Evaluating solutions to process, view and listen mathematical formula within an accessible context

Proves de conversió de fòrmules matemàtiques des d'editors de text ofimàtics i des de Làtex. Visionat en HTML i MathML. El millor resultat s'aconsegueix amb MSWord+MathType i IE+MathPlayer.

Placement of Students Ages 3-21 with Disabilities Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): A Policy Discussion, May 2010

The provision of free appropriate public education (FAPE), an Individualized Education Program (IEP), and the least restrictive environment (LRE) have been important cornerstones of educating students with disabilities since the enactment of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA), Public Law 94-142, in 1975, and its subsequent reauthorizations, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990, 1997, and 2004. It is impossible to consider any one of these cornerstones without the others, when determining an appropriate educational placement for a student with a disability. The Iowa Department of Education has identified several practice issues regarding the interplay between FAPE, LRE, and the IEP in placement decisions for students with disabilities. To that end, this document will provide guidance for administrators of local education agencies (LEAs) and area education agencies (AEAs), as well as IEP teams (or other placement teams) within Iowa LEAs and AEAs when making placement decisions for eligible children with disabilities. This guidance will specifically discuss ten LRE and FAPE placement/program policy questions that have been identified by the Iowa Department of Education as needing attention. The policy discussions are consistent with the legal provisions of the 2004 reauthorization of IDEA (IDEA 2004) and its 2006 final federal implementing regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). This document is also consistent with the Iowa Administrative Rules of Special Education (2007) [hereinafter “Iowa Rules”]. In addition, the term local education agency (LEA) is used interchangeably for school district throughout this document. Prior to the discussion of specific policy questions, a federal and state legal framework for providing FAPE for students with disabilities within the LRE is briefly outlined. Pertinent FAPE and LRE court decisions that impact Iowa LEAs and AEAs are also included within Section II.

Audit report on the Iowa Federal Family Education Loan Program Division, a Division of the Iowa College Student Aid Commission, for the year ended June 30, 2010

Audit report on the Iowa Federal Family Education Loan Program Division, a Division of the Iowa College Student Aid Commission, for the year ended June 30, 2010

Long-term fertilizer field trials: comparison of three mathematical response models

Selostus: Lannoituksen pitkäaikaiset kenttäkokeet: kolmen matemaattisen mallin vertailu

Education Task Force Report, August 2008

The Rebuild Iowa Public Health and Health Care Task Force respectfully submits its report to the Rebuild Iowa Advisory Commission (RIAC) for its consideration of the impacts of the tornadoes, storms, and flooding on Iowans. As the RIAC fulfills its obligations to guide the recovery and reconstruction in Iowa, the impact on the health and well-being of Iowans should be of primary concern. With many areas of the state experiencing devastating damage to their communities, public health and health care are but one of the major challenges. There are critical immediate needs to address the health, safety, and well-being of affected Iowans. This report provides background information on the damages incurred in Iowa from the disasters and additional context for policy and rebuilding discussions. It also offers recommendations to the RIAC for steps that might be taken to address these significant and important challenges.

Education Task Force Report, August 2008

The Rebuild Iowa Education Task Force is composed of Iowans with experience and expertise related to the impact of the tornadoes, storms, and floods of 2008 on the educational system in Iowa. The massive damage greatly impacted educational facilities and enrollment, resulting in thousands of displaced students and significant long-term rebuilding needs. In addition, the education system is a “community center,” and in many ways acts as a first responder to Iowans experiencing the disasters. It is important to also recognize this role and the need for “non-educational” (and often non-quantifiable) supports as a part of the overall recovery effort. There are a few parts of the state that sustained significant structural and other damage as a result of the disasters. However, many school districts and educational institutions throughout the state experienced damage that resulted in re-allocating building usage, enrollment issues (because of housing and relocation issues in the community), or use of school facilities to assist in the recovery efforts (by housing displaced community agencies and providing temporary shelter for displaced Iowans). At this time, damage estimates are only estimates and numbers are revised often. Estimates of damage are being developed by multiple agencies, including FEMA, the Iowa Department of Education, insurance companies, and schools themselves, since there are many different types of damage to be assessed and repaired. In addition to structural damage, educational institutions and communities are trying to find ways to quantify sometimes unquantifiable data, such as future revenue capabilities, population declines, and impact on mental health in the long-term. The data provided in this report is preliminary and as up to date as possible; information is updated on a regular basis as assessments continue and damage estimates are finalized.

Supplemental Information to the August 2008 Education Task Force Report, August 2008

The Rebuild Iowa Education Task Force is composed of Iowans with experience and expertise related to the impact of the tornadoes, storms, and floods of 2008 on the educational system in Iowa. The massive damage greatly impacted educational facilities and enrollment, resulting in thousands of displaced students and significant long-term rebuilding needs. In addition, the education system is a “community center,” and in many ways acts as a first responder to Iowans experiencing the disasters. It is important to also recognize this role and the need for “non-educational” (and often non-quantifiable) supports as a part of the overall recovery effort. There are a few parts of the state that sustained significant structural and other damage as a result of the disasters. However, many school districts and educational institutions throughout the state experienced damage that resulted in re-allocating building usage, enrollment issues (because of housing and relocation issues in the community), or use of school facilities to assist in the recovery efforts (by housing displaced community agencies and providing temporary shelter for displaced Iowans). At this time, damage estimates are only estimates and numbers are revised often. Estimates of damage are being developed by multiple agencies, including FEMA, the Iowa Department of Education, insurance companies, and schools themselves, since there are many different types of damage to be assessed and repaired. In addition to structural damage, educational institutions and communities are trying to find ways to quantify sometimes unquantifiable data, such as future revenue capabilities, population declines, and impact on mental health in the long-term. The data provided in this report is preliminary and as up to date as possible; information is updated on a regular basis as assessments continue and damage estimates are finalized. Supplemental Information to the August 2008 Education Task Force Report

Doctoral education's reform in Switzerland and Norway : a public management analyis

This doctoral thesis examines a recent phenomenon in European higher education, namely the reform of doctoral education. On the basis of a number of case studies, consisting of Swiss and Norwegian doctoral schools, and their institutional, national and international context, it demonstrates to what extent changes appear in doctoral education and its governance. Findings indicate new practices regarding doctoral students' recruitment, curricular component, supervision, scientific exchange, follow-up and their career. Doctoral education's character is not anymore exclusively determined by individual supervisors, but increasingly by interdisciplinary and interinstitutional colleges of academics. Finally, general governance patterns are identified: according to the type of scientific discipline and higher education institution, the institution's size and national political system, the field of higher education is more or less dominated by New Public Management or Network Governance characteristics.

Integration of teacher education into the Swiss higher education system

The integration of specific institutions for teacher education into the higher education system represents a milestone in the Swiss educational policy and has broad implications. This thesis explores organizational and institutional change resulting from this policy reform, and attempts to assess structural change in terms of differentiation and convergence within the system of higher education. Key issues that are dealt with are, on the one hand, the adoption of a research function by the newly conceptualized institutions of teacher education, and on the other, the positioning of the new institutions within the higher education system. Drawing on actor-centred approaches to differentiation, this dissertation discusses system-level specificities of tertiarized teacher education and asks how this affects institutional configurations and actor constellations. On the basis of qualitative and quantitative empirical data, a comparative analysis has been carried out including case studies of four universities of teacher education as well as multivariate regression analysis of micro-level data on students' educational choices. The study finds that the process of system integration and adaption to the research function by the various institutions have unfolded differently depending on the institutional setting and the specific actor constellations. The new institutions have clearly made a strong push to position themselves as a new institutional type and to find their identity beyond the traditional binary divide which assigns the universities of teacher education to the college sector. Potential conflicts have been identified in divergent cognitive normative orientations and perceptions of researchers, teacher educators, policy-makers, teachers, and students as to the mission and role of the new type of higher education institution. - L'intégration dans le système d'enseignement supérieur d'institutions qui ont pour tâche spécifique de former des enseignants peut être considérée comme un événement majeur dans la politique éducative suisse, qui se trouve avoir des conséquences importantes à plusieurs niveaux. Cette thèse explore les changements organisationnels et institutionnels résultant de cette réforme politique, et elle se propose d'évaluer en termes de différentiation et de convergence les changements structurels intervenus dans le système d'éducation tertiaire. Les principaux aspects traités sont d'une part la nouvelle mission de recherche attribuée à ces institutions de formation pédagogique, et de l'autre la place par rapport aux autres institutions du système d'éducation tertiaire. Recourant à une approche centrée sur les acteurs pour étudier les processus de différen-tiation, la thèse met en lumière et en discussion les spécificités inhérentes au système tertiaire au sein duquel se joue la formation des enseignants nouvellement conçue et soulève la question des effets de cette nouvelle façon de former les enseignants sur les configurations institutionnelles et les constellations d'acteurs. Une analyse comparative a été réalisée sur la base de données qualitatives et quantitatives issues de quatre études de cas de hautes écoles pédagogiques et d'analyses de régression multiple de données de niveau micro concernant les choix de carrière des étudiants. Les résultats montrent à quel point le processus d'intégration dans le système et la nouvelle mission de recherche peuvent apparaître de manière différente selon le cadre institutionnel d'une école et la constellation spécifique des acteurs influents. A pu clairement être observée une forte aspiration des hautes écoles pédagogiques à se créer une identité au-delà de la structure binaire du système qui assigne la formation des enseignants au secteur des hautes écoles spéciali-sées. Des divergences apparaissent dans les conceptions et perceptions cognitives et normatives des cher-cheurs, formateurs, politiciens, enseignants et étudiants quant à la mission et au rôle de ce nouveau type de haute école. - Die Integration spezieller Institutionen für die Lehrerbildung ins Hochschulsystem stellt einen bedeutsamen Schritt mit weitreichenden Folgen in der Entwicklung des schweizerischen Bildungswesens dar. Diese Dissertation untersucht die mit der Neuerung verbundenen Veränderungen auf organisatorischer und institutioneller Ebene und versucht, die strukturelle Entwicklung unter den Gesichtspunkten von Differenzierung und Konvergenz innerhalb des tertiären Bildungssystems einzuordnen. Zentrale Themen sind dabei zum einen die Einführung von Forschung und Entwicklung als zusätzlichem Leistungsauftrag in der Lehrerbildung und zum andern die Positionierung der pädagogischen Hochschulen innerhalb des Hochschulsystems. Anhand akteurzentrierter Ansätze zur Differenzierung werden die Besonderheiten einer tertiarisierten Lehrerbildung hinsichtlich der Systemebenen diskutiert und Antworten auf die Frage gesucht, wie die Reform die institutionellen Konfigurationen und die Akteurkonstellationen beeinflusst. Auf der Grundlage qualitativer und quantitativer Daten wurde eine vergleichende Analyse durchgeführt, welche Fallstudien zu vier pädagogischen Hochschulen umfasst sowie Regressionsanalysen von Mikrodaten zur Studienwahl von Maturanden. Die Ergebnisse machen deutlich, dass sich der Prozess der Systemintegration und die Einführung von Forschung in die Lehrerbildung in Abhängigkeit von institutionellen Ordnungen und der jeweiligen Akteurkonstellation unterschiedlich gestalten. Es lässt sich bei den neu gegründeten pädagogischen Hochschulen ein starkes Bestreben feststellen, sich als neuen Hochschultypus zu positionieren und sich eine Identität zu schaffen jenseits der herkömmlichen binären Struktur, welche die pädagogischen Hochschulen dem Fachhochschul-Sektor zuordnet. Potentielle Konflikte zeichnen sich ab in den divergierenden kognitiven und normativen Orientierungen und Wahrnehmungen von Forschern, Ausbildern, Bildungspolitikern, Lehrern und Studierenden hinsichtlich des Auftrags und der Rolle dieses neuen Typs Hochschule.

Report on the Iowa Department of Education for the year ended June 30, 2010

Report on the Iowa Department of Education for the year ended June 30, 2010

Educational expansion, intergenerational mobility and over-education

[eng] There is a vast literature on intergenerational mobility in sociology and economics. Similar interest has emerged for the phenomenon of over-education in both disciplines. There are no studies, however, linking these two research lines. We study the relationship between social mobility and over-education in a context of educational expansion. Our framework allows for the evaluation of several policies, including those affecting social segregation, early intervention programs and the power of unions. Results show the evolution of social mobility, over-education, income inequality and equality of opportunity under each scenario.