ITE Education News, July/August 2004

Newsletter produced by the Iowa Information Technology Enterprise

ITE Education News, November/December 2004

Newsletter produced by the Iowa Information Technology Enterprise

ITE Education News, March/April 2005

Newsletter produced by the Iowa Information Technology Enterprise

Special Investigation of Certain Grants Administered by The Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, For the Period September 1, 1999 through November 30, 2003

State University Audit Report - Special Investigation

Special Investigation of Certain Grants Administered by The Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, For the Period September 1, 1999 through November 30, 2003

State University Audit Report - Special Investigation

Education, Equity and Distributive Beliefs: Evidences from the Chilean Case

During the year 2011, Chile has been scenario of several student's demonstrations claiming for more equity in the access to the higher education. The high support to the protests by the side of the general population (nearly 89% of approval in public opinion polls) seems to suggest the existence of a large consensus about the weaknesses of the Chilean educative model, a model that would challenge the traditional ideals of meritocracy and social mobility that are at the core of the educational systems in modern societies. In this context, a question that remains open is to what extent these claims are mostly based on consensual equality ideals, or whether they are influenced by individual socio-economic determinants vis-à-vis rational motives. Using data of the social inequality module International Social Survey Program (ISSP) of 2009, this research analyzes perceptions and beliefs about education and the distributive system as well as the influence of income and educational variables, through a structural equation modeling framework. Preliminary results indicate the presence of socioeconomic cleavages in relation to the fairness of the educational system, questioning the assumption about a normative consensus.

Report of Recommendations to the Iowa Department of Education, June 30, 2004

State Audit Reports

Iowa Federal Family Education Loan Program Division, Iowa College Student Aid Commission, Independent Auditor's Reports, Basic Financial Statements and Supplementary Information, June 30, 2004

State Audit Reports

Web-based Implementation of Winter Maintenance Decision Support System Using GIS and Remote Sensing, May 2005

Winter maintenance, particularly snow removal and the stress of snow removal materials on public structures, is an enormous budgetary burden on municipalities and nongovernmental maintenance organizations in cold climates. Lately, geospatial technologies such as remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), and decision support tools are roviding a valuable tool for planning snow removal operations. A few researchers recently used geospatial technologies to develop winter maintenance tools. However, most of these winter maintenance tools, while having the potential to address some of these information needs, are not typically placed in the hands of planners and other interested stakeholders. Most tools are not constructed with a nontechnical user in mind and lack an easyto-use, easily understood interface. A major goal of this project was to implement a web-based Winter Maintenance Decision Support System (WMDSS) that enhances the capacity of stakeholders (city/county planners, resource managers, transportation personnel, citizens, and policy makers) to evaluate different procedures for managing snow removal assets optimally. This was accomplished by integrating geospatial analytical techniques (GIS and remote sensing), the existing snow removal asset management system, and webbased spatial decision support systems. The web-based system was implemented using the ESRI ArcIMS ActiveX Connector and related web technologies, such as Active Server Pages, JavaScript, HTML, and XML. The expert knowledge on snow removal procedures is gathered and integrated into the system in the form of encoded business rules using Visual Rule Studio. The system developed not only manages the resources but also provides expert advice to assist complex decision making, such as routing, optimal resource allocation, and monitoring live weather information. This system was developed in collaboration with Black Hawk County, IA, the city of Columbia, MO, and the Iowa Department of transportation. This product was also demonstrated for these agencies to improve the usability and applicability of the system.

Iowa Department of Education, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Notification Letter, April 14th, 2005

State Audit Reports

Association of education and receiving social transfers with allostatic load in the Swiss population-based CoLaus study.

BACKGROUND: Allostatic load reflects cumulative exposure to stressors throughout lifetime and has been associated with several adverse health outcomes. It is hypothesized that people with low socioeconomic status (SES) are exposed to higher chronic stress and have therefore greater levels of allostatic load. OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of receiving social transfers and low education with allostatic load. METHODS: We included 3589 participants (1812 women) aged over 35years and under retirement age from the population-based CoLaus study (Lausanne, Switzerland, 2003-2006). We computed an allostatic load index aggregating cardiovascular, metabolic, dyslipidemic and inflammatory markers. A novel index additionally including markers of oxidative stress was also examined. RESULTS: Men with low vs. high SES were more likely to have higher levels of allostatic load (odds ratio (OR)=1.93/2.34 for social transfers/education, 95%CI from 1.45 to 4.17). The same patterns were observed among women. Associations persisted after controlling for health behaviors and marital status. CONCLUSIONS: Low education and receiving social transfers independently and cumulatively predict high allostatic load and dysregulation of several homeostatic systems in a Swiss population-based study. Participants with low SES are at higher risk of oxidative stress, which may justify its inclusion as a separate component of allostatic load.

Marco metodológico para la definición de un perfil profesional en educación superior = Methodological framework for the definition of a professional profile in higher education

En el marco del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior 1 se inscriben innumerables acciones que están desarrollando todas las universidades europeas con la intención de llegar al 2010 con un bagaje lo suficientemente importante como para afrontar este cambio con entereza y sobretodo conservando (o incrementando) la calidad de los procesos de enseñanza- aprendizaje que hasta el momento han predominado. Dentro de este amplio proceso de transformación se encuentra el diseño de los nuevos Grados que brinda la oportunidad de replantear los planes de estudios, por tanto, la organización de las asignaturas, estructura de los contenidos, metodologías y sistemas de evaluación. Toda esta reflexión debe girar, a nuestro entender, alrededor de tres núcleos que se encuentran en estado deinterdependencia: los escenarios profesionales, los perfiles profesionales y las competencias que en ellos se inscriben.Para poder plantear los nuevos Grados en coherencia con la era del EEES debe hacerse un análisis minucioso de los perfil profesionales demandados por el mercado de trabajo que, al fin y al cabo será el destino de los profesionales que se forman en nuestras universidades, es por ello, que la tarea de definir el perfil profesional a priori del diseño de los nuevos Grados resulta una máxima para garantizar la calidad de estos. En este trabajo se presenta un ejemplo de metodología a seguir para la definición de un perfil profesional en Educación Superior, concretamente, el del Ingeniero TIC mediante el Análisis Funcional.

Education as a mirror of Spanish society: challenges and policies towards multiple diversity

The ways in which the dominant cultural majority frames the educationalsystem determine perceptions of its own identity and understandings ofthe ‘other.’ In this article I take a political approach, by examining themanagement of cultural diversity within Spanish education policies, treating“education as the mirror of society”. This article analyzes Spanish challengesand policies approaches towards the management of immigrationrelated diversity in education. The main finding is that there is not one approach,but several, due to both the decentralized character of the educationsystem and the multiplicity of diversity that is at stake (i.e. language,religion, culture etc.)