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The investigation of Maury Elementary School in Richmond, Virginia addressed the establishment of a non-traditional model school in a conservative city not directly supportive or progressive education ideology. A case study approach was taken to investigate the interrelated questions of explaining the success and longevity of Maury School and of determining to what extent Maury School was a faithful implementation of the tenets of progressive education.;The study contributes to an understanding of the development of an innovative school, to progressive education, and to the diffusion and integration of educational theory and reform. Historical methodology was used; data were drawn from both published and unpublished primary and secondary sources and oral histories.;The progressive education movement was characterized by essential features and practices by which a school could be considered to be progressive. A description of the program developments at Maury revealed that the features of progressive education were established in the practical and philosophical functions of the school from 1934 until the school was closed in the summer of 1970.;The best explanation for the existence of Maury School was found to be an interrelated set of factors. The effective leadership of Principal Etta Rose Bailey was a key factor in the origin, development, and maintenance of the school. The long tenure of her principalship was a sustaining force in rooting and maintaining innovation. The school had an identity which separated it from the school system. The hierarchical structure of the system allowed the principal and the staff the autonomy to develop an innovative program. The innovations were not labeled as progressive education by the Maury staff, which enabled the program to outlive the movement itself. A unique culture was developed and sustained by the programs and practices.;From the case study of Maury Elementary School, where educational innovation was a local phenomenon limited to one school, inferences may be drawn regarding the effects of the progressive education reform movement in Richmond, Virginia. Additional study is recommended to determine if innovation can sustain itself without the continuity of strong leadership provided by a key figure at the location of the innovation.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the components of the University of Scranton's systematic program to develop and maintain a distinctive mission through Tierney's framework of organizational culture, and to analyze the congruence between the mission of the University of Scranton and the faculty's perception of the mission and their institutional activities.;The University of Scranton was chosen for three reasons: (1) Sporadic efforts to maintain its Catholic/Jesuit mission and identity had already been in place since 1977; (2) With the appointment of a Task Force on Identity and Mission in 1994, the administration is attempting to bring previous efforts together in a more concerted way; and (3) The University is a part of a larger group of twenty eight Jesuit colleges and universities throughout the United States working on this same issue.;The case study method was used. The researcher studied pertinent data from 1989 through the academic year, 1995. The mission statement of the University was used as the formal expression of distinctiveness of mission and identity. How this statement is being promoted by the administration was gleaned through a content analysis of documents and by the use of an interview protocol used with key administrators. Faculty congruence was assessed through the use of a survey instrument constructed after the interviews and the document analysis had been completed.;It was concluded that a high level of congruence existed in Tierney's categories of environment, mission, socialization, information, and leadership. There was less congruence in the area of strategy.;Further study is needed to evaluate this effort on a long-term basis. It would also be beneficial if case studies could be performed on the other 27 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States making similar efforts as well as other types of distinctive colleges and universities.

The reverse flow of genetic information can occur when a special DNA polymerase called Reverse Transcriptase (RT) copies the genetic information in an RNA molecule back into a complementary DNA. One type of RT encoding gene found in bacteria is called a retron element. Recent bacterial genome sequencing projects have revealed many examples of retron RT genes. This gene assignment is based on comparison with a few known retron RT proteins. However, RT proteins are highly diverse in their amino acid sequences, and thus the assigned identity of these RT proteins as retrons in genome databases is questionable. One way to prove that these postulated RTs are indeed from retron elements is to see if they can produce msDNA. Retron RTs are known to synthesize a structurally unique satellite DNA called msDNA in the bacterial cells that contain them. Based on GenBank database matches to a known protein, 7 proteins designated as retron RTs were tested for their ability to synthesize msDNA. Five of these retron RTs did show evidence of producing msDNA and are from very different bacterial hosts. The other 2 RT proteins did not show any evidence that they produce msDNA.

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No description available.

No description available.

We formalise polynomials over commutative rings in cubical type theory using Cubical Agda as proof assistant. On the basis of a formalisation of polynomials as number sequences with only a finite number of non-zero values, we use higher inductive types to formulate a list-based definition using two point constructors and two path constructors. The combinatorial explosion in proofs leads us to a redefinition: One of the path constructors is discarded, and instead we formulate a separate function-based definition. We prove equivalence of these distinct definitions, and use the function-based definition to provide a witness for the discarded path constructor. The list-based definition is then used in combination with this witness to prove that the resulting structure is itself a commutative ring.

This thesis focuses on investigating the usage of statistical models for estimating fuel consumption of heavy duty vehicles. Several statistical models are assessed, along with machine learning using artificial neural networks. Data recorded by sensors on board trucks in the EU describe the operational usage of the vehicle. The usage of this data for estimating the fuel consumption is assessed, and several variables originating from the operational data is modelled and tested as possible input parameters. The estimation model for real world fuel consumption uses 8 parameters describing the operational usage of the vehicles, and 8 parameters describing the vehicles themselves. The operational parameters describe the average speed, topography, variation of speed, idling, and more. This model has an average relative error of 5.75%, with a prediction error less than 11.14% for 95% of all tested vehicles. When only vehicle parameters are considered, it is possible to make predictions with an average relative error of 9.30%, with a prediction error less than 19.50% for 95% of all tested vehicles. Furthermore, a computer software called Vehicle Energy Consumption Calculation tool(VECTO) must be used to simulate the fuel consumption for all heavy duty vehicles, according to legislation by the EU. Running VECTO is a slow process, and this thesis also investigates how well statistical models can be used to quickly estimate the VECTO fuel consumption. The model estimates VECTO fuel consumption with an average relative error of 0.32%and with a prediction error less than 0.65% for 95% of all tested vehicles / Denna rapport fokuserar på att undersöka användningen av statistiska mod-eller för att uppskatta bränsleförbrukningen hos tunga fordon. Flera statistiska modeller utvärderas, tillsammans med maskinlärning med artificiella neurala nätverk. Data som registreras av sensorer ombord på Scania-lastbilar i EU beskriver fordonets drift. Användningen av dessa data för att uppskatta bränsleförbrukningen undersöks och flera variabler som kommer från operativa data modelleras och testas som möjliga in-parametrar. Uppskattningsmodellen för den verkliga bränsleförbrukningen använder 8 parametrar som beskriver användningen av fordonet och 8 parametrar som beskriver själva fordonet. Bland annat beskrivs medelhastighet, topografi, hastighetsvariation, andel tomgång. Denna modell har ett genomsnittligt relativfel på 5.75 %, med ett skattningsfel mindre än 11.14% för 95% av de de fordon som testats. Om endast fordonsparametrar beaktas som in-parametrar är det möjligt att göra skattningar med ett genomsnittligt relativfel på 9.30 %, med ett skattningsfel mindre än 19.50% för 95% av de de fordon som testats. Ett datorprogram kallat VECTO måste användas för att simulera bränsleförbrukningen för alla tunga fordon enligt EU-lagstiftning. Att köra VECTO är en tidskrävande process, och denna rapport undersöker också hur väl statistiska modeller kan användas för att snabbt uppskatta VECTO-bränsleförbrukningen. Modellen uppskattar VECTO-bränsleförbrukningen med ett genomsnittligt relativfel på 0.32% och med ett skattningsfel mindre än 0.65% för 95% av de de fordon som testats.