer months of 2023 as virtual meetings using the Zoom video conferencing platform. Interview transcriptions were utilized as the data set. As categories and themes emerged, the interconnectedness of data was examined using open coding. The findings of this study revealed that teachers indicated a support for Virginia's Cultural Competency Domains. However, teachers perceived that VDOE's Cultural Competency Training Module did not achieve the desired focus of providing educators with the tools needed to implement CRP. Instead, teachers perceived that their lived experiences framed their individual approach to understand and implement CRP. The implications of the study encouraged VDOE to consider a redesign of the Cultural Competency Training Module. Another implication emphasized the need for school divisions to consider investing in professional trainers to provide deep level culturally competency training in a format that also accounts for the emotional security and comfortability of teachers. / Doctor of Education / This study was designed to determine if teachers in one public school in Virginia were prepared to be evaluated based on culturally responsive practices (CRP) after completing Virginia Department of Education's (VDOE) Cultural Competency Training Module. This study included eight teachers from a suburban school division. The conceptual framework illustrated the connections between the evaluation of CRP and teacher preparedness after teachers completed VDOE's Cultural Competency Training Module. The research questions that directed this study were: (1) How has Virginia Department of Education's Cultural Competency Training Module prepared teachers to implement culturally responsive practices? (2) To what extent do teachers feel prepared to be evaluated based on culturally responsive practices after completing Virginia Department of Education's Cultural Competency Training Module? The research method included teacher interviews. Interview prompts were created based on Virginia's Cultural Competency Domains that reinforced legislation approved by the 2021 Virginia General Assembly requiring that teacher evaluations include a standard for CRP. Interviews took place during the summer months of 2023 as virtual meetings using the Zoom video conferencing platform. Interview transcriptions were utilized as the data for the study. As categories and themes emerged from interview responses, the connection of data was examined. The findings of this study revealed that teachers indicated a support for Virginia's Cultural Competency Domains. However, teachers perceived that VDOE's Cultural Competency Training did not achieve the desired focus of providing educators with the tools needed to implement CRP. Instead, teachers perceived that their lived experiences framed their individual approach to understand and implement CRP. An implication of the study encouraged VDOE to consider a redesign of the Cultural Competency Training Module. Another implication emphasized the need for school divisions to consider investing in professional trainers to provide deep level culturally competency training in a format that also accounts for the emotional security and comfortability of teachers.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to identify the strategies that middle school teachers utilize when incorporating culturally responsive pedagogy and practices to build positive relationships with students and families while building and maintaining positive student-peer relationships in the classroom. This qualitative study design, conducted in an urban public-school division in central Virginia, employed a teacher interview protocol questionnaire featuring open-ended questions. The primary objective was to investigate how middle school teachers utilize and incorporate culturally responsive pedagogical practices to build and maintain positive relationships with students, families, and peers. The resulting findings indicated teachers established cultural awareness and diversity to build and maintain relationships, communicated effectively through conferencing and discussions with their students, and communicated effectively through emails and in-person with their students' families. Teachers used multiple communication strategies for parent involvement, such as phone calls, text messages, emails, conferences, and social media. Students sharing life experiences during discussion helped them understand the material and establish classroom culture and diversity. Thus, implications indicated school divisions and building administrators should continually participate in cultural competence training, provide teachers with professional development to establish regular and consistent communication channels with students' families to build positive relationships, provide teachers with professional development to implement culturally responsive pedagogy, provide time for teachers to incorporate open-ended questions and alternative perspectives into lessons to stimulate critical thinking, and building-level administrators should foster a school culture that embraces diverse values by establishing and consistently reinforcing clear expectations of respect for all students and adults. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to identify the strategies that middle school teachers utilize when incorporating culturally responsive pedagogy and practices to build positive relationships with students and families while building and maintaining positive student-peer relationships in the classroom. The synthesis of the literature review and the results of this study may perhaps provide information that would support middle school teachers not only with the ability to build relationships with their students and their families and positive peer relationships but also improve cultural knowledge to increase and enhance academic achievement and decrease discipline concerns. A qualitative study design was used in one urban public-school division in the central region of Virginia, which incorporated a teacher interview protocol questionnaire with open-ended questions. The researcher sought to examine: How do middle school teachers utilize and incorporate culturally responsive pedagogical practices to build and maintain positive relationships with students, families, and peers? An analysis of the responses to the interview questionnaire from the middle school teachers revealed strategies used consistently and inconsistently throughout the sample. From the findings, implications for practices and recommendations for future studies were supplied.

Shifting demographics in the U.S. population, persistent disparities in achievement, and student discipline call for school leaders who are culturally responsive to the diversity present in their schools and communities (Brown, 2005; deBrey et al., 2019; Khalifa et al., 2016a). A review of the literature revealed that researchers maintain the position of assistant principal plays a crucial role in moving forward to the principalship and that this position should be leveraged as an embedded opportunity to learn, which can more effectively prepare leaders for the future role of principal amidst changing school demographics (Oleszewski et al., 2012). Without culturally responsive school leaders and school environments, oppressive systems will continue to thrive in our schools, creating a sense of urgency to carefully explore and understand the ideology of cultural responsiveness concerning school leadership (Khalifa et al., 2016). Culturally responsive leadership practices and behaviors have been noted as "one of the most recent extensions of the research regarding how to meet the needs of culturally diverse learners" (Kranzlein, 2019, p. 22). These practices and behaviors create inclusive school environments responsive to all students' needs (Harris, 2020; Hollowell, 2019; Khalifa et al., 2016a). The purpose of this study was to investigate elementary assistant principals' perceptions of their preparedness to lead in diverse school settings through the lens of the culturally responsive school leadership (CRSL) framework. Additionally, this study sought to identify specific professional development assistant principals perceived they needed to lead diverse schools and determine which components of the CRSL framework assistant principals currently utilize in their leadership practice. This quantitative study sample included 26 elementary assistant principals from a suburban PK-12 school division in Central Virginia. The research questions guiding this study were as follows: (1) To what extent do assistant principals perceive they are prepared to lead in diverse school settings? (2) What components of the CRSL framework do assistant principals currently utilize in their leadership practice? (3) What are self-reported professional development needs for assistant principals to lead in diverse schools? The research method included a researcher-developed survey titled the Self-Perceived Culturally Responsive School Leadership Preparedness Survey aligned to the CRSL framework created by Khalifa et al. (2016b). The survey instrument consisted of 17 items: one demographic question, 15 Likert-scale questions, and one open-ended question. The researcher used quantitative methodology techniques to analyze the data, including descriptive statistics. This study offers awareness into the perceptions of assistant principals' preparedness to lead in diverse school settings, identifies CRSL practices utilized by assistant principals, and identifies professional development needs to prepare assistant principals to lead in diverse schools. Results indicated that assistant principals perceive they are prepared to lead in diverse school settings as the building principal and that their duties and responsibilities have prepared them. Additionally, assistant principals indicated a need for professional growth opportunities focused on supporting the development of culturally responsive teachers in their schools and engaging students, parents, and Indigenous contexts. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to investigate elementary assistant principals' perceptions of their preparedness to lead in diverse school settings through the lens of the CRSL framework. The results of this study offer awareness into the perceptions of assistant principals' preparedness to lead in diverse school settings. Additionally, the study results identify CRSL practices utilized by assistant principals. It also discusses their professional development. In this quantitative study, a survey research design was used. The study was conducted in a PK-12 suburban public-school division in Central Virginia; the study sample included 26 elementary assistant principals. The research questions guiding this study were as follows: (1) To what extent do assistant principals perceive they are prepared to lead in diverse school settings? (2) What components of the CRSL framework do assistant principals currently utilize in their leadership practice? (3) What are self-reported professional development needs for assistant principals to lead in diverse schools? Results indicated that assistant principals perceive they are prepared to lead in diverse school settings as the building principal and that their duties and responsibilities have prepared them. Additionally, assistant principals indicated a need for professional growth opportunities focused on supporting the development of culturally responsive teachers in their schools and engaging students, parents, and Indigenous contexts. Recommendations for future studies and implications for practice were provided.

Analysis of multiple data sources revealed a prevalent gap between high school and middle school African American students and their White counterparts in mathematics. Based on these data and a gap in the literature, further research was needed regarding how the mathematics performance of African American students is influenced by culturally responsive leadership and culturally responsive teaching. The purpose of this study was to determine if culturally responsive behaviors of high school and middle school principals influence the behaviors of mathematics teachers resulting in building conceptual understanding of their students; and, how teachers' culturally responsive actions impact the mathematics performance of African American students. The research questions guiding this qualitative study were (1) To what extent, if any, do principals at the high school and middle school levels that exemplify culturally responsive leadership influence mathematics teachers' use of culturally responsive teaching that results in building conceptual understanding in mathematics? and, (2) To what extent, if any, do culturally responsive teaching practices impact the mathematics performance of African American students at the high school and middle levels? The results indicated that the purposive sample of high school and middle school principals (n = 7) exhibited critical consciousness (self-awareness) and interrelationships amongst teachers and students; communication and being present; and, data- driven decision-making. The purposive sample of high school and middle school mathematics teachers (n = 23) exhibited content knowledge that allowed for differentiated instruction inclusive of building conceptual understanding through multiple mathematical representations; and, engaged their students in mathematical discourse requiring students to reason and justify their solutions. Thus, such actions created a familial-like atmosphere inherent in optimal learning environments for African American students. Students with culturally responsive teachers performed better on division-wide assessments, with the effect of reducing the achievement gap between African American and White students compared to teachers not self-identified as having high levels of cultural responsiveness with results statistically significant at the 0.01 level after conducting a two-proportions z-test. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to determine if culturally responsive behaviors of high school and middle school principals influence the behaviors of mathematics teachers resulting in building conceptual understanding of their students; and, how teachers' culturally responsive actions impact the mathematics performance of African American students. The synthesis of the literature review and the results of this study could provide information that would assist school leaders and teachers in not only understanding their respective roles impacting and influencing the mathematics performance of African American students at the high school and middle school levels, but also understanding the pedagogical, conceptual understanding, and leadership practices and factors that can lead to this improvement. A qualitative study design was used in one urban Virginia school division encompassing a preliminary screening of high school and middle school principals and mathematics teachers; observations of high school and middle school principals and mathematics teachers; and, a culminating culturally responsive leadership practices survey. The researcher sought to examine (1) To what extent, if any, do principals at the high school and middle school levels that exemplify culturally responsive leadership influence mathematics teachers' use of culturally responsive teaching that results in building conceptual understanding in mathematics? and, (2) To what extent, if any, do culturally responsive teaching practices impact the mathematics performance of African American students at the high school and middle levels? Data from division-wide assessments demonstrated that the students of culturally responsive teachers performed better and with a reduced achievement gap between African American and White students compared to teachers not having self-identified with high levels of cultural responsiveness. Observations from the high school and middle school principals and mathematics teachers revealed specific behaviors and strategies used consistently across the sample. From the findings, implications for practices and recommendations for future studies were rendered.

Yes / Amphiphilic diblock copolymers, poly(2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate-co-2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)-b-poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate), P(DEAEMA-co-DMAEMA)-b-PDMAEMA with various amounts of DEAEMA have been synthesized by RAFT polymerization. Their micellization in water has been investigated by scattering measurements over a wide pH range. It appeared that the polymers self-assembled into pH sensitive star like micelles. For a given composition, when the pH is varied the extent of aggregation can be tuned reversibly by orders of magnitude. By varying the copolymer composition in the hydrophobic block, the onset and extent of aggregation were shifted with respect to pH. This class of diblock copolymer offers the possibility to select the range of stimuli-responsiveness that is useful for a given application, which can rarely be achieved with conventional diblock copolymers consisting of homopolymeric blocks. / European Science Foundation (ESF), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), BP (Firm), Birmingham Science City, Advantage West Midlands (AWM), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

This mixed-methods study examined teachers' culturally responsive teaching (CRT) self-efficacy beliefs and the relationships among selected academic, demographic, and experiential factors. Guided by theoretical and empirical research on CRT, teacher dispositions, and assessment in teacher education (TE) programs for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students, this study utilized an extended version of Siwatu's 2007 Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy (CRTSE) Scale to conduct correlational and comparative statistical analyses. Data sources included surveys from 265 participants enrolled in TE classes in the spring 2012 in Texas (one private and one public university). Content analyses were also conducted on participants' descriptions of CRT activities using a priori and inductive coding methods to triangulate and elaborate the explanation of quantitative results. In this population, those with higher CRTSE were typically young (undergraduates), specializing in ESL and bilingual certification coursework, who felt their TE program prepared them well for working with CLD student populations. Regression analyses showed that certain certification areas (ESL, bilingual, elementary, and advanced) and perceptions of better quality in TE program preparation for working with CLD students emerged as significant predictors of increased CRTSE. Those with second language skills were more efficacious in delivering linguistically-responsive instruction, and those professing more experiences with and interest in diverse individuals felt more confident in applying CRT skills. While the younger teacher candidates felt more efficacious, their descriptions of CRT were less sophisticated than those with more teaching experience. Despite much of the literature relating to CRT and minority teachers, ethnicity was not a significant factor in heightened CRTSE. This study informs TE programs for better measuring and supporting teacher candidate CRT development by revising and extending Siwatu's 2007 study in three ways. First, the CRTSE Scale instrument was extended to include items that address greater depth and breadth of the culturally responsive teaching continuum as developed by the researcher, relating particularly to language and literacy development of English language learners. Second, this study involved a more varied and appropriate population, including both pre-service and in-service teachers. Third, specific participant factors were analyzed to see which correlated with higher CRTSE Scale scores.

Au cours des dernières décennies, le concept de « matériaux intelligents » a suscité un intérêt en croissance rapide en raison de l'apparition de plusieurs nouveaux types de matériaux polymères qui sont capables d'accomplir une fonction désirée en réponse à un stimulus spécifique de façon prédéterminée et contrôlée. Deux exemples représentatifs sont les polymères à mémoire de forme (SMPs) et les polymères autoréparables or réparables par un stimulus (SHPs). Ils sont sujets de cette thèse. D'une part, les SMPs sont des matériaux qui ont la capacité de mémoriser une forme spécifique. Après avoir été déformés et fixés à une forme temporaire, ils peuvent récupérer la forme originale et permanente sous l'effet d'un signal stimulant comme la chaleur, la lumière ou un champ électrique. Bénéficiant de la mise en œuvre relativement facile, les SMPs sont une alternative intéressante aux alliages à mémoire de forme bien établis; et ils ont trouvé un large éventail d'applications potentielles allant des implants pour la chirurgie non-invasive aux actionneurs sensibles aux environnements. D'autre part, les SHPs sont des matériaux qui sont capables de réparer des dommages mécaniques (fissures ou fractures) par eux-mêmes ou avec l'aide d’un stimulus externe. Leur développement a un grand intérêt pour améliorer la sécurité, prolonger la durée de vie et réduire le coût de l'entretien des matériaux. Sauf quelques matériaux souples (certains gels et élastomères) qui sont guérissables de façon vraiment autonome, la plupart des SHPs nécessitent l'intervention d'un stimulus comme c’est le cas pour les SMPs. L'objectif principal de cette thèse est de développer de nouveaux SMPs et SHPs contrôlables par un rayonnement lumineux. La stratégie que nous avons utilisée est basée sur l'ajout d'une petite quantité de nanoparticules d'or (AuNPs ) ou de nanotiges d'or (AuNRs) dans un SMP ou SHP pour absorber la lumière visible ou proche infrarouge. L’idée est d’utiliser la chaleur dégagée par les nanoparticules lors de l’absorption de la lumière due à la résonance plasmonique de surface (SPR) pour contrôler les transitions de phase dans les polymères et, par conséquent, de dicter leurs processus de mémoire de forme ou de guérison. Bien qu’un effet photothermique est à l'origine de ces processus, tous les avantages de l'utilisation de la lumière comme stimulus sont conservés, tels que l'activation à distance et le contrôle spatiotemporel. Plusieurs travaux de recherche ont été réalisés au cours de cette thèse, dont les résultats, nous l'espérons, peuvent constituer une contribution de base faisant l'utilisation d’AuNPs et AuNRs une technologie de plate-forme pour le développement des SMPs et SHPs contrôlables par la lumière. En ce qui concerne les SMPs, nous avons d’abord préparé un nouveau matériau nanocomposite AuNP-polymère à base d’oligo(ε-caprolactone) ramifié et réticulé. En faisant usage de chauffage localisé induit par la lumière, nous avons prouvé que la lumière visible peut être utilisée pour activer un processus de récupération de forme de manière sélective spatialement, et pour réaliser plusieurs formes intermédiaires sur-demande. En outre, nous avons constaté qu'en ajustant l'intensité de la lumière laser ou la quantité d’AuNPs, l'élévation locale de la température dans le matériau peut être importante et atteindre une amplitude prédéterminée sans influence défavorable sur ses environs. Cette caractéristique intéressante permet d'utiliser le même SMP pour des applications couvrant un large domaine de températures environnantes. De plus, dans cette étude, nous avons démontré comment l'énergie libérée dans un processus de récupération de forme contrôlé par la lumière peut être utilisée pour accomplir un travail mécanique. Sur la base du projet précédent, nous avons ensuite fait la première démonstration que la polarisation de la lumière peut également être utilisée pour contrôler l'effet de mémoire de forme ainsi que le processus de récupération de forme. À cette fin, nous avons conçu et préparé un SMP anisotrope contenant des AuNRs orientés par étirage de films de poly(alcool de vinyle) (PVA). L'idée est que la quantité de chaleur dégagée par les nanotiges d’or lors de l'exposition à la lumière proche infrarouge, est déterminée par l’absorption de photons qui, pour un matériau anisotrope, est dépendante de la polarisation de la lumière incidente. Nous avons montré qu’en effet, changeant la direction de polarisation du laser incident par rapport à la direction d'étirage du film tout en conservant toutes les autres conditions inchangées, permet de contrôler le degré d'élévation de température dans le matériau, ce qui détermine le processus de récupération de forme. En découvrant ce nouveau moyen de control, cette étude a élargi la boîte à outils pour les SMPs contrôlables par voie optique. Sur le côté SHPs, notre motivation d’exploiter l'approche photothermique est d'aborder la question difficile de la guérison de matériaux mécaniquement forts et dues. En général, une force mécanique élevée (ou une grande dureté) d'un matériau entrave sa capacité d’auto-guérison ou guérison induite par des stimuli en raison du manque de mobilité de chaînes du polymère, sachant que cette mobilité est cruciale pour la diffusion du polymère dans une région fracturée conduisant à la cicatrisation. Nous avons proposé la stratégie consistant à utiliser l'effet photothermique pour provoquer la transition de phase « fusion – cristallisation » pour la réparation. Dans une première étude, par le chargement d'une très petite quantité d’AuNPs dans deux polymères cristallins, le poly(oxyde d' éthylène ) (PEO, T[indice inférieur m~]63 °C) et le polyéthylène de basse densité (LDPE , T[indice inférieur m~]103 °C), nous avons réussi une guérison optique très rapide et efficace, fusionnant deux morceaux de polymère en contact en un seul avec des propriétés mécaniques bien récupérées. Nous avons confirmé le mécanisme de guérison basé sur la fusion des chaînes cristallisées lors de l’exposition à la lumière, suivie de la cristallisation lors du refroidissement après l'extinction du laser. Cette cristallisation des chaines ayant diffusé à travers les surfaces de coupe a pour effet de les fusionner pour la guérison. En plus de l'activation à distance et la capacité de cicatrisation rapide, nous avons aussi démontré le control spatial de la guérison optique car elle a lieu uniquement dans les régions fracturées exposées au laser. Après avoir appris comment utiliser l'effet photothermique découlant de la SPR d’AuNPs pour réaliser le control des processus de mémoire de forme et de guérison dans des polymères séparés, nous avons continué notre effort pour développer des matériaux qui possèdent les deux fonctions de mémoire de forme et de guérison commandées par la lumière. La réalisation d’un tel matériau est aussi une tâche difficile en raison de l'incompatibilité structurelle entre les SMPs et SHPs, puisque la structure de réseau réticulé nécessaire pour le mémoire de forme réduit généralement la mobilité de chaînes requise pour la guérison. Grâce aux connaissances générées par nos recherches, nous avons proposé un design de matériau consistant à réticuler chimiquement un polymère cristallin (PEO) chargé d’une petite quantité d’AuNPs. Notre étude a montré que ce matériau polymère acquise l’effet de mémoire de forme contrôlable par la lumière et la guérison optique rapide dus au même effet de chauffage localisé induit par un laser. En effet, l'effet photothermique peut activer le processus de récupération de la forme du matériau en élevant sa température au-dessus de la T[indice inférieur m] de la phase cristalline et, dans le même temps, permet la cicatrisation de fissures par l'intermédiaire de fusion des chaînes cristallisées sous exposition au laser et la cristallisation ultérieure lors du refroidissement après l’éteinte du laser. De plus, nous avons démontré que ces deux fonctions peuvent être exécutées de manière séquentielle sur le même matériau, sans interférence entre elles. La mise en œuvre simultanée des deux fonctions distinctes dans un seul matériau peut élargir les applications possibles de SMPs et SHPs. Par la suite, nous avons appliqué la stratégie établie avec des polymères cristallins aux hydrogels polymères. Il est connu depuis longtemps qu’il est très difficile d’obtenir des hydrogels mécaniquement robustes pouvant être réparés par effets de stimuli. Nous avons conçu et préparé un hydrogel hybride en chargeant une petite quantité d’AuNPs dans un hydrogel formé par copolymérisation du N, N-diméthylacrylamide (DMA), de l'acrylate de stéaryle (SA) et du N, N'- méthylène bisacrylamide (MBA). La force mécanique de cet hydrogel est donnée par une réticulation chimique qui coexiste avec une réticulation physique due aux chaînes latérales d’alkyles hydrophobes cristallisées. Encore une fois, par le contrôle de la transition de phase de « fusion-cristallisation » des chaînes SA à l'aide d'un laser, l'hydrogel hybride montre à la fois la fonction de mémoire de forme contrôlé par la lumière et la fonction de guérison optique efficace. Une grande contrainte à la rupture supérieure à 2 MPa a été obtenue pour un hydrogel coupé en deux et puis réparé par la lumièr. La dernière, mais non la moindre, contribution portée par l’étude dans cette thèse est une découverte que nous avons faite sur les SHPs. Nous avons observé que l’hydrogel de PVA physiquement réticulé, étant préparé par la méthode de congélation/décongélation, peut s’auto-guérir à la température ambiante sans l’utilisation d’un stimulus ou d'un agent de guérison. Cette découverte est importante étant donné que cet hydrogel est biocompatible et un matériau largement utilisé pour des applications. Notre étude a montré que la clé pour obtenir une guérison autonome efficace de l'hydrogel de PVA ayant une force mécanique relativement élevée est d'avoir une quantité suffisante de groupements hydroxyle libres sur les chaînes de PVA pour ponts-hydrogène et une bonne mobilité de chaîne assurant la diffusion du polymère à travers les surfaces de coupe.

This research study provides answers to questions pertaining to current practices in the art museum field regarding socially responsive programming and the motivations for developing and implementing such programs. Socially responsive programming is programming that encourages dialogue and debate about social, economic and political issues in order to promote honesty, fairness, concern for the rights and welfare of others, empathy, and compassion (Desai & Chalmers, 2007). The study engaged a mixed methods approach by utilizing a survey and three case studies. The purpose of the survey was to gauge the position of the field in relation to their values and support of socially responsive programs. Janes’ and Conaty’s (2005) four characteristics of socially responsive museums: seeing social issues and acting to create social change (idealism); building and sustaining strong relationships with the community (intimacy); investing time for reflection and resources to fully understand social issues (depth); and judging the museum’s worth, not based on building size, prestige of collections, or attendance numbers, but on the quality programs a museum provides to the community (interconnectedness) guided the construction of the survey and served as an analytical tool for the case studies. The survey sample resulted from distributing the survey through major museum-themed listservs. The survey also aided in identifying three exemplars of socially responsive museum. These institutions, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, the Columbus Museum of Art, and the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, comprised a purposeful sample in order to further investigate museum staff members’ motivations for creating and instituting socially responsive art museum practices. / text

Typical CCD digital imaging sensors are insensitive to ultraviolet ( UV ) radiation by virtue of the very shallow ( 2 nm ) penetration depth in silicon. This warrants the use of a post-packaging coating to up-covert the UV radiation to longer wavelengths. In this thesis, A light-converting inorganic coating has been developed to improve the responsivity of gated CCD image sensors in the UV ( from 250 - 400 nm ). The coating consists of a plastic acrylic layer doped with inorganic phosphors. The coating is deposited using a spin-coater typically used by the IC fabrication industry. Inorganic phosphors were selected over organic phosphors since they are quite well established and are typically used to coat light bulbs, an application that requires a long lifetime. In contrast, organic phosphors rapidly degrade upon exposure to UV radiation. The parameters associated with the coating and coated sensor are presented here. They include coating conversion effciency, penetration depth, photostability; and coated sensor quantum effciency, contrast transfer function and photo-response non-uniformity. The coatings presented here are a viable, cost-effective alternative to other UV response CCD designs.