The effects of required/sequenced preparatory courses on academic success and retention at a community college

This dissertation had two purposes: first, to analyze how required sequenced college preparatory courses in mathematics, reading, and writing affect students' academic success and, second, to add to a theoretical model for predicting student retention at a community college. Grade point average, number of degree credits earned, and reenrollment rate were measured as determinants of academic success. The treatment group had a significantly higher grade point average than the control group. There was no significant difference in the number of degree credits earned or re-enrollment rate for the groups. A series of logistic regressions used the independent variables E-ASSET scores in math, reading, and writing; number of college prep areas required; credits earned; grade point average; students' status; academic restrictions/required course sequencing; sex; race; and socio-economic status to determine the predictor variables for retention. The academic variable that showed the greatest potential as a predictor for retention was grade point average. Overall, receiving financial aid was the greatest predictor for reenrollment. For a financial aid recipient the odds of reenrollment were 2.70 times more likely than if no financial aid was received.

Coleman’s third report

The article analyses the (third) Coleman Report on private and public schools. The report scrutinises the relationship between private and public schools and shows that private school students show better academic achievement. Coleman concluded that these findings provided a strong argument in favour of public financial support for private schools. However, he identified a number of school characteristics that he believed to be related to student achievement. According to his analysis, these characteristics were not limited to private schools; public schools exhibiting the same characteristics also had good results. Coleman interpreted the available data in favour of financial aid to private schools, although this was not the only possible interpretation. An alternative conclusion would have been to encourage these characteristics in public schools. Why did Coleman disregard this possibility? Why did he deviate from his usual scientific rigour? The present article suggests that there appear to be two reasons for the narrow interpretation of the relationship between public and private schools in Coleman's third report. The first lies in Coleman's notion of contemporary society as a constructed system in which every individual actor holds a place in the structure and requires incentives in order to act to the benefit of society. In the case of education, the goal of the institution is to ensure the high cognitive achievement of students, and the incentive is related to choice and competition. The second reason is related to Coleman's vision of sociology as a discipline aiding the construction of an effective society. (DIPF/Orig.)

Necesidades académicas, personales, sociales y vocacionales de estudiantes internacionales e intercambio en la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras

Recibido 20 de setiembre de 2011 • Aceptado 24 de octubre de 2011 • Corregido 14 de noviembre de 2011   El propósito de este estudio fue identificar las necesidades de una muestra de estudiantes internacionales y de intercambio que cursan estudios en la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras. Se exploraron datos socio-demográficos así como las necesidades académicas, vocacionales, y personales/sociales, con los fines de recopilar información de relevancia para universidades que sirven esta población y someter recomendaciones que atiendan las necesidades. Los hallazgos revelaron necesidades mayormente en las áreas académicas y vocacionales. Entre estas, se destacan la necesidad de aprender inglés o español, y el conocer sobre internados y ofrecimientos académicos en Puerto Rico y fuera del país, sueldo y oportunidades de empleo, ayudas económicas y servicios estudiantiles en la Universidad de Puerto Rico. Se proveen recomendaciones para trabajar con las necesidades identificadas ya que, según establece la bibliografía, las dificultades que confrontan estos/as estudiantes pueden afectar su desempeño académico e incluso su salud emocional.

Joseph A. Rosen Papers 1921-1938

With few exceptions, the bulk of the collection pertains to the work of the Agro-Joint. Records of the Agro-Joint Director General. Agreements of the American Relief Administration (ARA) and the Joint Distribution Committee with the Soviet government, 1922-1923. Agreements between the Agro-Joint and the Soviet government, 1924, 1927, 1928. Agreements of the Agro-Joint and the American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements (ASJFS) with the Soviet government, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1938. Materials relating to relief work of the JDC within the framework of the American Relief Administration, 1922, including the appointment of J. Rosen as the JDC representative at the ARA. Statistics, reports, miscellaneous correspondence relating to JDC activities in Russia. Minutes, memos, reports, legal documents, certificate of incorporation, and general correspondence relating to the ASJFS, its formation, fund-raising activities, 1927-1939. Records of the Agro-Joint Main Office, Moscow. Annual and periodi c reports of the Agro-Joint including statistics, financial estimates, financial reports, analyses of expenditures, relating to Agro-Joint work, 1924-1937. General correspondence files: incoming and outgoing letters, reports, and memoranda. Materials relating to land surveys and allocations in the Crimea: statistics, surveys, memos, correspondence, relating to the Salsk district, Chernomor district, Changar peninsula, Azov, Kuban, Odessa district, Samara district, Povolzhe, Krivoy Rog, Kherson, The Far East, Siberia. Materials relating to contacts with KOMZET. Correspondence, minutes of KOMZET meetings, statistical information, reports. By-laws of the OZET (Obshchestvo po Zemleustroystvu Trudyachtchikhsya Evreev - Association For the Settlement of Toiling Jews On Land) and AGRO-KUSTBANK (Evreysky Agrarno-Kustarny Bank - Jewish Agricultural and House Workers Bank). Register of Agro-Joint assets transferred to KOMZET. Records of the Agro-Joint Agricultural Department. Materials

Hyvinvointivaltion optimaalisen köyhyyspolitiikan määrittelyä

The purpose of this research is to identify the optimal poverty policy for a welfare state. Poverty is defined by income. Policies for reducing poverty are considered primary, and those for reducing inequality secondary. Poverty is seen as a function of the income transfer system within a welfare state. This research presents a method for optimising this function for the purposes of reducing poverty. It is also implemented in the representative population sample within the Income Distribution Data. SOMA simulation model is used. The iterative simulation process is continued until a level of poverty is reached at which improvements can no longer be made. Expenditures and taxes are kept in balance during the process. The result consists of two programmes. The first programme (social assistance programme) was formulated using five social assistance parameters, all of which dealt with the norms of social assistance for adults (€/month). In the second programme (basic benefits programme), in which social assistance was frozen at the legislative level of 2003, the parameter with the strongest poverty reduction effect turned out to be one of the basic unemployment allowances. This was followed by the norm of the national pension for a single person, two parameters related to housing allowance, and the norm for financial aid for students of higher education institutions. The most effective financing parameter measured by gini-coefficient in all programmes was the percent of capital taxation. Furthermore, these programmes can also be examined in relation to their costs. The social assistance programme is significantly cheaper than the basic benefits programme, and therefore with regard to poverty, the social assistance programme is more cost effective than the basic benefits programme. Therefore, public demand for raising the level of basic benefits does not seem to correspond to the most cost effective poverty policy. Raising basic benefits has most effect on reducing poverty within the group of people whose basic benefits are raised. Raising social assistance, on the other hand, seems to have a strong influence on the poverty of all population groups. The most significant outcome of this research is the development of a method through which a welfare state’s income transfer-based safety net, which has severely deteriorated in recent decades, might be mended. The only way of doing so involves either social assistance or some forms of basic benefits and supplementing these by modifying social assistance.

Fangtechnische Möglichkeiten zur Reduzierung des Beifangs von Meeresenten in der Dorschfischerei mit stationären Fanggeräten

The present contribution summarizes results of fishery investigations with gillnets and longlines in the winter cod fishery which had been carried out in the western Baltic region from 1996 to 1999 by the Bundesforschungsanstalt für Fischerei with financial aid of the country Schleswig-Holstein. The main goal of these investigations was to point out technological possibilities for a reduction of unwanted bycatches of sea ducks in gillnetting. As it is obviously impossible to reduce the local and temporal bycatch problem by means of different gillnet constructions or tactical measurements, only the temporary avoidance of fishing grounds with high abundance of ducks or the change to longlining as catch method with reduced duck bycatches may be an effective solution.

The Cancun Climate Summit: a Moderate Success

4 p.

Badania wykorzystania przez polskie biblioteki naukowe środków europejskich, grantów ministerialnych i samorządowych oraz dotacji sponsorów w latach 2000-2008

Badania dotyczące pozyskiwania środków pomocowych przez polskie biblioteki naukowe przeprowadzone zostały w ramach wewnętrznych projektów badawczych Biblioteki Uniwersyteckiej w Poznaniu. Realizacji projektu podjął się Oddział Prac Naukowych, Wydawniczych i Dydaktycznych BU. Zadanie wykonano od września 2008 do czerwca 2009 roku. Zamierzeniem autorek artykułu było uzyskanie pełnej informacji na temat środków pozabudżetowych pozyskiwanych przez polskie biblioteki naukowe oraz określenie stopnia ich wykorzystania. Zastosowano metodę sondażu diagnostycznego z wykorzystaniem techniki ankiety. Przygotowany kwestionariusz ankiety wraz z informacją dla respondentów o celu prowadzonych badań skierowano do wszystkich bibliotek uniwersyteckich, bibliotek głównych uczelni technicznych, medycznych, ekonomicznych, bibliotek akademii wychowania fizycznego, uczelni pedagogicznych i rolniczych oraz do bibliotek publicznych posiadających status bibliotek naukowych. Łącznie wysłano 70 ankiet, odpowiedzi udzieliło 38 respondentów. Wskazany w artykule okres 2000-2008 był czasem zwiększonych możliwości uzyskiwania dodatkowych funduszy przez biblioteki. Najczęściej otrzymywane fundusze to dotacje ministerialne, dalej środki sponsorów na działalność podstawową. W poważnym stopniu wspierały biblioteki, głównie biblioteki publiczne, lokalne samorządy. Zauważalne były dotacje wspierające biblioteki przekazywane przez fundacje i środki ofiarowane przez sponsorów na działalność organizacyjną; ewenementem natomiast – subwencje unijne.

Unia Europejska wobec nowych tworów państwowych (casus Kosowa, Abchazji i Osetii południowej)

W przypadku niejednolitego stanowiska państw członkowskich Unii Europejskiej wobec Kosowa, osłabieniu ulega prestiż i siła oddziaływania Unii na arenie międzynarodowej. W odniesieniu do problemu Abchazji i Osetii Południowej natomiast, działania UE obrazują, że samo wyrażenie zainteresowania określonym problemem oraz udzielanie ‘apolitycznej’ pomocy finansowej, którym nie towarzyszą wyraźnie i precyzyjnie zdefiniowane cele polityczne, działalność instytucji wyposażonych w silny mandat oraz proces aktywnych negocjacji, nie przyczynia się do rozwiązania palącego problemu międzynarodowego, narażając na szwank pozycję międzynarodową Unii Europejskiej. Po raz kolejny państwa członkowskie pokazują, iż koncepcja Wspólnej Polityki Zagranicznej i Bezpieczeństwa, wspierana między innymi przez Europejską Politykę Sąsiedztwa, jest pozbawiona stabilnych podstaw.

The SDLP and the Europeanization of the Northern Ireland Problem

This article explores the various ways in which the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) has used Europe – as a source of financial aid, political support, ideas and inspiration – in its attempts to resolve the Northern Ireland conflict. In this, the piece considers the SDLP, not as a subject, but rather as an advocate of the Europeanization of the Northern Ireland problem. In particular, it looks at the role of John Hume, a founding member and later leader of the SDLP, who inculcated a strongly pro-European outlook within the party. In doing so, the article considers the success of Hume and the SDLP in their efforts to bring a European influence to bear on Northern Ireland, especially in relation to the peace process and the 1998 Agreement. However, it also looks at both the limitations of this influence, and the problems involved with the SDLP's pro-European approach, particularly since Hume's departure as party leader in 2001. In conclusion, the article suggests that the party may have been ‘over-Europeanized’, with its long-term focus on European issues and ideas now becoming electorally disadvantageous. In this way, the Europeanization of the Northern Ireland problem, and by extension the SDLP, has proven costly to the party.

Perspectives of Urban Growth Management and Sustainable Development In West Bank, Hebron District as a case Study

The main objective of this PhD research study is to provide a perspective on the urban growth management and sustainable development in Palestine, and more specifically in Hebron district as a case study. Hebron is located 36 km south of Jerusalem, with an overall population size of around 600,000 people living in a total area around1246km2. Hebron is the biggest Palestinian district that has 16 municipalities and 154 localities. The research discusses and analyzes the urban planning system, economical and environmental policies and the solution required to manage and integrate the development elements to develop a sustainable development plan for Hebron. The research provides answers for fundamental questions such as what kind and definition of sustainable development are applicable to the Palestinian case?. What are the sustainability problems there and how the Israeli occupation and unstable political condition affect the sustainable development in Palestine? What are the urban growth management and sustainability policies and actions required from government, public and privets sector in Palestine? The fast urban growth in Palestine is facing many problems and challenges due to the increase in the population size and the resulting impact of this increase including, but not limited to, the demand of new houses, need for more infrastructure services, demands on new industrial, commercial, educational and health projects, which in turn reduces the area of agricultural lands and threatens the natural resources and environment. There are also other associated sustainability problems like the absence of effective plans or regulations that control urban expansion, the absence of sufficient sustainable development plans at the national levels for the district, new job requirements, Israeli restrictions and occupation for more than 60 years, existence of construction factories near residential areas, poor public awareness and poor governmental funds for service projects and development plans. The study consists of nine chapters. Chapter One includes an introduction, study objectives, problems and justifications, while Chapter Two has a theoretical background on sustainability topic and definitions of sustainability. The Palestinian urban planning laws and local government systems are discussed in Chapter Three and the methodology of research is detailed in Chapter Four. As for Chapter Five, it provides a general background on Hebron District including demographical and economical profiles, along with recommendations related to sustainable development for each profile Chapter Six addresses the urban environment, sustainability priorities and policies required. Chapter Seven discusses and analyzes infrastructure services including transportation, water and wastewater. As for Chapter Eight, it addresses the land use, housing and urban expansion beside the cultural heritage, natural heritage with relevant sustainable development polices and recommendations. Finally, Chapter Nine includes a conclusion and comprehensive recommendations integrating all of urban and sustainability event in one map. Hebron has a deep history including a rich cultural heritage aged by thousands of years, with 47% of Hebron district population under 14 years old. Being the biggest Palestinian district, Hebron has thousands of industrial and economical organizations beside a large agricultural sector at Palestine level. This gives Hebron a potential to play major roles in developing a national sustainability plan, as the current urban planning system in Palestine needs urgent reform and development to fulfill the sustainability requirement. The municipalities and ministers should find permanent financial aid for urban planning and development studies so as to face future challenges. The Palestinian government can benefit from available local human resources in development projects; hence Palestinian people have sufficient qualifications in most sectors. The Palestinian people also can invest in the privet sector in Palestine in case businessmen have been encouraged and clear investment laws and plans have been developed. The study provides recommendations associated to the sustainable development in Palestine in general and Hebron, as a case study, in specific. Recommendations include increasing the privet sector as well as the public involvement in urban growth management, and stopping unplanned urban expansion, subjecting granting building permits of new projects to the no-harm environmental impact assessment, increasing the coordination and cooperation between localities and central bodies, protection and renovation of old cites and green areas, increasing the quality and quantity of infrastructure services, establishing district urban planning department to coordinate and organize urban planning and sustainable development activities. Also, among recommendations come dividing Hebron into three planning and administrative areas (north, central and south), and dividing the sustainable development and implementation period (2010 to 2025) into three main phases. Finally, the study strongly recommends benefiting from the same urban development plans in similar districts at national and international levels, also to use new technologies and information systems in urban planning process.

Análisis de las relaciones político-militares colombo-estadounidenses y su incidencia en la política de seguridad y defensa venezolana durante el periodo 2006-2010

Las relaciones político-militares entre Colombia y Estados Unidos (EE.UU.) se han orientado desde la década de los ochenta a la solución de dos asuntos fundamentales de la agenda bilateral, como son: por un lado, la Lucha contra las Drogas, y desde los ataques del 11 de septiembre de 2001, la Lucha Global contra el Terrorismo Internacional. A partir de esto, la alianza formada entre ambas naciones se ha manifestado, en términos materiales, en el incremento de ayudas económicas, material armamentístico, inteligencia, tropas y contratistas estadounidenses en Colombia, lo cual, acompañado de la alineación colombiana al discurso antiterrorista estadounidense han permitido que Colombia sea considerado por EE.UU. como un aliado estratégico en la región. Ante el escenario de las relaciones colombo-estadounidenses, la administración de Hugo Chávez Frías inició un programa de reorientación de la política de seguridad y defensa venezolana con el fin de garantizar la defensa integral del Estado, a partir del incremento en la adquisición de material bélico y reequipamiento militar, la profundización de las relaciones cívico-militares y el involucramiento directo de la sociedad civil en la defensa del Estado. Por lo anterior, este estudio se centra particularmente, en determinar en qué medida la reorientación de la doctrina de seguridad venezolana durante el gobierno de Chávez, en especial durante el periodo 2006-2010, hace parte de una estrategia defensiva frente a la amenaza identificada en la relación político-militar entre Colombia y Estados Unidos.

Valuable resources for parents of hearing-impaired children (ages: birth - 5 years)

This paper presents basic and immediate resources for parents with hearing impaired children between the ages of birth and five years. Resources include those dealing with educational options, basic literature, government resources, legal rights, parent advocacy issues and financial aid.