This paper describes John Tyler's political career, specifically his involvement with the Whig legislation of the twenty-seventh Congress.

Dmitry Shostakovich was an important Russia composer and pianist in the 20th century. In compare the quantity of his complete outputs, the numbers of the solo piano pieces was a small amount, but the use of the piano instrument occupies a major part within his compositions. For instance, Shostakovich employs piano in his symphonies, nos. 1, 5, and 7. Moreover, he also wrote many chamber music works with piano, and two piano concertos. The study of the lecture recital document focus on the discussion of Shostakovich early piano composition, Twenty-Four Preludes, op. 34, written between 1932 and 1933. In addition to the introduction, the discussion includes: the historical background of Russian music of early and middle twentieth century, the life of Shostakovich, the brief of the development of the prelude, the writing techniques, performance techniques, and the interpretation of Twenty-Four Preludes. Twenty-Four Preludes does not only present the previous traditions of stylistic features, but also permeated with the spirit of innovation.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Simon Fraser University, 1996. / Theses (School of Communication) / Simon Fraser University. Includes bibliographical references. Bibliography: p. 300-325. Available in PDF via the World Wide Web.

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The concerns society has expressed regarding the education of children have prompted educators to relentlessly search for instructional methodologies and organizational designs to maximize student achievement. One instructional organizational design that has surfaced is looping. Looping is the process wherein the teacher remains with the same group of children for a period of two or more years. Looping has been tried at all grade levels with a single teacher or with a team of teachers and with the same students over a period of years. The purpose of this study is to investigate the implementation of looping in four schools and to provide a descriptive account. A case study approach was used. Teachers and principals at four elementary schools using looping were interviewed regarding their experience. Data were analyzed using a qualitative approach for emerging themes. These findings indicated that schools implement the looping concept to build relationships, for instructional advantages, extended time and to lessen anxieties. Also, schools implemented the looping concept by doing an indepth study of the concept and by allowing teachers and parents to participate voluntarily. Finally, specific outcomes as a result of the implementation of looping were as follows: parents were knowledgeable about school functions and the overall program of studies; students had a safe haven; and teachers felt that looping gave them more time with their students. / Ed. D.

Upproren i arabvärlden och Västeuropa har haft olika tillvägagångssätt och olika utfall. Syftet med uppsatsen är att visa att David Kilcullens teori kring upprorsbekämpning är tillämpig oavsett konfliktens natur eller geografiskt läge. Uppsatsen vill illustrera detta genom att pröva teorin mot en annan konflikt än, konflikten på Östtimor och i Irak, ur vilken Kilcullen dragit sina erfarenheter och slutsatser. Min förhoppning är att det inte finns någon skillnad och att teorin därför är fullt tillämplig och därmed även kan användas i ett större perspektiv. Den fråga uppsatsen därmed eftersträvar att svara på är i vilken omfattning är David Kilcullens teorier kring upprorsbekämp-ning tillämpliga på en inomeuropeisk, inomstatlig konflikt likt Nordirland. Uppsatsen avser att använder en teoriprövande metod med en jämförande, mest lika design. Det innebär att den utgår från ett redan bestämt värde på den beroende variabeln och arbetar sig så att säga bakåt genom teorin. Teorin är i högsta grad tillämpbar och enligt uppsatsens analys påvisas att den har en styr-ka. Tack vare att det påvisats att när agerandet i större omfattning överrensstämmer med teorin blir utfallet mer fördelaktigt. Detta gäller även i ett, för vilken teorin inte utvecklades, annat geogra-fiskt område. När insatser varit framgångsrika har det varit en högre frekvens av de önskvärda beteenden som beskrivs i Kilcullens teori. Där insatser varit mindre framgångsrika, eller rent av direkta misslyckanden, kan konstateras att frekvensen av de önskvärda beteendena har varit betyd-ligt lägre och i många fall till och med direkta motsatser till dessa. Detta oavsett geografiskt områ-de är teorin tillämpbar. / The uprisings in the Arab world and Western Europe have had different approaches and different outcomes. The purpose of this essay is to show that David Kilcullens theory of counterinsurgency is irrespective of the conflicts natural or geographical location. The essay intends to illustrate this thesis by examining the theory against another conflict then, the conflict in East Timor and in Iraq, out of which Kilcullen has drawn his experiences and conclusions. My hope is that there is no difference and that the theory is therefore fully applicable and therefore can be used in a wider perspective. The question the essay seeks to answer is how far David Kilcullen regarding counter-insurgency theory is applicable to an intra-European, intra-state conflict like Northern Ireland. The essay intends to use a theory challenging approach with a comparative, most similar system de-sign. This means that it assumes a pre-specified value on the dependent variable and works its way backwards, so to speak, by theory. The theory is highly applicable to and in accordance with the essay analysis demonstrated that it has strength. Thanks to the detection of when the conduct of counterinsurgency units is in line with the theory the outcome becomes more favourable. This also applies to a, for which the theory was not developed, different geographical area. When efforts have been successful, it has been a higher frequency of desirable behaviours as described in Kil-cullens theory. Where efforts have been less successful, or even direct failures, it can be observed that the frequency of the desired behaviours have been much lower and in many cases even the direct opposites of the desired. Regardless of the geographic area the theory is applicable.

The awarding of section twenty-one status to schools is seen as part of the democratisation of education in South Africa. The aim of this study is to determine the impact that the allocation of section-twenty one powers has on the functioning of School Governing Bodies in rural section 21 schools. A case study involving three schools; a moving school, stationary school and a promenading school was conducted. The SGB members in these schools were interviewed to elicit information and get their viewpoints. Non-participatory observation was also conducted to add on the information gathered from the respondents. Other stakeholders involved in education were also interviewed, for instance the Chairperson of the National Association of School Governing Bodies and the Section 21 co-ordinator. It has emerged from the findings of the study that many SGBs are not coping with the allocated functions thrust upon them because of lack of skills and involvement. This results in the bulk of the SGB duties being performed by the principal or educators. / Dissertation (MEd (Education Management))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are primarily defined by problems with social interaction and communication, but they are also associated with a complex cognitive profile. One area of difficulty for children and adults with ASD is problem-solving, or the process of identifying a solution to a puzzle or question where the answer is hidden. This can be seen on the Twenty Questions Task (TQT), a commonly-used measure of verbal problem-solving and executive functioning. Children with autism are consistently less efficient than typically-developing children in their questioning on the task: for instance, rather than ask a general, category-based question (e.g. “Is it a living thing?”) they may ask about single items (“Is it the dog?”) or very restricted groupings (“Is it something you wear on your feet?”). This has previously been interpreted as an example of a concept formation deficit in autism, deriving from underlying difficulties with complex and integrative information processing. However, success in problemsolving relies on a number of cognitive and linguistic processes that may be impaired in ASD. This thesis attempts to identify which of these may better explain autistic problem-solving performance, using the TQT as a specific example. The first experiment presented here examines the role of executive functioning difficulties in this profile. The performance of 22 children with ASD and 21 age- and IQ-matched typically-developing (TD) children was compared on a version of the TQT adapted to assess planning skills prior to problem-solving and selective attention during the task. Compared to controls, ASD participants were less efficient in their planning of questions, although not all ASD participants had difficulty constructing a plan. No specific effects of selective attention were evident. The second and third experiments explore the importance of atypical language development to this profile, using the example of deafness. Experiment 2 compares the performance of deaf (n = 9) and hearing (n = 27) adults on the TQT, replicating prior evidence of less efficient problem-solving in deaf graduate students. Experiment 3 contrasts TQT performance in 13 deaf schoolchildren with the ASD and TD data acquired in experiment 1. Like ASD children, deaf children were less efficient in their questioning than TD participants, even when controlling for cognitive ability differences. Both autism and deafness are associated with delays in early language development, whereas Asperger Syndrome (AS) is not. To test whether language delay explains autistic problem-solving difficulties, experiment 4 compares TQT performance in 15 children with autism, 15 AS children and 15 age- and IQ- matched typically-developing controls. Participants with autism asked less efficient questions than both AS and TD participants, between whom no differences were observed. This suggests that the problem-solving profile in autism may be better explained as a consequence of atypical language development, rather than other aspects of information processing or executive dysfunction.

This study focused on the perceptions of six superintendents regarding the state of the profession as of 2012, and it reports their thoughts and suggestions as to what preparation is needed by superintendents for the 21st century. The participating superintendents, who were all members of the Western States Benchmarking Consortium, were employed in six school districts in five states. Data were collected through surveys and telephone interviews. The findings of this study clearly indicate a lack of cohesion between what superintendents learned in their university professional preparation programs and what they practice in their day to day activities. The superintendents involved in this study tended to favor a hybrid approach – rigorous theoretical insight grounded in real world practice. Since superintendents typically spend a good deal of their time solving challenging problems including funding shortfalls, competition from other educational institutions, and the constant scrutiny of the media; their preparation needs to provide opportunities to develop their leadership skills and solve real world problems in an environment where they can take risks. Mentoring and participation in professional consortiums were recommended as key elements for the preparation of the twenty-first century superintendent. This study contributes to the discussion of how to best prepare school leaders for the current and future demands of superintendency.

Although Catholic schools are the largest sector of the national private and faith-based educational market, the overall student enrollment in Catholic K-12 schools has steadily declined. In order for Catholic schools to remain sustainable and competitive among the many different educational options in the twenty-first century, they must set themselves apart from other schools by offering unique learning opportunities that support twenty-first century education while promoting Catholic educational values. Recognizing the need for updated teaching practices, balanced pedagogy with Catholic educational values, and focused research on Catholic education, this two-year multiple-case study explored the instructional practices of eight middle level Catholic teachers during an initiative focused on shifting instructional strategies to support twenty-first century education supported by educational technology integration. Teaching practices were documented through participant observations, interviews, survey, and historical and field evidence. Data illuminated much variability in teachers' interpretations of twenty-first century education, classroom practice, and levels of technology integration. All teachers encouraged creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration in their instruction, however these specific domains of learning were primarily supported through an emphasis on lower order cognitive skills and processes. Although evidence suggested consistent technology integration in classrooms, technology was primarily used to substitute or augment instruction as opposed to the transformation of teaching and learning to support twenty-first century education. Data also revealed a balance between Catholic educational values and new teaching pedagogies except in Religion classes or instruction. This finding suggested content subject culture was a confounding aspect to instructional practices. This study highlights suggestions for teacher practice that include rethinking the purpose and structure of assessment, balancing personal opinions of technology with twenty-first century instruction, and shifting teacher-student classroom roles to foster teaching and learning environments that support creativity. Furthermore, additional implications for teachers and policy makers center on collaboration as a model for student learning, and to promote a shared vision for Catholic education in the twenty-first century. The implications for future research focus on expanding the study to include school level influencing factors and participants, centering on Religion class as the context, and the inclusion of students' perspectives.