Stereotype Threat Effects on African American Children in an Urban Elementary School

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Wasserberg, Martin J.

2014-01-01

This study investigated whether a diagnostic testing condition leads to stereotype threat effects for African American children (n = 198) at an urban elementary school. Results indicated that presenting a reading test as diagnostic of abilities hindered the performance of African American children aware of racial stereotypes but not of those…

Examination of the Relationships between Urban Form and Urban Public Services Expenditure in China

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Chunming Bo

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This econometric study contributes to the ongoing debate about the costs and benefits of urban form by employing interdisciplinary means—urban planning, econometrics and public administration—to explore the relationship between urban form and urban public services expenditure. In China, particularly, rapid urbanization is accompanied by an increase of urban public services expenditure and a difference in efficiency, which undermines the promotion of urban public service development. The Chinese government has paid great attention to urban sustainable development and promoting urban public services performance; however, until recently there has been a lack of empirical studies exploring the relationship between urban public services expenditure and urban form. Thus, the present research aims to analyze this issue by using relevant indicators based on an econometric model. The results provide a promising basis for improving urban public services expenditure efficiency. Based on the urban area interpreted by remote sensing data and geographic information system, two urban form metrics, the compactness ratio and the elongation ratio, are selected and quantified to describe urban compactness and urban sprawl accurately. Panel data analyses are performed using a cross-sectional dataset of the 30 cities for the years 2007, 2010 and 2013 to assess the likelihood of association between indicators of urban form and urban public services expenditure, while controlling for other determinants, such as educational level, income per capita, degree of industrialization, and unemployment rate. The results indicate that urban elongation is positively correlated to per capita urban public services expenditure and urban compactness is insignificantly correlated to it. Thus, it is recommended that policymakers consider the relationship between urban form and public services expenditure as part of urban planning and on-going strategies to promote public service

An Analysis of Academic Achievement in Public Elementary Open-Enrollment Charter and Traditional Public Schools

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Benson, Tammy

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine two types of school organizational structures: elementary open-enrollment charter schools and elementary traditional public schools. The study examined the degree to which attendance rates (based upon the prior school year's data), class size and average number of years of teaching experience were related…

The Impact of Servant Leadership Practices in an Urban Focus Elementary School

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Davis-Elenis, Sharon V.

2016-01-01

This study examined the impact of servant leadership practices as perceived by faculty and staff in an urban Focus elementary school. A mixed-methods design was used to explore the impact of the school leader's servant leadership practices on the behavior and perceptions of the faculty and staff, and the challenges a school leader faces as a…

The Organizational Health of Urban Elementary Schools: School Health and Teacher Functioning.

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Mehta, Tara G; Atkins, Marc S; Frazier, Stacy L

2013-09-01

This study examined the factor structure of the Organizational Health Inventory-Elementary version (OHI-E; Hoy, Tarter, & Kottkamp, 1991) in a sample of 203 teachers working in 19 high-poverty, urban schools and the association of organizational school health with teacher efficacy, teacher stress, and job satisfaction. Results indicated a similar factor structure of the OHI-E as compared with the population of schools in the original sample (Hoy et al., 1991), and that specific components of organizational health, such as a positive learning environment, are associated with teacher efficacy, stress, and satisfaction. Overall, teachers' relations with their peers, their school leadership, and their students appear especially critical in high-poverty, urban schools. Recommendations for research and practice related to improving high-poverty, urban schools are presented.

Promoting Social Norms for Scientific Discourse: Planning Decisions of an Urban Elementary Teacher

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Mangiante, Elaine Silva

2015-01-01

This case study examined planning decisions made and challenges faced by an elementary teacher in a high-poverty urban district to promote students' adoption of social norms of interaction for scientific discourse. Through interviews, document analyses, and observations during a science unit, the findings indicated that the teacher's planning…

Self-Contained versus Departmentalized Settings in Urban Elementary Schools: An Analysis of Fifth-Grade Student Mathematics Performance

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Jack, Diamond Marie

2014-01-01

Student achievement in mathematics, particularly in urban areas, is a consistent concern in the United States. Research suggests that teachers either are under qualified or have a negative perception of themselves as mathematics teachers. Departmentalization on the elementary level is an organizational structure that may benefit urban students and…

Public parks as urban tourism in Jakarta

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Adiati, M. P.; Lestari, N. S.; Wiastuti, R. D.

2018-03-01

Sustainable urban tourism development should provide better places for people to live in and for people to visit. Jakarta as the capital city has a potential for its urban tourism. Thus, urban tourism attribute such as Public Park should be in high- quality to cope with the needs of urban people and outside visitors. The purpose of this study is to investigate Public Park attributes and to analyze its compliance refer to Public Park that eventually supports sustainable urban tourism. This paper used a qualitative approach. Primary data obtain from direct field observation in seven Public Parks in Jakarta; Menteng Park, Suropati Park, Situ Lembang Park, Ayodhya Park, Cattleya Park, Kodok Park, and Langsat Park. Observation checks list use as guidance. The result provides an assessment of Public Park based on four categories; the accessibility, park activities, safety, and user. The implication of this study offers recommendations to enhance Public Park so that it complies with good public park design- attributes and with the obligations of sustainable urban tourism in Jakarta.

Taking an active stance: How urban elementary students connect sociocultural experiences in learning science

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Upadhyay, Bhaskar; Maruyama, Geoffrey; Albrecht, Nancy

2017-12-01

In this interpretive case study, we draw from sociocultural theory of learning and culturally relevant pedagogy to understand how urban students from nondominant groups leverage their sociocultural experiences. These experiences allow them to gain an empowering voice in influencing science content and activities and to work towards self-determining the sciences that are personally meaningful. Furthermore, tying sociocultural experiences with science learning helps generate sociopolitical awareness among students. We collected interview and observation data in an urban elementary classroom over one academic year to understand the value of urban students' sociocultural experiences in learning science and choosing science activities.

The Organizational Health of Urban Elementary Schools: School Health and Teacher Functioning

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, Tara G.; Atkins, Marc S.; Frazier, Stacy L.

2013-01-01

This study examined the factor structure of the Organizational Health Inventory-Elementary version (OHI-E; Hoy, Tarter, & Kottkamp, 1991) in a sample of 203 teachers working in 19 high-poverty, urban schools and the association of organizational school health with teacher efficacy, teacher stress, and job satisfaction. Results indicated a similar factor structure of the OHI-E as compared with the population of schools in the original sample (Hoy et al., 1991), and that specific components of organizational health, such as a positive learning environment, are associated with teacher efficacy, stress, and satisfaction. Overall, teachers’ relations with their peers, their school leadership, and their students appear especially critical in high-poverty, urban schools. Recommendations for research and practice related to improving high-poverty, urban schools are presented. PMID:23935763

Learning through Creating an Urban Waldorf Elementary School Background

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Prager, Dana R.

2004-01-01

The purpose of this article is to profile an exemplary model of an urban public school. The Urban Waldorf School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is a successful school based on a school level and within the context of traditional assessments. At Urban Waldorf learning through an arts-based curriculum engages the students in education in a meaningful…

Using Video in Urban Elementary Professional Development to Support Digital Media Arts Integration

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Woodard, Rebecca; Machado, Emily

2017-01-01

Using ethnographic methods, this article looks closely at how a team of first-grade teachers and digital media artists in an urban elementary school used video in innovative ways during professional development over the course of one year. Extending a body of literature that primarily documents how video can be used as a tool in professional…

The Public Urban Transport and The Tourism Marketing

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Muhcină Silvia

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A distinct activity within the transport services supply, the urban public transport is both a consequence and a cause of urban development. Through its functions, the urban public transport service allows the movement to and from various places of interest within an area not only of local residents, but also of different non-residents. In addition to this, if that locality is also a tourist destination, the urban public transport service gives tourists the possibility to travel to the various points of tourist attractions. In this paper we aim to present a few aspects related to the importance of the urban public transport service in increasing the attractiveness of the urban localities regarded as tourist attractions.

Morbidity at elementary school entry differs by sex and level of residence urbanization: a comparative cross-sectional study

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Lin Kuan-Chia

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Health is vital to a child's learning in school and success in life. Therefore, early physical examination, and follow-up if necessary, would bring parents' attention to their child's health and would likely improve outcomes. The purposes of this study are twofold: to assess the health status of first-graders and to examine the health status differences between sexes, levels of residence urbanization, and quantity of available medical resources. Methods This is a comparative descriptive study. Data from the 2002 Student Entry Physical Examination (SEPE and Student Medical History Inventory (SMHI were obtained from 203 public and private elementary schools in northern Taiwan where a population of 53,053 students was included. Frequencies, independent sample t test, one-way ANOVA along with Scheff's post hoc test, and Pearson's correlation were conducted using SPSS. Results This study showed that 13.7% of students had at least one diagnosed disease from the SMHI reported by parents. Moreover, the SEPE indicated that 79.5% students had at least one health concern. Dental caries, myopia, and obesity were the most prevalent health problems among the first-graders (69.6%, 27.1%, and 9.5%, respectively. Research results show that there were significant differences in the prevalence of dental caries, myopia, and obesity between different sexes and among levels of urbanization. However, the quantity of available medical resources made no significant difference. Conclusion Elementary school entry physical examination is an important way to detect students' health problems. It is suggested that school health interventions consider students' health profiles along with their sex and level of urbanization in planning. More research is needed to find the risk factors of the health problems. Additionally, the creation of a school health committee is suggested to implement and evaluate the entry health examination program.

The Development and Implementation of Successful School-Community Partnerships in Public Elementary Education

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Record, Vincent N.

2012-01-01

Purpose: The study aimed to define common characteristics of successful school-community partnerships supporting the improvement of academic achievement in public elementary schools. Based on the perceptions of elementary school administrators, this study identified important factors of, barriers to, and benefits of successful school-community…

Urban elementary students' views of environmental scientists, environmental caretakers and environmentally responsible behaviors

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Horne, Patricia Lynne

The purpose of this research was to determine the nature of the relationship between urban elementary fifth graders, environmental workers, and the environment. The study examined 320 urban fifth grade elementary students' drawings of environmental scientists (DAEST) and environmental caretakers (DAECT). Additionally, semi-structured interviews were included to elucidate student illustrations. The study's sample represented one-third of all fifth graders in the mid-Atlantic school district selected for this research. Approximately 5% of participants were chosen for follow-up semi-structured interviews based on their illustrations. A general conclusion is some of the stereotypes, particularly related to gender, revealed in prior research (Barman, 1999, Chambers, 1983; Huber & Burton, 1995; Schibeci & Sorensen's, 1983; Sumrall, 1995) are evident among many elementary students. Male environmental scientists were drawn twice as often as female environmental scientists. Females were represented in more pictures of environmental caretakers than environmental scientists. Students overwhelmingly drew environmental scientists (98.1%) and environmental caretakers (76.5%) working alone. Wildlife was noticeably absent from most drawings (85%). Where wildlife was included, it was most often birds (6.9%) and fish (3.1%). More than one species was evident in only 2.5% of the pictures. Fifty percent of environmental caretakers were shown picking up trash from land. Actions such as reducing resource use occurred in only 13 out of 319 pictures (4.1%). Pictures of environmental caretakers sharing knowledge were even less common (2.5%). Almost 22% of females drew multiple individuals compared to 18.5% drawn by males. Females were more likely to show individuals collaborating (22.4% to 16.8%) while males were more likely to show individuals working in opposition (5.2% to 2.0%).

Inverse relationship between urban green space and childhood autism in California elementary school districts.

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Wu, Jianyong; Jackson, Laura

2017-10-01

Green space has a variety of health benefits. However, little is known about its impact on autism, the fastest-growing neurodevelopmental disorder in children. This study examined the relationship between green space and childhood autism prevalence. Autism count data in 2010 were obtained for 543 of ~560 public elementary school districts in California. Multiple types of green space were measured in each school district, including percentages of forest, grassland, and average tree canopy and near-road tree canopy. Their associations with autism prevalence were evaluated with negative binomial regression models and spatial regression models. We observed inverse associations between several green space metrics and autism prevalence in school districts with high road density, the highly urbanized areas, but not in others. According to negative binomial regression models, adjusted rate ratios (RR) for the relationships in these school districts between autism prevalence and green space metrics in 10% increments were as follows: for forest, RR=0.90 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.84-0.95); for grassland, RR=0.90 (95% CI: 0.83-0.97); for average tree canopy, RR=0.89 (95% CI: 0.83-0.95), and for near-road tree canopy, RR=0.81 (95% CI: 0.73-0.91). These results suggest that increases of 10% in forest, grassland, average tree canopy and near-road tree canopy are associated with a decrease in autism prevalence of 10%, 10% 11% and 19%, respectively. In contrast, urban land and road density were positively associated with autism prevalence. The results of spatial regression models were consistent with those obtained by negative binomial models, except for grassland. Our study suggests that green space, specifically tree cover in areas with high road density, may influence autism prevalence in elementary school children beneficially. Further studies are needed to investigate a potential causal relationship, and the major mechanisms that may underlie the beneficial associations

Academic Emphasis of Urban Elementary Schools and Student Achievement in Reading and Mathematics: A Multilevel Analysis.

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Goddard, Roger D.; Sweetland, Scott R.; Hoy, Wayne K.

2000-01-01

Examines importance of a school climate characterized by high levels of academic emphasis. Drawing on effective-schools research and social-cognitive theory, uses hierarchical linear modeling to show that academic emphasis accounts for differences among urban elementary schools in student math and reading achievement. (Contains 48 references.)…

Urban Sustainability through Public Architecture

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Soomi Kim

2018-04-01

Full Text Available As the sustainability of contemporary cities has gained emphasis, interest in architecture has increased, due to its social and public responsibility. Since sustainability is linked to public values, research on sustainable public spaces is an important way to secure sustainability in cities. Based on this, we analyzed the sustainability of European cities by examining the design methods of public architecture according to the region. The aim of the study is to derive architectural methodology corresponding to local characteristics, and to suggest issues to consider in public architecture design to promote urban sustainability based on this. First, regarding the environmental aspect, it can be observed that there is an effort to secure sustainability. Second, in terms of social sustainability, historical value remains as a trace of architectural place, so that it continues in people’s memory. In addition, public architecture provides public places where citizens can gather and enjoy programs, while the architectural methods showed differences influenced by cultural conditions. Third, in economic sustainability, it was shown that energy saving was achieved through cost reduction through recycling of materials, facilities, or environmental factors. In conclusion, the issues to be considered in public architectural design are the voiding of urban space through architectural devices in the construction method. In other words, the intention is to form “ground” that attempts to be part of the city, and thereby create better places. Since skin and material have a deep relationship with the environment, they should have the durability and an outer skin that are suitable for the regional environment. Finally, sustainability is to be utilized through the influx of programs that meet local and environmental characteristics. Design research into public architecture that is oriented towards urban sustainability will be a task to be carried out by the

Public health emergencies in urban India

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Bhabani Prasad Acharya

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Public health emergencies in urban India can be caused by natural or man-made disasters. Occurrence of a public health emergency adds to the already stretched health system. This paper looks into the public health emergency conditions in urban India, and our preparedness to tackle them. To address this composite threat to nation’s health and development, a concerted public health response is needed, that can ensure efficient delivery in emergency situations Public health emergency is an occurrence or eminent threat of an illness or health condition caused by bio-terrorism, epidemic or pandemic disease, or novel and highly fatal infectious agent or biological toxin, that possess a substantial risk of a significant number of human facilities or incidents or permanent or long–term disability (1. It is a condition that requires the government to declare a state of public health emergency. The declaration of a state of public health emergency permits the government to suspend state regulations,and change the functions of state agencies (2. Term “Urban” refers to perplexing variety of environments.  Health circumstances of small cities and town differ in many ways from larger cities and metros. Within cities, change in lifestyle of residents is observed. The urban system is often present with full array of health providers ranging from traditional healer, street drug seller to highly –trained surgeons (3.

Girl Talk: A Qualitative Study of Girls Talking about the Meaning of Their Lives in an Urban Single-Sex Elementary School

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Ridenour, Carolyn S.; Hassell Hughes, Sheila

2016-01-01

The suburban-urban achievement gap (diminishing until the 1980s) has stopped its narrowing trend, and single-sex schools are proliferating as a reform model, especially in urban areas. In this study researchers interviewed eight elementary school girls (in an all-girls school) three times over 2 years, and the resulting 23 transcripts were…

Everyday urban public space : Turkish immigrant women's perspective

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Ünlü Yücesoy, E.

2006-01-01

This thesis examines the use, experience, and appropriation of everyday urban public spaces by Turkish immigrant women living in Enschede, the Netherlands. Based on the two premises of conceptualizing the urban public space as a social construct and of valorizing users as social actors, the main

The Association between Elementary School Start Time and Students' Academic Achievement in Wayzata Public Schools

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Dupuis, Danielle N.

2015-01-01

The Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) conducted two analyses with the purpose of examining the association between elementary school start time and students' academic achievement in mathematics and reading in Wayzata Public Schools. The first analysis examined the association between elementary school start time and…

The role of public libraries in culture-led urban regeneration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skot-Hansen, Dorte; Hvenegaard, Casper; Jochumsen, Henrik

2013-01-01

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to present a research project on public libraries in urban development focusing on how libraries contribute to culture‐led urban regeneration as icons, placemakers and community vitalization. Design/methodology/approach – The research project is based...... implications – The article provides a framework for development of strategies and legitimization for public libraries and a point of departure for the discussion of the library's contribution to urban development. Originality/value – This is the first public presentation of the findings of the results...... of the research project Public Libraries in Urban Development – Creativity, Innovation and Experience outside the Nordic countries....

Testing the Limits: The Purposes and Effects of Additional, External Elementary Mathematics Assessment

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Lombardi, Karen Ann

2011-01-01

This mixed-methods case study focuses on the third through fifth grade classrooms at a public elementary school in a Midwestern urban school district where the Northwest Evaluation Association's (NWEA) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment is being implemented. According to the school district, the goals of these tests are: to show…

Exploring Association between Morphology of Tree Planting and User Activities in Urban Public Space; An opportunity of Urban Public Space Revitalisation

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Shen, Qi; Liu, Yan

2018-03-01

This paper discusses the association between the morphology of tree planting in urban riverside brown field and user activities. With the growth of popularity, the revitalisation of urban public space is also promising. This research used drone photography and mapping to systematically surveys sample sites. An original observation study of user activities proceed in four sample public spaces in Sheffield. The study results found there are huge popularity and duration difference of user activities between various tree planting morphologies and typologies. The public space with lawn and rounded by mature trees attracted most users with the most activity types; the neat and silent public space is the favourite choice of lunch and reading, meanwhile it got the longest activity duration; but the space with sparse morphology and small trees are more likely be forgotten and abandoned. This finding offered a great opportunity for urban public space revitalisation in post-industrial cities.

The urban public space betterment and land use sustainability Under the human behavior

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Zhao, Xiaofan; Ji, Yanning

2018-02-01

This paper analyzes the differences between Chinese and western public life and environmental behavior habits. Identify specific needs for Chinese urban public Spaces. At the same time, the paper analyzes the problems related to urban construction in China, including micro-land use, transportation and urban pattern. The solution of Chinese urban public space layout is proposed and the prospects of sustainable urban public space. Urban betterment are prospected in the future.

Selected Statistics from the Public Elementary and Secondary Education Universe: School Year 2014-15. First Look. NCES 2016-076

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Glander, Mark

2016-01-01

This National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) "First Look" report introduces new data for the universe of public elementary and secondary schools and agencies in the United States in school year (SY) 2014-15. Specifically, this report includes statistics that describe: (1) the numbers and types of public elementary and secondary…

The public health response to 'do-it-yourself' urbanism.

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Sibbald, Shannon L; Graham, Ross; Gilliland, Jason

2017-09-01

Greater understanding of the important and complex relationship between the built environment and human health has made 'healthy places' a focus of public health and health promotion. While current literature concentrates on creating healthy places through traditional decision-making pathways (namely, municipal land use planning and urban design processes), this paper explores do-it-yourself (DIY) urbanism: a movement circumventing traditional pathways to, arguably, create healthy places and advance social justice. Despite being aligned with several health promotion goals, DIY urbanism interventions are typically illegal and have been categorized as a type of civil disobedience. This is challenging for public health officials who may value DIY urbanism outcomes, but do not necessarily support the means by which it is achieved. Based on the literature, we present a preliminary approach to health promotion decision-making in this area. Public health officials can voice support for DIY urbanism interventions in some instances, but should proceed cautiously.

FOOD HABIT AMONG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN URBAN BOGOR

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Evy Damayanthi

2012-03-01

Full Text Available 800x600 Normal 0 false false false IN X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} Food habit strongly predicts individual nutritional status. It is largely influenced by family food habit and family socioeconomic, partly by nutrition education learning in the school.  Objectives of this study were to analyze elementary school children eating habit and examine whether it relates to family socioeconomic and nutritional status. One hundred elementary school children, and their mother, from one school in urban Bogor were chosen purposively according to SIBERMAS Program criteria (i.e. grade 4th and 5th, morning school, having UKS program and not having canteen. Self administered, structured pre-coded questionnaire were used to collect the data. Nutritional status was assessed using weight and height, and body mass index for age (BAZ and height for age (HAZ were then calculated using AnthroPlus software developed by WHO (2009. School children were 8-11 years old (mean 9.37 + 0.66 years, more girls (54%, and mostly had normal nutritional status using both indexes (72% for BAZ and 95% for HAZ. School children were commonly from middle class as indicated by father education (sarjana and mother (senior high school.  Almost all school children (99% knew breakfast was important and 81% of them ate breakfast. Only 32% school children brought lunch box everyday although 92% stated their habit to bring lunch box to school. Buying snack in school was also common among school children. Generally school children ate rice 3 times a day (2.95 + 0.97 with fish, meat, chicken (2.47 + 1.14, tempe and

Selected Statistics from the Public Elementary and Secondary Education Universe: School Year 2012-13. First Look. NCES 2014-098

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Keaton, Patrick

2014-01-01

This National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) First Look report introduces new data for the universe of public elementary and secondary schools and agencies in the United States in school year (SY) 2012-13. Specifically, this report includes statistics that describe: (1) the numbers and types of public elementary and secondary schools and…

Selected Statistics from the Public Elementary and Secondary Education Universe: School Year 2013-14. First Look. NCES 2015-151

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Glander, Mark

2015-01-01

This National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) First Look report introduces new data for the universe of public elementary and secondary schools and agencies in the United States in school year (SY) 2013-14. Specifically, this report includes statistics that describe: (1) the numbers and types of public elementary and secondary schools and…

TOWARDS A VIRTUAL MUSEUM OF PUBLIC ART AND URBAN DESIGN

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Antoni Remesar

2008-10-01

Full Text Available This article comes from the communication that the authors presented at the International Seminar on “Public Art and Urban Design” held in Almada (Portugal in 2006 and later in Barcelona, 2007. Through a series of questions, the authors raise the issues of production, management and dissemination of public art in the context of Urban Design. These questions arise from the analysis carried out on a series of manuals of “good practice” disseminated by several municipalities and public agencies devoted to the Public Art. Finally, the authors outline the open possibilities for a Virtual Museum of Public Art and Urban Design, based on the existence of Public Art Information Systems that have cities like Barcelona and Saragossa and that are being developed in Lisbon and Almada

Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, February 7, 2003.

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Paige, Rod

A letter from Rod Paige, United States Secretary of Education, introduces a booklet which provides guidance to state educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and the public on constitutionally protected prayer in U.S. public elementary and secondary schools. The guidance also sets forth and explains the responsibilities of…

Influence of urban waterfront appearance on public space functions

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Iva Hradilová

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Although the issue of urban waterfront is not entirely new, it still represents a very vivid topic. Urban waterfronts have for long been standing in the forefront of many architects and organizations, who are aware of their value and the potential a watercourse carries within the urban interior. A watercourse is an interconnecting element between the urban development and the surrounding countryside and urban waterfronts are the intermediaries of communication. It is exactly in their area where the city - a purely human product with an inner structure and order defined by humans - meets the element of water, which is a purely natural component.What influences the urban structure most is, however, the presence of water in its very basic form i.e. in the form of a river. Its significance and effect on the public space and the inner relations within the body of the settlement vary with the size and the width of the flow, character of the waterfront, architectural layout of the riverbanks and its current utilization. Urban river works as a communication element which meets with the natural features. It seems to be unnatural to define a waterfront space like mono-functional site. This space denies the very essence of the waterfront and the city’s inhabitants appear as unattractive. In this case the very attractive element of water is unable to urban residents to attract together. In general, the quality of the public space is determined by the degree of its utilization by a wider group of inhabitants. It is the inhabitants themselves who imprints the concept of a public space to empty urban spaces.The present form of urban waterfronts is a result of the historical development, attitude and mental state of the society. The architectural appearance of not only the waterfront but also all public spaces is a reflection of the current social values. It gives evidence about the character of the society, the present economic system, the state and thinking

URBAN COHESION: A PUBLIC SPACE NETWORK ASSESSMENT

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Ana Júlia Pinto

2015-07-01

With this in mind, we have analysed one study case in Barcelona – the Barceloneta neighbourhood, a historic quarter outside the old walled city that is now part of its consolidated urban fabric. The analysis of this case allows us to assess both (1 the role that the urban layout plays in the configuration of the public space network, forcing us to reflect on the role of “boundaries” as fundamental elements in the articulation among the local and overall public space networks in the city; and (2 the role of several socio-economic dynamics affecting to the everyday life of these neighbourhoods

Integrated Quality Management System in Public Urban Traffic

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Husein Pašagić

2005-09-01

Full Text Available Public urban traffic (PUT requirements are based on thespecific characteristics that dictate the requirements themselves.The problems faced by all the big cities regarding public urbantransport are very similar, and they range from unacceptabilityof the very organisational structure of the system facing the populationgrowth, limitations and congestions of the traffic routesloaded by an increasing number of automobiles, to the chroniclack of economic funds for the investments that would createthe necessary conditions for positive shifts. In PUT there aremany random parameters whose statistical laws are not easy todetermine and it is often the topic of research of various profilesof scientists. There is always the satisfaction, that is, the lack ofsatisfaction by the final user of the public urban transport andall the other involved groups. The result is that the potential usersof public urban transport give up and try to find other solutionsfor their transport needs, turning in principle to individualtraffic. Consequently, the number of passenger cars on the trafficroutes increases along with all the resulting negative effects.The complex systems of public urban transport facing the increasingrequirements to improve efficiency have to be subjectedto certain changes in order to achieve physical sustainability oftraffic at all, and to satisfy the environmental requirements thatoccur as counterbalance to the pollution of the urban area.With the aim of achieving optimal conditions for the qualityof service, and by introducing acceptable traffic solutionscombined with the integrated quality management systembased on the standards ISO 9001 and ISO 14000 high-qualityshifts are made possible. The integration of these standards resultsin the rational combining of the quality management systeminto a single efficient system, reflected in achieving high-quality traffic and transport service, improved informationflow, unique documentation, positive

An ecological public health approach to understanding the relationships between sustainable urban environments, public health and social equity.

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Bentley, Michael

2014-09-01

The environmental determinants of public health and social equity present many challenges to a sustainable urbanism-climate change, water shortages and oil dependency to name a few. There are many pathways from urban environments to human health. Numerous links have been described but some underlying mechanisms behind these relationships are less understood. Combining theory and methods is a way of understanding and explaining how the underlying structures of urban environments relate to public health and social equity. This paper proposes a model for an ecological public health, which can be used to explore these relationships. Four principles of an ecological public health-conviviality, equity, sustainability and global responsibility-are used to derive theoretical concepts that can inform ecological public health thinking, which, among other things, provides a way of exploring the underlying mechanisms that link urban environments to public health and social equity. Theories of more-than-human agency inform ways of living together (conviviality) in urban areas. Political ecology links the equity concerns about environmental and social justice. Resilience thinking offers a better way of coming to grips with sustainability. Integrating ecological ethics into public health considers the global consequences of local urban living and thus attends to global responsibility. This way of looking at the relationships between urban environments, public health and social equity answers the call to craft an ecological public health for the twenty-first century by re-imagining public health in a way that acknowledges humans as part of the ecosystem, not separate from it, though not central to it. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Vgi Based Urban Public Transport

Science.gov (United States)

Teymurian, F.; Alesheikh, A. A.; Alimohammadi, A.; Sadeghi-Niaraki, A.

2013-09-01

Recent advances in information technology have made geographic information system (GIS) a powerful and affordable tool for planning and decision making in various fields such as the public transportation. These technologies such as the social network (e.g. face-book, twitter), new technologies such as ubiquitous, mobile, Web 2.0, geo tagging and RFID can help to create better shapes and forms of the communication and geo-collaboration for public. By using these, user-generated content and spatial information can be easily and quickly produced and shared in a dynamic, interactive, multimedia and distributed environment. The concept of volunteered geographic information (VGI) has been introduced by the transaction from consultation to content interaction. VGI describes any type of content that has a geographic element and has been voluntarily collected. In other words, ordinary users; without a professional training, can participate in generating and using the spatial information. As a result, the gaps between the producers and users of GIS and spatial information, has been considerably reduced. Public transportation is one of the most important elements of the transportation system. Rapid growth of the cities has resulted in high increase of demand for the public transportation which created new challenges. Improvement of the desirability of public transportation can increase its efficiency, reduction of the environmental pollution (such as air and noise pollution), traffic problems, and fuel consumption. Hence, development of an urban public transportation system which is responsive to citizen's need and motivates them to use public transportation system is one of the most important objectives and issues that urban planners and designers are concerned about. One solution to achieve this, goal is to develop public transportation system by assistance from the system users. According to approach, users are considered as the valuable resources, because people who are

The Utility of Elementary School TOCA-R Scores in Identifying Later Criminal Court Violence Among Adolescent Females

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Petras, Hanno; Ialongo, Nicholas; Lambert, Sharon F.; Barrueco, Sandra; Schaeffer, Cindy M.; Chilcoat, Howard; Kellam, Sheppard

2005-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the utility of a teacher-rating instrument (Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised [TOCA-R]) of aggressive behavior during elementary school years in identifying girls at risk of later criminal court violence. Method: A community epidemiological sample of 845 urban public school girls was rated at six time…

Urban school leadership for elementary science instruction: Identifying and activating resources in an undervalued school subject

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Spillane, James P.; Diamond, John B.; Walker, Lisa J.; Halverson, Rich; Jita, Loyiso

2001-10-01

This article explores school leadership for elementary school science teaching in an urban setting. We examine how school leaders bring resources together to enhance science instruction when there appear to be relatively few resources available for it. From our study of 13 Chicago elementary (K-8) schools' efforts to lead instructional change in mathematics, language arts, and science education, we show how resources for leading instruction are unequally distributed across subject areas. We also explore how over time leaders in one school successfully identified and activated resources for leading change in science education. The result has been a steady, although not always certain, development of science as an instructional area in the school. We argue that leading change in science education involves the identification and activation of material resources, the development of teachers' and school leaders' human capital, and the development and use of social capital.

Research on assessment methods for urban public transport development in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Linghong; Dai, Hongna; Yao, Enjian; Jiang, Tian; Guo, Hongwei

2014-01-01

In recent years, with the rapid increase in urban population, the urban travel demands in Chinese cities have been increasing dramatically. As a result, developing comprehensive urban transport systems becomes an inevitable choice to meet the growing urban travel demands. In urban transport systems, public transport plays the leading role to promote sustainable urban development. This paper aims to establish an assessment index system for the development level of urban public transport consisting of a target layer, a criterion layer, and an index layer. Review on existing literature shows that methods used in evaluating urban public transport structure are dominantly qualitative. To overcome this shortcoming, fuzzy mathematics method is used for describing qualitative issues quantitatively, and AHP (analytic hierarchy process) is used to quantify expert's subjective judgment. The assessment model is established based on the fuzzy AHP. The weight of each index is determined through the AHP and the degree of membership of each index through the fuzzy assessment method to obtain the fuzzy synthetic assessment matrix. Finally, a case study is conducted to verify the rationality and practicability of the assessment system and the proposed assessment method.

Discussing Princess Boys and Pregnant Men: Teaching about Gender Diversity and Transgender Experiences within an Elementary School Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan, Caitlin L.; Patraw, Jasmine M.; Bednar, Maree

2013-01-01

This study shares the experiences and outcomes of teaching about gender diversity in an elementary school classroom. It outlines how an urban public school teacher included discussions of transgender and gender-nonconforming people within the curriculum and documents the ways in which her students responded to those lessons. By making discussions…

Factors of School Effectiveness and Performance of Selected Public and Private Elementary Schools: Implications on Educational Planning in the Philippines

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Gilbert C. Magulod Jr.

2017-02-01

Full Text Available What defines effective school is the necessity of the school community to tailor interventions to improve quality of education. This study determined the factors of school effectiveness and level of school performance of private and public elementary schools in the Second Congressional District of Cagayan Province, Philippines. The study made use of mixed-method research. For quantitative, the descriptive correlational method was used to identify the relationship between school effectiveness and school performance. Factorial analysis was also used to identify the principal components of school effectiveness of private and public elementary schools. The participants of the study were the 182 public and private elementary school principals and teachers from the 20 sampled schools. School effectiveness was measured using the seven correlates of effective schools. On the other hand, the level of school performance was gauged through the National Achievement Test (NAT results for the past three years. The qualitative part of the study focused on the school effectiveness practices and NAT practices of selected private and public elementary schools. The findings of the study revealed that the level of school effectiveness of both private and public elementary schools was excellent. However, test of difference showed that public schools exhibited stronger home-school relations than the private schools. In terms of the level of school performance, public schools perform better than the private schools for the past three years. Significantly, there exists a strong positive relationship between school effectiveness and school performance. The factorial analysis revealed that among all the correlates of school effectiveness, school leadership competency and professional collaboration influenced the performance of both schools. Recommendations of the study can help the government and school officials to plan appropriate strategies in improving the quality of

Role of environmental rights in the urban design of public places

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A.R. Sadeghi

2016-07-01

Full Text Available In the current period, followed by the industrial revolution, the damaging effects of the one-dimensional attitude towards the environment caused by human have had countless hazards. To cope with these risks, the respect and protection of environmental values has attracted today's urban human attention once again and the issues about the human right to a decent, safe and healthy environment which is called briefly" environmental rights ", have widely been discussed. In fact, this research is formed on the basis of the principle that the right to a healthy environment, must be respected in the design of public spaces and the legal aspects of this principle must be considered in dealing with these spaces, so one of the necessary contexts to the conversion of today’s public spaces to valuable urban places would be provided. Therefore, in this study the human right to a healthy, safe and decent environment and the related concepts has been reviewed and the role of the environment in the process of transforming urban spaces to urban places has been discussed. This study also emphasizes on the role of the noise pollution of the urban public spaces as one of the threatening factors of the right to the environment, in the inefficiency and disorder in the process of the conversion of these spaces to public places and while reviewing the laws to reduce such pollution in urban public spaces, it stresses the necessity of considering these rules in designing the urban public spaces. This study uses descriptive and analytic research methodology and investigation techniques of literature review by using library studies.

Parent Involvement in Children's Education: An Exploratory Study of Urban, Chinese Immigrant Families

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Ji, Cheng Shuang; Koblinsky, Sally A.

2009-01-01

This exploratory study examined the involvement of Chinese immigrant parents in children's elementary and secondary education. Participants were 29 low-income, urban parents of public school children working primarily in the hospitality sector. Parents were interviewed about their academic expectations, knowledge of school performance, parent…

Multiple victimization experiences of urban elementary school students: associations with psychosocial functioning and academic performance.

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Holt, Melissa K; Finkelhor, David; Kantor, Glenda Kaufman

2007-05-01

This study explored the victimization experiences of urban elementary school students to determine whether subsets of youth emerged with similar victimization profiles (e.g., no victimization, multiple types of victimization). It also evaluated whether multiple victimization was associated with greater psychological distress and lower academic performance. Participants were 689 fifth grade students from an urban, ethnically diverse school district in the Northeast. Youth completed self-report measures in school about bullying victimization, victimization in the home and community, and psychosocial functioning. Cluster analysis suggested the existence of three distinct youth profiles: those with minimal victimization, those victimized primarily by their peers, and those with multiple types of victimizations. As hypothesized, youth with multiple victimizations experienced more psychological distress and earned lower grades than their peers. Findings highlight the heterogeneity of youth victimization experiences and their relations to functioning, and have implications for treatment planning among practitioners working with youth.

Teacher Candidates and Latina/o English Learners at Fenton Elementary School: The Role of Early Clinical Experiences in Urban Teacher Education

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Nasir, Ambareen; Heineke, Amy J.

2014-01-01

This study investigates how early clinical experiences impact teacher candidates' learning and experiences with Latina/o English learners in a field-based program housed in a multilingual, urban elementary school. We draw on multiple-case study design and use discourse analysis to explore cases of three candidates. Findings reveal exploration of…

Urban public health assessment and pattern analysis: comparison of four cities in different countries

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Su, Meirong; Chen, Chen; Lu, Weiwei; Liu, Gengyuan; Yang, Zhifeng; Chen, Bin

2013-06-01

Urban public health is an important global issue, and receives extensive attention. It is necessary to compare urban public health status among different cities, so that each city can define its own health patterns and limiting factors. The following assessment indicators were established to evaluate urban public health status: living conditions, physical health, education and culture, environmental quality, and social security. A weighted-sum model was used in combination with these indicators to compare the urban public health status in four cities—Beijing, New York, London, and Tokyo—using data for 2000-2009. Although the urban public health level of Beijing was lower than that of the other cities, it showed the greatest increase in this level over the study period. Different patterns of urban public health were identified: London had the most balanced, steady pattern (almost all factors performed well and developed stably); New York and Tokyo showed balanced, but unsteady patterns (most factors remained high, though social security and environmental quality fluctuated); Beijing had the most unbalanced, unsteady pattern (the different factors were at different levels, and education and culture and social security fluctuated). For enhanced urban public health status, environmental quality and education and culture clearly need to be improved in Beijing. This study demonstrates that a comparison of different cities is helpful in identifying limiting factors for urban public health and providing an orientation for future urban development.

Ivestigating Earth Science in Urban Schoolyards

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Endreny, Anna; Siegel, Donald I.

2009-01-01

The Urban Schoolyards project is a two year partnership with a university Earth Science Department and the surrounding urban elementary schools. The goal of the project was to develop the capacity of elementary teachers to teach earth science lessons using their schoolyards and local parks as field sites. The university personnel developed lessons…

Assessment of Exposure of Elementary Schools to Traffic Pollution by GIS Methods.

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Štych, Přemysl; Šrámková, Denisa; Braniš, Martin

2016-06-01

The susceptibility of children to polluted air has been pointed out several times in the past. Generally, children suffer from higher exposure to air pollutants than adults because of their higher physical activity, higher metabolic rate and the resultant increase in minute ventilation. The aim of this study was to examine the exposure characteristics of public elementary schools in Prague (the capital of the Czech Republic). The exposure was examined by two different methods: by the proximity of selected schools to major urban roads and their location within the modeled urban PM10 concentration fields. We determined average daily traffic counts for all roads within 300 m of 251 elementary schools using the national road network database and geographic information system and calculated by means of GIS tools the proximity of the schools to the roads. In the second method we overlapped the GIS layer of predicted annual urban PM10 concentration field with that of geocoded school addresses. The results showed that 208 Prague schools (almost 80%) are situated in a close proximity (<300 m) of roads exhibiting high traffic loads. Both methods showed good agreement in the proportion of highly exposed schools at risk; however, we found significant differences in the locations of schools at risk determined by the two methods. We argue that results of similar proximity studies should be treated with caution before they are used in risk based decision-making process, since different methods may provide different outcomes. Copyright© by the National Institute of Public Health, Prague 2015.

Walking school bus programs in U.S. public elementary schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Lindsey; Chriqui, Jamie F; Chaloupka, Frank J

2013-07-01

Active transportation to school provides an important way for children to meet physical activity recommendations. The "walking school bus" (WSB) is a strategy whereby adults walk with a group of children to and from school along a fixed route. This study assessed whether school-organized WSB programs varied by school characteristics, district policies, and state laws. School data were gathered by mail-back surveys in nationally representative samples of U.S. public elementary schools during the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 school years (n = 632 and 666, respectively). Corresponding district policies and state laws were obtained. Nationwide, 4.2% of schools organized a WSB program during 2008-2009, increasing to 6.2% by 2009-2010. Controlling for demographic covariates, schools were more likely to organize a WSB program where there was a strong district policy pertaining to safe active routes to school (OR = 2.14, P law requiring crossing guards around schools (OR = 2.72, P laws are associated with an increased likelihood of elementary schools organizing these programs. Policymaking efforts may encourage schools to promote active transportation.

Longitudinal Academic Achievement Outcomes: Modeling the Growth Trajectories of Montessori Elementary Public School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Mallett, Jan Davis

2014-01-01

Elementary education has theoretical underpinnings based on cognitive psychology. Ideas from cognitive psychologists such as James, Dewey, Piaget, and Vygotsky coalesce to form constructivism (Cooper, 1993; Yager, 2000; Yilmaz, 2011). Among others, the Montessori Method (1912/1964) is an exemplar of constructivism. Currently, public education in…

Teacher consultation and coaching within mental health practice: classroom and child effects in urban elementary schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Cappella, Elise; Hamre, Bridget K; Kim, Ha Yeon; Henry, David B; Frazier, Stacy L; Atkins, Marc S; Schoenwald, Sonja K

2012-08-01

To examine effects of a teacher consultation and coaching program delivered by school and community mental health professionals on change in observed classroom interactions and child functioning across one school year. Thirty-six classrooms within 5 urban elementary schools (87% Latino, 11% Black) were randomly assigned to intervention (training + consultation/coaching) and control (training only) conditions. Classroom and child outcomes (n = 364; 43% girls) were assessed in the fall and spring. Random effects regression models showed main effects of intervention on teacher-student relationship closeness, academic self-concept, and peer victimization. Results of multiple regression models showed levels of observed teacher emotional support in the fall moderated intervention impact on emotional support at the end of the school year. Results suggest teacher consultation and coaching can be integrated within existing mental health activities in urban schools and impact classroom effectiveness and child adaptation across multiple domains. © 2012 American Psychological Association

Availability of healthy snack foods and beverages in stores near high-income urban, low-income urban, and rural elementary and middle schools in Oregon.

Science.gov (United States)

Findholt, Nancy E; Izumi, Betty T; Nguyen, Thuan; Pickus, Hayley; Chen, Zunqiu

2014-08-01

Food stores near schools are an important source of snacks for children. However, few studies have assessed availability of healthy snacks in these settings. The aim of this study was to assess availability of healthy snack foods and beverages in stores near schools and examine how availability of healthy items varied by poverty level of the school and rural-urban location. Food stores were selected based on their proximity to elementary/middle schools in three categories: high-income urban, low-income urban, and rural. Audits were conducted within the stores to assess the presence or absence of 48 items in single-serving sizes, including healthy beverages, healthy snacks, fresh fruits, and fresh vegetables. Overall, availability of healthy snack foods and beverages was low in all stores. However, there was significant cross-site variability in availability of several snack and fruit items, with stores near high-income urban schools having higher availability, compared to stores near low-income urban and/or rural schools. Stores near rural schools generally had the lowest availability, although several fruits were found more often in rural stores than in urban stores. There were no significant differences in availability of healthy beverages and fresh vegetables across sites. Availability of healthy snack foods and beverages was limited in stores near schools, but these limitations were more severe in stores proximal to rural and low-income schools. Given that children frequent these stores to purchase snacks, efforts to increase the availability of healthy products, especially in stores near rural and low-income schools, should be a priority.

Challenging the ‘End of Public Space’: A Comparative Analysis of Publicness in British and Dutch Urban Spaces

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Langstraat, F.; Melik, R.G. van

2013-01-01

The increasing involvement of the private sector in the design and management of urban public space has prompted some critical scholars to predict the ‘end of public space’. This study reassesses the implications of private sector involvement through a comparative analysis of British and Dutch urban

QUALITY OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SERVICES IN URBAN AREA OF ORADEA

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Silaghi Simona

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Intensification of public transport in urban areas due to increased mobility at regional and national levels, discrepancies among urban areas with same population and lack of statistical data related to performance and quality of public transport services are the main determinants of this paper. A separation line must be drawn between quality of services and performance indicators of public transport system. Service quality is a multi subjective outcome of an array of intangible variables. Service quality can be approached from four directions: consumer, vehicle performance (including the human operator, specialized company in passenger transport, and the Government (local Councils. Availability, comfort and convenience are the two main indicators that must be evaluated by citizens as being with high grades for a good quality of urban transport services. The instrument used to gather data is the preference survey.

Including public-health benefits of trees in urban-forestry decision making

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Geoffrey H. Donovan

2017-01-01

Research demonstrating the biophysical benefits of urban trees are often used to justify investments in urban forestry. Far less emphasis, however, is placed on the non-bio-physical benefits such as improvements in public health. Indeed, the public-health benefits of trees may be significantly larger than the biophysical benefits, and, therefore, failure to account for...

Public-private partnerships in urban regeneration areas in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Michael Tophøj; Aunsborg, Christian

2006-01-01

The paper focuses formal as well as informal public-private partnerships (PPP) in Danish urban regeneration areas. The concept ‘urban regeneration areas’ was introduced in the 2003 Planning Act as old, remaining industrial areas within the city boundaries by now were recognized as an ressource...... into housing while neighbouring noisy industries go on. Beyond this, from a municipal point of view there are several public interests to manage when old, remaining industrial areas face re-development. The motive of the municipal council can either be regulative (safeguarding certain financial or other public....../neighbour interests, e.g. exceeding what is directly permitted by written law) or supporting (encourage developers to re-develop an area, e.g. by subsidies). The purpose of the paper is to describe the range of possible partnerships between public and private partners, and to investigate their legal background...

Somatic symptoms, peer and school stress, and family and community violence exposure among urban elementary school children.

Science.gov (United States)

Hart, Shayla L; Hodgkinson, Stacy C; Belcher, Harolyn M E; Hyman, Corine; Cooley-Strickland, Michele

2013-10-01

Somatic symptoms are a common physical response to stress and illness in childhood. This study assessed 409, primarily African American (85.6 %), urban elementary school children to examine the association between: (1) somatic symptoms and potential external stressors (school and peer stress, family conflict, and community violence) and (2) parent and child agreement on children's self-report of somatic symptoms. The odds of self-report of somatic complaints were significantly associated with family conflict, school and peer stress, and community violence exposure (OR = 1.26, 95 % CI: 1.05-1.50; OR = 1.18, 95 % CI 1.08-1.28; and OR = 1.02, 95 % CI: 1.00-1.05, respectively). Identifying the associations between social, family, and community based stress and somatic symptoms may improve the quality of life for children living in urban environments through early identification and treatment.

COMPARISON OF SUSTAINABILITY BETWEEN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT CONSIDERING URBAN STRUCTURE

OpenAIRE

Masanobu KII

2003-01-01

It is said that the car is convenient but consumes high-energy per passenger, while public transport is an environmentally friendly mode but needs high cost of investment and management. However, this view does not take account of urban structure such as population size and density. For instance, higher population density would cause congestion and consequent inconvenience for car usage. This may shift demand to public transport use. On the other hand, in a lower density of urban area, public...

Teacher Consultation and Coaching within Mental Health Practice: Classroom and Child Effects in Urban Elementary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Cappella, Elise; Hamre, Bridget K.; Kim, Ha Yeon; Henry, David B.; Frazier, Stacy L.; Atkins, Marc S.; Schoenwald, Sonja K.

2012-01-01

Objective To examine effects of a teacher consultation and coaching program delivered by school and community mental health professionals on change in observed classroom interactions and child functioning across one school year. Method Thirty-six classrooms within five urban elementary schools (87% Latino, 11% Black) were randomly assigned to intervention (training + consultation/coaching) and control (training only) conditions. Classroom and child outcomes (n = 364; 43% girls) were assessed in the fall and spring. Results Random effects regression models showed main effects of intervention on teacher-student relationship closeness, academic self-concept, and peer victimization. Results of multiple regression models showed levels of observed teacher emotional support in the fall moderated intervention impact on emotional support at the end of the school year. Conclusions Results suggest teacher consultation and coaching can be integrated within existing mental health activities in urban schools and impact classroom effectiveness and child adaptation across multiple domains. PMID:22428941

Mural art as a media on making urban kampung's public space

Science.gov (United States)

Susanto, Dalhar; Widyarko, Widyarko; Nadia Ilmiani, Ajeng

2017-12-01

The lack of public space is one of the main problems in the big cities in Indonesia. Urban kampungas part of the city is also no exception. Rapid growth on population sparks uncontrollable physical development that erode open space inside urbankampung. Sometimes, what is left is just neglected space which don‟t „live‟ and far from the definition of public space. Mural art has been existed since the beginning of human civilization. Now, it has evolved into one of the popular urban art. The previous research has proven that the process of urban art making through participatory approach could trigger community interaction in a space. Interaction itself is a main factor that may trigger the establishmentof a public space. With the same method, this research attempts to build mural in a neglected space inside urbankampung named Palsigunung. After all of the process done, the space still haven‟t changed from the previous condition, which is still a neglected space. Together with facilitator, kampung‟s residents need to be involved identifying the problem and also the solution to the lack of public space in their kampung. Particularly for urban kampungPalsigunung, the needed solution might not be mural.

Shaping American Urban Public Space from CIAM to New Urbanism

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Eric Mumford

2001-12-01

Full Text Available Throughout much of the history of the United States its architects have been preoccupied with creating urban public spaces. In the nineteenth century two broad design directions emerged, one pastoral, exemplified by Olmsted and Vaux’s Central Park in New York, the other monumental, based in European classicism but often given a particularly american character in projects such as Washington, DC

Science–policy challenges for biodiversity, public health and urbanization: examples from Belgium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keune, H; De Blust, G; Van den Berge, K; Brosens, D; Van Herzele, A; Simoens, I; Kretsch, C; Gilbert, M; Linard, C; Flandroy, L; Versteirt, V; Hartig, T; De Keersmaecker, L; Eggermont, H; Dessein, J; Vanwambeke, S; Prieur-Richard, A H; Wittmer, H; Martens, P; Mathijs, E

2013-01-01

Internationally, the importance of a coordinated effort to protect both biodiversity and public health is more and more recognized. These issues are often concentrated or particularly challenging in urban areas, and therefore on-going urbanization worldwide raises particular issues both for the conservation of living natural resources and for population health strategies. These challenges include significant difficulties associated with sustainable management of urban ecosystems, urban development planning, social cohesion and public health. An important element of the challenge is the need to interface between different forms of knowledge and different actors from science and policy. We illustrate this with examples from Belgium, showcasing concrete cases of human–nature interaction. To better tackle these challenges, since 2011, actors in science, policy and the broader Belgian society have launched a number of initiatives to deal in a more integrated manner with combined biodiversity and public health challenges in the face of ongoing urbanization. This emerging community of practice in Belgium exemplifies the importance of interfacing at different levels. (1) Bridges must be built between science and the complex biodiversity/ecosystem–human/public health–urbanization phenomena. (2) Bridges between different professional communities and disciplines are urgently needed. (3) Closer collaboration between science and policy, and between science and societal practice is needed. Moreover, within each of these communities closer collaboration between specialized sections is needed. (letter)

Examining community and consumer food environments for children: An urban-suburban-rural comparison in Southwestern Ontario.

Science.gov (United States)

DuBreck, Catherine M; Sadler, Richard C; Arku, Godwin; Gilliland, Jason A

2018-05-08

The aim of this study is to evaluate how retail food environments for children in the City of London and Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada, vary according to level of urbanicity and level of socioeconomic distress. Urbanicity in this study is defined as a neighbourhood's designation as urban, suburban, or rural. We assessed community food environments (e.g., the type, location, and accessibility of food outlets) using 800m and 1600m network buffers (school zones) around all public and private elementary schools, and we calculated and compared density of junk food opportunities (JFO) (e.g., fast food and full-service restaurants, grocery stores, and convenience stores) within each school zone in urban, suburban and rural settings. The study also assessed consumer food environments (e.g., the price, promotion, placement, and availability of healthy options and nutrition information) through restaurant children's menu audits using the Children's Menu Assessment tool. Results suggest JFO density is greater around elementary schools in areas with higher levels of socioeconomic distress and urbanicity, while urbanicity is also associated with greater use of branded marketing and inclusion of an unhealthy dessert on children's menus. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

EMERGING CHALLENGES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CONTEMPORARY PUBLIC SPACES IN URBAN NEIGHBOURHOODS

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Rajjan Man Chitrakar

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The lack of management has led to the degrading quality of public space in modern cities around the globe. Contemporary public spaces are facing challenges in terms of maintaining them as a “social space” so that they are accessible and functional for the users. Using Kathmandu as a case study, this paper explores the challenges the contemporary public spaces within urban neighbourhoods are facing in their management. The study reveals that the regulation of use is a major concern of public space management in the new neighbourhoods of Kathmandu as evident in the limited accessibility and utility of public space, due to control and commercialisation. The use of public space has also been affected by the lack of regular maintenance. The root cause of these problems lies in weak urban governance at the neighbourhood level, which has led the local community-based organisations to take a role in neighbourhood management. These findings confirm that the management of public space is a critical issue of urban development with commonalities existing across geographical regions that demand adequate consideration from the stakeholders.

Evaluation of alternative public transportation systems in Izmit urban transportation via axiomatic design method

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Gülşen AKMAN

2016-02-01

Full Text Available In the world and in our country, most of urban transportation is performed by public transportation. Public transportation is a system which provides transportation easiness and opportunity to people, not to vehicles. Therefore, giving priority to public transportation system is necessary in organizing urban transportation. In this study, in order to reduce traffic intensity and to facilitate passenger transportation in Izmit urban transportation, It is tried to determine appropriate public transportation system. For this, firstly, alternatives which could be used for public transportation were determined. These alternatives are metro, metrobus, tram, light rail system and monorail. Afterwards, the variables affecting decision making about public transportation were determined. These variables are cost, transportation line features, vehicle characteristics, sensitivity to environment and customer satisfaction. Lastly, most appropriate public transportation system is proposed by using the axiomatic design method. As a result, light trail system and metrobus are determined as the most appropriate alternatives for Izmit public transportation system.Keywords: Urban transportation, Multi criteria decision making, Axiomatic design

Service reliability and urban public transport design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Oort, N.

2011-01-01

The last few decades have shown a substantial increase in personal mobility. Urban traffic and transport volumes have been increasing for years. However, the share of public transport in this mobility growth did not change much and still remains rather limited. To ensure the accessibility and

Public private co-operation in urban regeneration investment planning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jesper Ole; Larsen, Jacob Norvig

development. However, we believe that municipalities can become much better at attracting private investors and developers, partly because there is knowledge about the motives and backgrounds for the developers' engagement in the urban regeneration. Based on data from a number of case studies and interviews......Increasing renovation costs and ever more limited public funding for urban regeneration in combination with a political desire to stimulate the development of a sense of ownership in urban regeneration neighbourhoods has brought about a growing interest in attracting private sector funding...... with developers we argue that developers own networks are more likely to lead them to the urban regeneration areas, than knowledge of the urban regeneration itself. Also, the study reveals a mutual knowledge-gap between the municipal planners and developers; planners have limited knowledge of developers...

Compliance with a multilayered nonpharmaceutical intervention in an urban elementary school setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Stebbins, Samuel; Stark, James H; Vukotich, Charles J

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent school-aged children can learn hygiene-based nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) and persist in these behavioral changes over the duration of an influenza season. If this can be done successfully, it may be a preferable pandemic mitigation strategy to much more disruptive strategies such as whole-scale school closure. The Pittsburgh Influenza Prevention Project (PIPP) is a prospective, controlled, randomized trial of the effectiveness of a suite of hygiene-based NPIs in controlling influenza and related illnesses in elementary schools in the City of Pittsburgh. During the 2007-08 school year, the project measured adoption of NPIs by students in five elementary schools through surveys of home-room teachers before, during, and after influenza season. Results showed highly statistically significant improvement in students' daily practice of nearly all of the NPIs, including hand washing and sanitizer use and covering coughs and sneezes. The study provides evidence that children can learn, implement, and persist in the behaviors of a multilayered suite of NPIs over a typical flu season. These results will be useful to public health policy makers and practitioners considering methods of infectious disease prevention in school-based settings.

Policy Perspectives on State Elementary and Secondary Public Education Finance Systems in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Verstegen, Deborah A.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this article is to describe and compare individual state funding systems for public elementary and secondary education in the United States. States' major education funding systems are described as well as funding mechanisms for students with disabilities; English language learners (ELL); gifted and talented students; and low income…

Urban revitalization and displacement: types, causes, and public policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feagin, J.R.

1981-05-01

The policy research report reviews the scholarly and print media literatures on urban revitalization. The extent of revitalization; the incumbent or occupant upgrading; gentrification (displacement of low- and moderate-income households by better-off households); gentrification and displacement from all causes; and the role of powerful actors in revitalization are discussed. Public policy dealing with land use and development in urban areas is discussed. Future research needs are indicated.

School Uniforms in Urban Public High Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Draa, Virginia Ann Bendel

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not the implementation of a mandatory uniform policy in urban public high schools improved school performance measures at the building level for rates of attendance, graduation, academic proficiency, and student conduct as measured by rates of suspensions and expulsions. Sixty-four secondary…

Theorizing the Concept of Urban Public Transportation Institutional Framework in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abd Rahman Noor Ashikin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The trends in transportation have been changing and will continue to change over the years. Urban dwellers in developing countries require and demand for mobility and accessibility at the same growth rate of these urban areas. Often, this demand is accommodated by the increased number of private vehicles. Development of a country is closely linked with the transportation system facilities thus will have a positive impact on the economic growth and social fabric of a country. The traffic issues are always associated with private vehicles especially in any developing cities such as the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. A practical, efficient and effective transport system includes traffic management, public transport, road network and infrastructure. However, sadly, at present, the traffic problems in Malaysia are resulted from ineffective public transport system which is not methodically integrated from one place to another, therefore, forcing the people to use private vehicles for daily exercise. An integrated and comprehensive approach is required as it enhances the regulatory framework, planning structure and level of services delivered. For that reason, this paper reviews the magnitude of urban public transportation institutional framework in order to improve the people’s mobility, also to respond to the major problem of urban public transportation in the major city of Malaysia. This study therefore applies a case study design and relies very much on qualitative data encompassing policies and guidelines. The findings were drawn from an early investigation of the Malaysian institutional public transport framework through literature review which looks closely into the management structure, as well as the implementation of public transportation system and its enforcement.

Developing an academia-based public health observatory: the new global public health observatory with emphasis on urban health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

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Carlos Castillo-Salgado

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Health observatories may differ according to their mission, institutional setting, topical emphasis or geographic coverage. This paper discusses the development of a new urban-focused health observatory, and its operational research and training infrastructure under the academic umbrella of the Department of Epidemiology and the Institute of Urban Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH in Baltimore, USA. Recognizing the higher education mission of the BSPH, the development of a new professional training in public health was an important first step for the development of this observatory. This new academia-based observatory is an innovative public health research and training platform offering faculty, investigators, professional epidemiology students and research partners a physical and methodological infrastructure for their operational research and training activities with both a local urban focus and a global reach. The concept of a public health observatory and its role in addressing social health inequalities in local urban settings is discussed.

Developing an academia-based public health observatory: the new global public health observatory with emphasis on urban health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Castillo-Salgado, Carlos

2015-11-01

Health observatories may differ according to their mission, institutional setting, topical emphasis or geographic coverage. This paper discusses the development of a new urban-focused health observatory, and its operational research and training infrastructure under the academic umbrella of the Department of Epidemiology and the Institute of Urban Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH) in Baltimore, USA. Recognizing the higher education mission of the BSPH, the development of a new professional training in public health was an important first step for the development of this observatory. This new academia-based observatory is an innovative public health research and training platform offering faculty, investigators, professional epidemiology students and research partners a physical and methodological infrastructure for their operational research and training activities with both a local urban focus and a global reach. The concept of a public health observatory and its role in addressing social health inequalities in local urban settings is discussed.

Model and Empirical Study on Several Urban Public Transport Networks in China

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Ding, Yimin; Ding, Zhuo

2012-07-01

In this paper, we present the empirical investigation results on the urban public transport networks (PTNs) and propose a model to understand the results obtained. We investigate some urban public traffic networks in China, which are the urban public traffic networks of Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuhan and etc. The empirical results on the big cities show that the accumulative act-degree distributions of PTNs take neither power function forms, nor exponential function forms, but they are described by a shifted power function, and the accumulative act-degree distributions of PTNs in medium-sized or small cities follow the same law. In the end, we propose a model to show a possible evolutionary mechanism for the emergence of such network. The analytic results obtained from this model are in good agreement with the empirical results.

Principals' Self-Perceived Transformational Leadership Behaviors and Academic Achievement in South Carolina Public Elementary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Newman, Je-Nata Kennedy

2017-01-01

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between principals' perceptions of their transformational leadership behaviors and academic achievement in the areas of reading, math, science, and social studies in South Carolina public elementary schools. The theoretical framework for this research was provided…

The Burden of Urban Education: Public Schools in Massachusetts, 1870-1915.

Science.gov (United States)

Lazerson, Marvin

Confronted by a rapidly changing urban-industrial society, Massachusetts educators undertook reforms between 1870 and 1915 to make the public school a more relevant institution. Kindergarten, manual training, vocational education, evening schools, and citizenship education represented answers to problems arising from industrialism and urbanism.…

The dimensions of urban public space in user’s mental image

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Matej Nikšič

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The article presents a method for recognising qualitative and quantitative dimensions of open urban space in the user’s perceptual image. It stems from the hypothesis that the open urban space in mental perception isn’t a uniform continuum, which in general applies to its physical phenomenon. It discloses where and how users experience the limits of real open public space that they occupy and what they perceive as the neighbourhood of such a place. Therefore it researches rules applied by the user to mentally structure physically continuous space into smaller units and then reassemble these into a network. Knowledge of such rules enables expansion of open urban public spaces, which user’s experience as positive, into the wider area, thus revitalising those neighbouring spaces that are perceived as negative or are completely absent in the mental image and consequentially unused. The presence of people is in fact the essential component of quality public spaces.

Landscape and Urban Governance: Participatory Planning of the Public Realm in Saida, Lebanon

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Jala Makhzoumi

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The political shift in Lebanon since the 1990s towards market-led development has encouraged the incremental appropriation of public spaces and state lands, and their conversion into gated, monitored enclaves that serve a privileged few. The process disregards the role of the urban public realm and undermines its potential as an inclusive space and enabling platform for urban governance. This article advocates a participatory approach to urban development, one that engages local stakeholders, institutions, and the public at large as active partners working towards sustainable urban futures. We draw on a case study in Saida, Lebanon, to illustrate participatory planning methods and demonstrate the role of landscape architects in enabling community-led development that is place responsive and sensitive to local narratives of heritage and identity. The project’s participatory methodology and landscape architecture’s expansive framing, the paper argues, democratizes the planning process and contributes to urban governance that empowers local authorities and local stakeholders in the face of privatization and market-led development.

Assessment of ecosystem services provided by urban trees: public lands within the Urban Growth Boundary of Corvallis, OR

Science.gov (United States)

Public lands within the Urban Growth Boundary of Corvallis, Oregon contain a diverse population of about 440,000 trees that include over 300 varieties and have an estimated tree cover of 31%. While often unrecognized, urban trees provide a variety of “ecosystem services” or dire...

A Critical Interrogation of Privilege, Race, Class, and Power in a University Faculty-Urban Community Relationship

Science.gov (United States)

Noel, Jana

2010-01-01

I am the Coordinator of the Urban Teacher Education Center, a teacher preparation program located at a very low income, culturally diverse elementary school that serves children from two neighborhood public housing projects. As a White, middle-class, Ph.D. educated, female, I must consistently consider how people in the neighborhoods may take a…

Rainwater drainage management for urban development based on public-private partnership.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsushita, J; Ozaki, M; Nishimura, S; Ohgaki, S

2001-01-01

The Urban Development Corporation (UDC) is one of the biggest implementation bodies for urban development in Japan. UDC has developed rainwater infiltration technology since 1975. This technology has effectively reduced runoff to a river and sewer system in the new town project areas. Recently, UDC has developed a new system which is defined as a "Rainwater Recycle Sewer System", which is supported by "Rainwater Storage and Infiltration Technology (RSIT)" applicable to new town creation and urban renewal. The new system consists of two elements: RSIT components based on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and a stormwater drainage system. Herein, the private sector is responsible for the main part of RSIT, and the public sector is responsible for the stormwater drainage from the development area. As a result, the capacity of public facilities, such as rainwater sewers and stormwater reservoirs, can be reduced effectively. In parallel, the initial/running cost of public facilities is expected to be reduced. In conclusion, the authors would stress the importance of a co-maintenance system also based on PPP, which will be required especially in order to properly operate the whole system for the long term.

The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence of Principals and the Overall Organizational Climate of Public Elementary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Juma, Dalal Sabri

2013-01-01

In this study the researcher examined the influence between a principal's self-perceived emotional intelligence and the overall organizational climate of one public elementary school as perceived by the principal's followers. These followers included teaching and non-teaching staff. It was not known how self-perceived emotional intelligence of a…

Urban Densification and Recreational Quality of Public Urban Green Spaces—A Viennese Case Study

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Arne Arnberger

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Public urban green spaces play an important role in urban sustainability. These places should provide high-quality recreation experiences for the urban residents. However, they are often overused. The Wienerberg area in the south of Vienna, Austria, was transformed from a waste disposal site into a natural recreation area. During the past years, intensive settlement densification processes have taken place, resulting in a doubling of the local population living within a few minutes walking distance. An on-site survey among green space visitors (N = 231 revealed that the majority of them considered the area to be overcrowded on Sundays/holidays and reported a perceived increase in visitor numbers during the past years. Visitors with more past experience, as well as those who have perceived an increase in visitor numbers during recent years, reported higher crowding perceptions. A significant proportion of them try to avoid these crowds, relying on behavioral coping strategies, such as inter-area displacement. While urban regeneration has provided an attractive recreation area, urban densification around the green space appears to have reduced its recreational quality. Monitoring recreation quality indicators, such as crowding perceptions, seems to be useful for sustainable urban green space management and city planning.

Observations on English education in elementary schools

OpenAIRE

カドゥアー, ドナルド; 藤澤, 良行; カドゥアー, ドナルド; フジサワ, ヨシユキ; Donald, KADUHR; Yoshiyuki, FUJISAWA

2009-01-01

This paper examines English-language teaching in the People's Republic of China through visitations to some elementary school grades in two large urban centres, Beijing and Dalian, in March 2008. Observations of English classes in China for students in grades 1 to 6, provide the basis of what we feel needs to be addressed for the implementation of English-language teaching in lower levels of Japanese elementary schools (grade 5 and above) from 2011. After giving a brief overview of the develo...

Urban Mobility and Polluting Emissions: Impacts on Public Welfare

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Romano Fistola

2009-07-01

Full Text Available This article introduces the problem of assessing urban effects of air pollution produced by road traffic and it is oriented to individualize the "critical" areas where it is necessary to intervene in order to optimize the security levels for public wellbeing. The research is targeted to assess the effects of pollutant emissions, particularly of PM10, on human health by testing methodology at three different territorial levels (regional, provincial, municipal. In this article we refer particularly to the city of Benevento and we propose to point out a methodology for identifying critical infrastructure where it is necessary to restrict vehicular traffic. The target of this study is the identification of urban ambit characterized by high levels of risk to public health arising from the mobility vehicle. Prerequisite is the consideration that the effects of pollutants are linked with urban morphology in particular the physical structure of the road network. In other word, within the city it is possible to identify "critical channels" where safety levels for human health are strongly compromise by their physical structure. The test has been referred to Benevento by using GIS to identify urban areas where high levels of risk due to pollutant emission concentrate. Gis has been projected to allow both the identification of “maximum risk areas” and the "critical channel" within the city.

Public-private partnerships in urban regeneration projects: Organizational form or managerial capacity?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.B. Kort (Michiel); E-H. Klijn (Erik-Hans)

2011-01-01

markdownabstract__Abstract__ Urban regeneration companies (URCs) are public-private entities appearing across Europe. They are created specifically to manage and implement more effectively urban regeneration projects. Core ideas behind the establishment of these newly emerging partnerships aim to

Rural-Urban Differences in Access to Preventive Health Care Among Publicly Insured Minnesotans.

Science.gov (United States)

Loftus, John; Allen, Elizabeth M; Call, Kathleen Thiede; Everson-Rose, Susan A

2018-02-01

Reduced access to care and barriers have been shown in rural populations and in publicly insured populations. Barriers limiting health care access in publicly insured populations living in rural areas are not understood. This study investigates rural-urban differences in system-, provider-, and individual-level barriers and access to preventive care among adults and children enrolled in a public insurance program in Minnesota. This was a secondary analysis of a 2008 statewide, cross-sectional survey of publicly insured adults and children (n = 4,388) investigating barriers associated with low utilization of preventive care. Sampling was stratified with oversampling of racial/ethnic minorities. Rural enrollees were more likely to report no past year preventive care compared to urban enrollees. However, this difference was no longer statistically significant after controlling for demographic and socioeconomic factors (OR: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.00-1.88). Provider- and system-level barriers associated with low use of preventive care among rural enrollees included discrimination based on public insurance status (OR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.34-2.38), cost of care concerns (OR: 1.72, 95% CI: 1.03-2.89) and uncertainty about care being covered by insurance (OR: 1.70, 95% CI: 1.01-2.85). These and additional provider-level barriers were also identified among urban enrollees. Discrimination, cost of care, and uncertainty about insurance coverage inhibit access in both the rural and urban samples. These barriers are worthy targets of interventions for publicly insured populations regardless of residence. Future studies should investigate additional factors associated with access disparities based on rural-urban residence. © 2017 National Rural Health Association.

Public health evaluation of waste management plan of urban areas of Florence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corti, Andrea; Lombardi, Lidia; Carpentieri, Matteo; Buiatti, Eva; Bartolacci, Simone; Bianchi, Fabrizio; Linzalone, Nunzia; Minichilli, Fabrizio; Mancuso, Stefano

2005-01-01

Public health evaluation impact for solid municipal waste management of Florence urban areas is considered. In this case study the evaluation step of screening show the environmental analysis of pollutants in the urban areas and epidemiologic study of exposed population in the area

Grooming Great Urban Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, Michele; Lewis, Jeffrey; Onafowora, Laura

2005-01-01

Master teachers working in real urban classrooms have shared their exemplary teaching practices in an After-School Pedagogical Laboratory (L-TAPL), a program for elementary students that aims to improve the achievement of urban students and the competence of their teachers. The L-TAPL enrichment program curriculum includes language arts, math,…

Urban green space qualities reframed toward a public value management paradigm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindholst, Andrej Christian; Konijnendijk van den Bosch, Cecil C.; Kjøller, Christian Philip

2016-01-01

The change toward a public value management (PVM) paradigm in the public sector has challenged urban green space managers to rethink how they define and assess their services. In the Nordic countries, the challenge has resulted in the development of the Nordic Green Space Award (NSGA), as a new...... shared standard. This article reviews the NGSA scheme and its development. The development of the scheme embodies a methodology for how the question of ‘what makes for a good urban green space' collectively can be addressed within a particular regional context. The resulting scheme relies on ‘structure...... and general aspects', 'functionality and experience', and ‘management and organisation', as three principal themes and provides an easily manageable, unified and affordable approach to assessment of a variety of urban green spaces. Conceptually, the scheme resembles other comparable assessment schemes...

URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT WITH THE USE OF ELECTRIC BUSES – DEVELOPMENT TENDENCIES

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Stanisław KRAWIEC

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The programing documents of the European Union determine the direction of transport systems development, including large cities and agglomerations. The context of these actions which aim to transform into ecologically clean and sustainable transport system is a significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Assuming that public transport will significantly reduce the use of combustion-powered buses, studies on urban logistic enabling the use of electric buses for public transport are needed. The article presents the variants and scenarios for electric buses implementation in urban public transport, as well as the decision algorithm to support electric bus implementation based on technological, organisational, economic and ecological variables.

'Sometimes They Are Fun and Sometimes They Are Not': Concept Mapping with English Language Acquisition (ELA) and Gifted/Talented (GT) Elementary Students Learning Science and Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Marzetta, Katrina; Mason, Hillary; Wee, Bryan

2018-01-01

This study presents an 'education for sustainability' curricular model which promotes science learning in an elementary classroom through equity pedagogy. A total of 25 fourth-grade students from an urban, public school in Denver, Colorado participated in this mixed-methods study where concept maps were used as a tool for describing and assessing…

Using Inquiry-Based Instruction to Teach Research Methods to 4th-Grade Students in an Urban Setting

Science.gov (United States)

Hamm, Ellen M.; Cullen, Rebecca; Ciaravino, Melissa

2013-01-01

When a college professor who teaches research methods to graduate education students was approached by a local public urban elementary school to help them teach research skills to 4th-graders, it was thought that the process would be simple--take what we did at the college level and differentiate it for the childhood classroom. This article will…

Land-Acquisition and Resettlement (LAR Conflicts: A Perspective of Spatial Injustice of Urban Public Resources Allocation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinxia Zhu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Land acquisition and resettlement (LAR is an important step in urban development. As one of the ‘externalities of development’, LAR conflicts have affected social stability and development in rural areas of China. With social conflict research shifting from value identity to resource allocation, few studies have examined the relationship between the spatial injustice of urban public resources and LAR conflict. To mitigate this research gap and formulate effective policies, this study aims to reinterpret the obstacles of LAR conflicts from the perspective of the spatial injustice of urban public facilities allocation in Hangzhou City by examining 195 administrative litigation cases. Spatial accessibility was used for estimating the spatial justice of urban public resources allocation. A classification and regression tree (CART model was applied to identify the advantage and disadvantage factors behind LAR conflict, and explored the logical and structural relationships among these factors. Results showed that a spatial mismatch between the spatial behavior preferences of human activity and the spatial injustice of urban public resources allocation had significantly accelerated LAR conflicts. When the spatial behavior preferences of human activity and spatial distribution of urban public resources correspond to each other pre- and after LAR, basic rights to social space are safeguarded and various groups can equitably share spatial resources. There are no conflicts. Conversely, respondents expressed a high level of dissatisfaction in comparison to their pre-LAR conditions, and LAR conflict undeniably occurs. This approach also proposes some good LAR policies by regulating the spatial injustice of urban public resources allocation associated with LAR with the aim of long-term urban sustainable development for Hangzhou.

Development of an urban green space indicator and the public health rationale.

Science.gov (United States)

Annerstedt van den Bosch, Matilda; Mudu, Pierpaolo; Uscila, Valdas; Barrdahl, Maria; Kulinkina, Alexandra; Staatsen, Brigit; Swart, Wim; Kruize, Hanneke; Zurlyte, Ingrida; Egorov, Andrey I

2016-03-01

In this study, the aim was to develop and test an urban green space indicator for public health, as proposed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, in order to support health and environmental policies. We defined the indicator of green space accessibility as a proportion of an urban population living within a certain distance from a green space boundary. We developed a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based method and tested it in three case studies in Malmö, Sweden; Kaunas, Lithuania; and Utrecht, The Netherlands. Land use data in GIS from the Urban Atlas were combined with population data. Various population data formats, maximum distances to green spaces, minimum sizes of green spaces, and different definitions of green spaces were studied or discussed. Our results demonstrated that with increasing size of green space and decreased distance to green space, the indicator value decreased. As compared to Malmö and Utrecht, a relatively bigger proportion of the Kaunas population had access to large green spaces, at both shorter and longer distances. Our results also showed that applying the method of spatially aggregated population data was an acceptable alternative to using individual data. Based on reviewing the literature and the case studies, a 300 m maximum linear distance to the boundary of urban green spaces of a minimum size of 1 hectare are recommended as the default options for the indicator. The indicator can serve as a proxy measure for assessing public accessibility to urban green spaces, to provide comparable data across Europe and stimulate policy actions that recognise the importance of green spaces for sustainable public health. © 2015 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.

Children, Technology, and Instruction: A Case Study of Elementary School Children Using an Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC).

Science.gov (United States)

Solomon, Paul

1994-01-01

Examines elementary school students' use of an online public access catalog to investigate the interaction between children, technology, curriculum, instruction, and learning. Highlights include patterns of successes and breakdowns; search strategies; instructional approaches and childrens' interests; structure of interaction; search terms; and…

Liberian Educational Stakeholders' Perceptions of Overcrowding in an Urban Public Elementary School in Monrovia

Science.gov (United States)

Dalieh, Franklin T.

2017-01-01

In post-conflict Liberia, more students are returning to schools and moving to urban areas resulting in overcrowding and class sizes that surpassed recommended and legally-sanctioned limits. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore educational stakeholders' perceptions of the factors (e.g., organizational leadership, social, and…

Leadership Diversity: A Study of Urban Public Libraries

Science.gov (United States)

Winston, Mark; Li, Haipeng

2007-01-01

Diversity has been identified as a priority in library and information services for some time. The limited published research on diversity programs in libraries, though, has focused on academic libraries. This article represents the results of a study of leadership diversity in large, urban public libraries. In the study of members of the Urban…

Public parks and wellbeing in urban areas of the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Lincoln R. Larson; Viniece Jennings; Scott A. Cloutier

2016-01-01

Sustainable development efforts in urban areas often focus on understanding and managing factors that influence all aspects of health and wellbeing. Research has shown that public parks and green space provide a variety of physical, psychological, and social benefits to urban residents, but few studies have examined the influence of parks on comprehensive measures of...

Re-designing an Earth Sciences outreach program for Rhode Island public elementary schools to address new curricular standards and logistical realities in the community

Science.gov (United States)

Richter, N.; Vachula, R. S.; Pascuzzo, A.; Prilipko Huber, O.

2017-12-01

In contrast to middle and high school students, elementary school students in Rhode Island (RI) have no access to dedicated science teachers, resulting in uneven quality and scope of science teaching across the state. In an attempt to improve science education in local public elementary schools, the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences (DEEPS) at Brown University initiated a student-driven science-teaching program that was supported by a NSF K-12 grant from 2007 to 2014. The program led to the development of an extensive in-house lesson plan database and supported student-led outreach and teaching in several elementary and middle school classrooms. After funding was terminated, the program continued on a volunteer basis, providing year-round science teaching for several second-grade classrooms. During the 2016-2017 academic year, New Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were introduced in RI public schools, and it became apparent that our outreach efforts required adaptation to be more efficient and relevant for both elementary school students and teachers. To meet these new needs, DEEPS, in collaboration with the Providence Public School District, created an intensive summer re-design program involving both graduate and undergraduate students. Three multi-lesson units were developed in collaboration with volunteer public school teachers to specifically address NGSS goals for earth science teaching in 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades. In the 2017-2018 academic year DEEPS students will co-teach the science lessons with the public school teachers in two local elementary schools. At the end of the next academic year all lesson plans and activities will be made publically available through a newly designed DEEPS outreach website. We herein detail our efforts to create and implement new educational modules with the goals of: (1) empowering teachers to instruct science, (2) engaging students and fostering lasting STEM interest and competency, (3) optimizing

Urban Public Space Context and Cognitive Psychology Evolution in Information Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Chen; Xu, Hua-wei

2017-11-01

The rapid development of information technology has had a great impact on the understanding of urban environment, which brings different spatially psychological experience. Information and image transmission has been full with the streets, both the physical space and virtual space have been unprecedentedly blended together through pictures, images, electronic media and other tools, which also stimulates people’s vision and psychology and gives birth to a more complex form of urban space. Under the dual role of spatial mediumlization and media spatialization, the psychological cognitive pattern of urban public space context is changing.

Design of Urban Public Spaces: Intent vs. Reality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjort, Mikkel; Martin, W Mike; Stewart, Tom

2018-01-01

knowledge, and that expert knowledge was chosen randomly. These findings point to a systematic lack of evidence-based practice when designing sport and recreational facilities. This article has implications for landscape architects and urban planners; a new method must be developed to embed......This study investigated how two public spaces for sport and recreation were utilized by different user groups, and how this aligned with the initial design objectives for these spaces. Two newly built urban spaces situated in Copenhagen, Denmark, provided the context for this investigation...... interdisciplinary knowledge in the planning process of future sport and recreation projects. This must be done in a systematic way to make the design process transparent....

Associations among measures of energy balance related behaviors and psychosocial determinants in urban upper elementary school children.

Science.gov (United States)

Bandelli, Lorraine N; Gray, Heewon Lee; Paul, Rachel C; Contento, Isobel R; Koch, Pamela A

2017-01-01

Childhood obesity prevention is a pressing issue. Understanding the relationships among eating and physical activity behaviors and potential psychosocial determinants of behavior will help us design more effective interventions. This study aimed to examine such relationships in a large sample of urban elementary school children. Fifth grade students in 20 recruited New York City public schools completed a validated questionnaire on six "do more" (fruits and vegetables and physical activity) and "do less" (sweetened beverages, processed packaged snacks, fast food and sedentary behavior) energy balance related behaviors (EBRBs) and psychosocial determinants of behavior from social cognitive and self-determination theories. Correlations among behaviors and hierarchical linear model analyses of the relationship between psychosocial determinants and behaviors were conducted for those with complete data (n = 952). The "do more" and the "do less" behaviors were significantly correlated within categories (p food-related behaviors were correlated with physical activity but so were sports drinks, while the "do less" food-related behaviors tended to be correlated to sedentary behavior (p intention. Interventions can address the healthy and less healthy clusters of behaviors together, focusing on strategies to enhance their self-efficacy and habit strength for the "do more" behaviors and outcome expectations to motivate intention to choose fewer "do less" behaviors, along with enhancing self-efficacy and habit. Research can examine these determinants as potential mediators of change in intervention. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fire hazards at the urban-wildland interface: what the public expects

Science.gov (United States)

Cortner, Hanna J.; Gardner, Philip D.; Taylor, Jonathan G.

1990-01-01

Urban-wildland issues have become among the most contentious and problematic issues for forest managers. Using data drawn from surveys conducted by the authors and others, this article discusses how public knowledge and perceptions of fire policies and fire hazards change over time, the kinds of policy responses homeowners prefer as a way of preventing fire hazards at the urban-wildland interface, and how citizens view their own obligations as participants in interface issues. These data show that public attitudes toward fire have changed significantly over the past two decades and that educating the public about fire and the managers' use of fire can have positive effects on behavior. Yet, modifying the individual's behavior in regard to interface fire risks must also deal with important issues of individual incentives, the distribution of costs, and unanticipated policy impacts.

Effects of Video Self-Modeling on Eliminating Public Undressing by Elementary-Aged Students with Developmental Disabilities during Urination

Science.gov (United States)

Ohtake, Yoshihisa; Takeuchi, Ai; Watanabe, Kentaro

2014-01-01

This study investigated the effectiveness of video self-modeling (VSM) for eliminating the public undressing of two elementary-aged students with developmental disabilities during urination. A multiple-probe design across participants revealed that the degree of exposed body parts decreased immediately after introduction of VSM. However, exposure…

Activating Public Space: How to Promote Physical Activity in Urban Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Kostrzewska, Małgorzata

2017-10-01

Physical activity is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle. The quality and equipment of urban public space plays an important role in promoting physical activity among people (residents, tourists). In order for recreation and sports activities to be undertaken willingly, in a safe and comprehensive manner, certain spatial conditions and requirements must be met. The distinctive feature of contemporary large cities is the disappearance of local, neighbourly relations, and the consequent loneliness, alienation, and atomization of the residents. Thus, the design of public spaces should be an expression of the values of social inclusion and integration. A properly designed urban space would encourage people to leave their homes and integrate, also by undertaking different forms of physical activities. This, in turn, can lead to raising the quality of the space, especially in the context of its “familiarization” and “domestication”. The aim of the research was to identify the architectural and urban features of the public spaces of contemporary cities that can contribute to the promotion of physical activity. The paper presents the research results and the case studies of such spatial solutions and examples of good practices, which invite residents to undertake different forms of physical activities in public spaces. The issue of the integrating, inclusionary, and social function of physical recreation and sport is discussed as well, and so are the possibilities of translating these values into physical characteristics of an urban space. The main conclusions are that taking into account the diverse needs of different social groups, participation in the design and construction process, aesthetic and interesting design, vicinity of the residence, open access for all age groups and the disabled would be the most important spatial determinants of a properly designed, physically activating public space. Strategies of planning the sports and recreation

Socioeconomic differences in public acceptability and car use adaptation towards urban road pricing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gehlert, Tina; Kramer, Christiane; Nielsen, Otto Anker

2011-01-01

Urban road pricing is regarded as an effective instrument to reduce traffic congestion and environmental-related problems in metropolitan areas. Whereas the overall impact of urban road pricing on car use adaptation and public acceptability is known, there are only inconsistent results concerning...

Space evolution model and empirical analysis of an urban public transport network

Science.gov (United States)

Sui, Yi; Shao, Feng-jing; Sun, Ren-cheng; Li, Shu-jing

2012-07-01

This study explores the space evolution of an urban public transport network, using empirical evidence and a simulation model validated on that data. Public transport patterns primarily depend on traffic spatial-distribution, demands of passengers and expected utility of investors. Evolution is an iterative process of satisfying the needs of passengers and investors based on a given traffic spatial-distribution. The temporal change of urban public transport network is evaluated both using topological measures and spatial ones. The simulation model is validated using empirical data from nine big cities in China. Statistical analyses on topological and spatial attributes suggest that an evolution network with traffic demands characterized by power-law numerical values which distribute in a mode of concentric circles tallies well with these nine cities.

Elementary Teachers' Knowledge of Legislative and Policy Duties for Reporting Child Sexual Abuse

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Kerryann; Mathews, Ben; Rassafiani, Mehdi; Farrell, Ann; Butler, Des

2013-01-01

This study examined elementary school teachers' knowledge of their legislative and policy-based reporting duties with respect to child sexual abuse. Data were collected from 470 elementary school teachers from urban and rural government and nongovernment schools in 3 Australian states, which at the time of the study had 3 different legislative…

Temperature Control & Comfort Level of Elementary School Building with Green Roof in New Taipei City, Taiwan

OpenAIRE

Ying-Ming Su; Mei-Shu Huang

2015-01-01

To mitigate the urban heat island effect has become a global issue when we are faced with the challenge of climate change. Through literature review, plant photosynthesis can reduce the carbon dioxide and mitigate the urban heat island effect to a degree. Because there are not enough open space and parks, green roof has become an important policy in Taiwan. We selected elementary school buildings in northern New Taipei City as research subjects since elementary schools ar...

The Public Value of Urban Vacant Land: Social Responses and Ecological Value

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gunwoo Kim

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This study reviews scholarly papers and case studies on urban vacant land to gain a stronger understanding of its public value in terms of the ecological and social benefits it can bring. This literature review offers a conceptual overview of the potential benefits of vacant land with the goal of addressing gaps in knowledge about vacant land and to provide suggestions to planners and designers on how vacant properties can be integrated with other green infrastructure in cities. There are many opportunities to redevelop vacant land to enhance its ecological and social value, and many design professionals and scholars are becoming interested in finding new ways to exploit this potential, especially with regard to planning and design. A better appreciation of the public value of urban vacant land is vital for any effort to identify alternative strategies to optimize the way these spaces are utilized for both short-term and long-term uses to support urban regeneration and renewal. This study will help planners and designers to understand and plan for urban vacant land, leading to better utilization of these spaces and opening up alternative creative approaches to envisioning space and landscape design in our urban environments.

Principals' Opinions of Organisational Justice in Elementary Schools in Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Aydin, Inayet; Karaman-Kepenekci, Yasemin

2008-01-01

Purpose--This study aims to present the opinions of public elementary school principals in Turkey about the current organisational justice practices among teachers from the distributive, procedural, interactional, and rectificatory dimensions. Design/methodology/approach--The opinions of 11 public elementary school principals in Ankara about…

Re-Placing the Arts in Elementary School Curricula: An Interdisciplinary, Collaborative Action Research Project

Science.gov (United States)

Trent, Allen; Riley, Jorge-Ayn

2009-01-01

This article describes a collaborative action research project aimed at deliberately "re-placing" art in the elementary curriculum through targeted planning, implementation, and assessment of an art integrated unit in an urban 4th grade classroom. Findings and implications should be relevant to elementary teachers, administrators, art specialists,…

Abandonment, Ecological Assembly and Public Health Risks in Counter-Urbanizing Cities

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Alexandra Gulachenski

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Urban landscapes can be transformed by widespread abandonment from population and economic decline. Ecological assembly, sometimes referred to as “greening”, following abandonment can yield valuable ecosystem services, but also can pose a risk to public health. Abandonment can elevate zoonotic vector-borne disease risk by favoring the hyperabundance of commensal pests and pathogen vectors. Though greater biodiversity in abandoned areas can potentially dilute vector-borne pathogen transmission, “greening” can elevate transmission risk by increasing movement of pathogen vectors between fragmented areas and by giving rise to novel human-wildlife interfaces. Idled and derelict infrastructure can further elevate disease risk from vector-borne and water-borne pathogens, which can build up in stagnant and unprotected water that maintenance and routine use of delivery or sanitation systems would otherwise eliminate. Thus, framing “greening” as inherently positive could result in policies and actions that unintentionally exacerbate inequalities by elevating risks rather than delivering benefits. As counter-urbanism is neither a minor pattern of urban development, nor a short-term departure from urban growth, homeowner and municipal management of abandoned areas should account for potential hazards to reduce health risks. Further socioecological assessments of public health risks following abandonment could better ensure the resilience and well-being of communities in shrinking cities.

Association between district and state policies and US public elementary school competitive food and beverage environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Chriqui, Jamie F; Turner, Lindsey; Taber, Daniel R; Chaloupka, Frank J

2013-08-01

Given the importance of developing healthy eating patterns during early childhood, policies to improve the elementary school food and beverage environments are critical. To examine the association between district and state policy and/or law requirements regarding competitive food and beverages and public elementary school availability of foods and beverages high in fats, sugars, and/or sodium. Multivariate, pooled, cross-sectional analysis of data gathered annually during elementary school years 2008-2009 through 2010-2011 in the United States. Survey respondents at 1814 elementary schools (1485 unique) in 957 districts in 45 states (food analysis) and 1830 elementary schools (1497 unique) in 962 districts and 45 states (beverage analysis). EXPOSURES Competitive food and beverage policy restrictions at the state and/or district levels. Competitive food and beverage availability. RESULTS Sweets were 11.2 percentage points less likely to be available (32.3% vs 43.5%) when both the district and state limited sugar content, respectively. Regular-fat baked goods were less available when the state law, alone and in combination with district policy, limited fat content. Regular-fat ice cream was less available when any policy (district, state law, or both) limited competitive food fat content. Sugar-sweetened beverages were 9.5 percentage points less likely to be available when prohibited by district policy (3.6% vs 13.1%). Higher-fat milks (2% or whole milk) were less available when prohibited by district policy or state law, with either jurisdiction's policy or law associated with an approximately 15 percentage point reduction in availability. Both district and state policies and/or laws have the potential to reduce in-school availability of high-sugar, high-fat foods and beverages. Given the need to reduce empty calories in children's diets, governmental policies at all levels may be an effective tool.

43 CFR 17.220 - Preschool, elementary, and secondary education.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Preschool, elementary, and secondary education. 17.220 Section 17.220 Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior NONDISCRIMINATION IN FEDERALLY ASSISTED PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap § 17.220 Preschool, elementary,...

Improved Attitude and Achievement: A Case Study of an Elementary School Academic Advisement Intervention

Science.gov (United States)

Kamrath, Barry; Brooker, Teresa

2018-01-01

School counselors are often called upon to develop and implement academic interventions. In this case study of one urban elementary school, a school counselor conducted a small group academic advisement intervention. The results suggest that integrating the activities into the elementary school counseling program can be an effective Response to…

Multi-criteria appraisal of multi-modal urban public transport systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keyvan Ekbatani, M.; Cats, O.

2015-01-01

This study proposes a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) modelling framework for the appraisal of multi-modal urban public transportation services. MCDM is commonly used to obtain choice alternatives that satisfy a range of performance indicators. The framework embraces both compensatory and

Shuttle Planning for Link Closures in Urban Public Transport Networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Hurk, E.; Koutsopoulos, H.; Wilson, N.H.M.; Kroon, L.G.; Maroti, G.

2016-01-01

Urban public transport systems must periodically close certain links for maintenance, which can have significant effects on the service provided to passengers. In practice, the effects of closures are mitigated by replacing the closed links with a simple shuttle service. However, alternative shuttle

Urban public space materials. Maintenance and design?

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Manuel Iglesias Campos

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In this paper, certain aspects related to the conservation of materials commonly used in the design of public spaces are analysed and discussed from a starting point of maintenance definition. The main area of discussion is whether materials selection for pavements and urban furniture, and their placement in the designed space, take into account their maintenance needs. Here the definition of maintenance is the cleaning and repair done by municipal services that is always necessary after construction. From certain examples it can be concluded that, in several cases, the form, the organization and the distribution of the different elements within the public space can cause difficulties for its appropriate conservation, giving rise to alterations and consequently having a negative impact on the durability of this space.

Mobilising voluntary contributions in public urban regeneration – a review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Jacob Norvig; Jensen, Jesper Ole; Agger, Annika

Research on volunteerism indicates that one third of all adults in Denmark regularly contribute with voluntary labour in social relief work, community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, or otherwise. In this paper we ask if and how urban regeneration might benefit from...... in relation to public policy arenas and activities, particularly within urban policy and the community development fields. A categorization is proposed as regards different ways and models of civic engagement and major challenges are outlined. The paper is first step of a research project exploring potential...... the apparently strong growth in voluntarism. Although there seems to be a large potential for involving volunteers and voluntary organisations, systematic analysis of recent years’ urban regeneration projects in Denmark shows that the sustainability of voluntary contributions is limited. While initial enrolling...

The Communication in Public Administration in Urban Areas

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Dorina Ţicu

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to underline the role of communication in the public institutions byidentifying the characteristics and peculiarities of the process of public administration, starting from thecharacteristics of administrative process and from those of organizational behavior in urban areas identifiableat the level of each public institution. The study of the dimensions such as the actors and the stakeholdersinvolved in the administrative process, the goals and the objectives of the administrative evaluation, thecriteria and the techniques of communication and all interpersonal hierarchies established, all of these can beconsidered variables that can offer distinction to the communication process in public administration, whetherwe speak about inter-institutional communication or intra-institution alone or about that one from the publicadministration to citizens. This article aims to underlie the characteristics of the communication process inpublic administration based on a quantitative study which appeals to the variables previously set and that canbecome models or labels for subsequent specialized studies.

Intelligent urban public transportation for accessibility dedicated to people with disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Haiying; Hou, Kun-Mean; Zuo, Decheng; Li, Jian

2012-01-01

The traditional urban public transport system generally cannot provide an effective access service for people with disabilities, especially for disabled, wheelchair and blind (DWB) passengers. In this paper, based on advanced information & communication technologies (ICT) and green technologies (GT) concepts, a dedicated public urban transportation service access system named Mobi+ has been introduced, which facilitates the mobility of DWB passengers. The Mobi+ project consists of three subsystems: a wireless communication subsystem, which provides the data exchange and network connection services between buses and stations in the complex urban environments; the bus subsystem, which provides the DWB class detection & bus arrival notification services; and the station subsystem, which implements the urban environmental surveillance & bus auxiliary access services. The Mobi+ card that supports multi-microcontroller multi-transceiver adopts the fault-tolerant component-based hardware architecture, in which the dedicated embedded system software, i.e., operating system micro-kernel and wireless protocol, has been integrated. The dedicated Mobi+ embedded system provides the fault-tolerant resource awareness communication and scheduling mechanism to ensure the reliability in data exchange and service provision. At present, the Mobi+ system has been implemented on the buses and stations of line '2' in the city of Clermont-Ferrand (France). The experiential results show that, on one hand the Mobi+ prototype system reaches the design expectations and provides an effective urban bus access service for people with disabilities; on the other hand the Mobi+ system is easily to deploy in the buses and at bus stations thanks to its low energy consumption and small form factor.

Intelligent Urban Public Transportation for Accessibility Dedicated to People with Disabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Haiying; Hou, Kun-Mean; Zuo, Decheng; Li, Jian

2012-01-01

The traditional urban public transport system generally cannot provide an effective access service for people with disabilities, especially for disabled, wheelchair and blind (DWB) passengers. In this paper, based on advanced information & communication technologies (ICT) and green technologies (GT) concepts, a dedicated public urban transportation service access system named Mobi+ has been introduced, which facilitates the mobility of DWB passengers. The Mobi+ project consists of three subsystems: a wireless communication subsystem, which provides the data exchange and network connection services between buses and stations in the complex urban environments; the bus subsystem, which provides the DWB class detection & bus arrival notification services; and the station subsystem, which implements the urban environmental surveillance & bus auxiliary access services. The Mobi+ card that supports multi-microcontroller multi-transceiver adopts the fault-tolerant component-based hardware architecture, in which the dedicated embedded system software, i.e., operating system micro-kernel and wireless protocol, has been integrated. The dedicated Mobi+ embedded system provides the fault-tolerant resource awareness communication and scheduling mechanism to ensure the reliability in data exchange and service provision. At present, the Mobi+ system has been implemented on the buses and stations of line ‘2’ in the city of Clermont-Ferrand (France). The experiential results show that, on one hand the Mobi+ prototype system reaches the design expectations and provides an effective urban bus access service for people with disabilities; on the other hand the Mobi+ system is easily to deploy in the buses and at bus stations thanks to its low energy consumption and small form factor. PMID:23112622

Intelligent Urban Public Transportation for Accessibility Dedicated to People with Disabilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian Li

2012-08-01

Full Text Available The traditional urban public transport system generally cannot provide an effective access service for people with disabilities, especially for disabled, wheelchair and blind (DWB passengers. In this paper, based on advanced information & communication technologies (ICT and green technologies (GT concepts, a dedicated public urban transportation service access system named Mobi+ has been introduced, which facilitates the mobility of DWB passengers. The Mobi+ project consists of three subsystems: a wireless communication subsystem, which provides the data exchange and network connection services between buses and stations in the complex urban environments; the bus subsystem, which provides the DWB class detection & bus arrival notification services; and the station subsystem, which implements the urban environmental surveillance & bus auxiliary access services. The Mobi+ card that supports multi-microcontroller multi-transceiver adopts the fault-tolerant component-based hardware architecture, in which the dedicated embedded system software, i.e., operating system micro-kernel and wireless protocol, has been integrated. The dedicated Mobi+ embedded system provides the fault-tolerant resource awareness communication and scheduling mechanism to ensure the reliability in data exchange and service provision. At present, the Mobi+ system has been implemented on the buses and stations of line ‘2’ in the city of Clermont-Ferrand (France. The experiential results show that, on one hand the Mobi+ prototype system reaches the design expectations and provides an effective urban bus access service for people with disabilities; on the other hand the Mobi+ system is easily to deploy in the buses and at bus stations thanks to its low energy consumption and small form factor.

Explorations of Public Participation Approach to the Framing of Resilient Urbanism

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Wei-Kuang; Liu, Li-Wei; Shiu, Yi-Shiang; Shen, Yang-Ting; Lin, Feng-Cheng; Hsieh, Hua-Hsuan

2017-08-01

Under the framework of developing resilient and livable cities, this study was aimed at engaging local communities to achieve the goal of public participation. Given the prevalence of smart mobile devices, an interactive app called “Citizen Probe” was designed to guide users to participate in building resilient and livable urban spaces by enabling users to report the condition of their living environment. The app collects feedback from users regarding the perceived condition of the urban environment, and this information is used to further develop an open online index system. The index system serves as a guide for the public to actively transform their city into a resilient and livable urban environment. The app was designed for the reporting of flood incidents with the objective of resilient disaster prevention, which can be achieved by enabling users to identify disaster conditions in order to develop a database for basic disaster information. The database can be used in the prevention and mitigation of disasters and to provide a foundation for developing indices for assessing the resilience and livability of urban areas. Three communities in Taichung, Taiwan, participated in the study. Residents of these communities were requested to use the app and identify local environmental conditions to obtain spatial data according to four stages in disaster response: assessment, readiness, response, and recovery. A volunteered geographic information database was developed to display maps for providing users with current reports of predisaster risk assessment, disaster response capacity, real-time disaster conditions, and overall disaster recovery. In addition, the database can be used as a useful tool for researchers to conduct GIS analyses and initiate related discussions. The interactive app raises public awareness on disaster prevention and makes disaster prevention a daily norm. Further discussion between the public and experts will be initiated to assist in

Urban Sustainability and Public Health: Throwing the Bath Water Out and Not the Baby

Science.gov (United States)

Quattrochi, Dale A.

2009-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the affect of urbanization on community health. It exams urbanization trends in the Atlanta metro area and includes information on impervious surfaces, air quality, mitigation strategies, spatial growth modeling, land use, public health surveillance and different data collection methods.

The Public Information Compliance and Dissemination Among Urban and Rural Society

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vience Mutiara Rumata

2017-07-01

Full Text Available In the information era, the abundance of information and access due to the internet has brought unprecedented challenges to the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology as public communication administrator. The internet penetration in Indonesia continues to grow annually. Nevertheless, does it reflect that the internet is the main source of public information? This research explores the public information compliance and dissemination among urban and rural societies. The research method is quantitative with the primary data is a survey at 12 provinces in Indonesia which were selected through probability sampling technique. It is a national survey with 2% margin of error estimation. The sample size reaches 2,500 respondents. The data analysis method is statistic-descriptive as the results as follows: the perception of public information particularly the government policies access is sufficiently well, although the popularity of the MCIT, as well as its local office's official media, is lower than television. The interpersonal relations and social environment influence someone to get and disseminate the information. The face to face communication is a prominent channel to disseminate information both in the urban and rural areas.

Teachers' Use of Technology in Elementary Reading Lessons

Science.gov (United States)

McDermott, Peter; Gormley, Kathleen A.

2016-01-01

Proponents claim technology will transform classroom teaching and improve children's engagement and learning. Opponents argue that such benefits are oversold because little evidence exists that technology improves teaching and learning. We examined how elementary teachers in an urban school that was well resourced with technology used it when…

Summer in the City - Assessing and Communicating the Richmond, VA Urban Heat Island to the Public and Policymakers

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, J. S.; Maurakis, E. G.; Shandas, V.

2017-12-01

The local impacts of global climate change are generally underestimated or misunderstood by the public and policymakers as far-off, future problems. However, differential and regional surface warming trends are exacerbated in urban areas due to the radiative properties of impervious surfaces like buildings and roads relative to natural landscapes. Decades of research illustrate that this unnatural radiative imbalance in the built environment gives rise to the well-studied urban heat island effect, whereby air temperatures in urban areas are several degrees warmer than in surrounding non-urbanized areas. In this way, the urban heat island effect presents a unique opportunity to highlight the human influence on Earth systems and at the same time mobilize local community-scale action to mitigate and become resilient to climate change impacts on tangible, experiential time scales. However, public stakeholders, city planners, and policymakers may view the urban heat island effect and its mitigation strategies through varying degrees of climatological, public health, and urban development knowledge and interest. This variation in stakeholder engagement highlights the need for individualized science communication strategies for each audience in order to maximize understanding of the scientific outcomes and tactics for mitigating the urban heat island effect. The City of Richmond, Virginia is currently developing a climate action plan as part of their greenhouse gas emission reduction initiative, RVAgreen 2050, and its recently announced "Richmond 300," a 20-year city development master plan. These initiatives provide the policy backdrop for a public and stakeholder education campaign centered on communicating urban heat island effects and resilience strategies. As such, the Science Museum of Virginia led the city's first urban heat island assessment using citizen science and leveraging a network of local university, non-profit, and city government stakeholders. Here, we

Public open space, physical activity, urban design and public health: Concepts, methods and research agenda.

Science.gov (United States)

Koohsari, Mohammad Javad; Mavoa, Suzanne; Villanueva, Karen; Sugiyama, Takemi; Badland, Hannah; Kaczynski, Andrew T; Owen, Neville; Giles-Corti, Billie

2015-05-01

Public open spaces such as parks and green spaces are key built environment elements within neighbourhoods for encouraging a variety of physical activity behaviours. Over the past decade, there has been a burgeoning number of active living research studies examining the influence of public open space on physical activity. However, the evidence shows mixed associations between different aspects of public open space (e.g., proximity, size, quality) and physical activity. These inconsistencies hinder the development of specific evidence-based guidelines for urban designers and policy-makers for (re)designing public open space to encourage physical activity. This paper aims to move this research agenda forward, by identifying key conceptual and methodological issues that may contribute to inconsistencies in research examining relations between public open space and physical activity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

From a Managerial Imperative to a Learning Imperative: Experiences of Urban, Public School Principals

Science.gov (United States)

Terosky, Aimee LaPointe

2014-01-01

Purpose: This article examines the experiences of urban, public school principals noted for their instructional leadership and highlights a leadership approach grounded in a learning imperative. Framework: This article explores the concept of instructional leadership, defined as attending to instructional matters, as embedded in an urban public…

Slow progress in changing the school food environment: nationally representative results from public and private elementary schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Lindsey; Chaloupka, Frank J

2012-09-01

Children spend much of their day in school, and authorities have called for improvements in the school food environment. However, it is not known whether changes have occurred since the federal wellness policy mandate took effect in 2006-2007. We examined whether the school food environment in public and private elementary schools changed over time and examined variations by school type and geographic division. Survey data were gathered from respondents at nationally representative samples of elementary schools during the 2006-2007 and 2009-2010 school years (respectively, 578 and 680 public schools, and 259 and 313 private schools). Topics assessed included competitive foods, school meals, and other food-related practices (eg, school gardens and nutrition education). A 16-item food environment summary score was computed, with possible scores ranging from 0 (least healthy) to 100 (healthiest). Multivariate regression models were used to examine changes over time in the total school food environment score and component items, and variations by US census division. Many practices improved, such as participation in school gardens or farm-to-school programs, and availability of whole grains and only lower-fat milks in lunches. Although the school food environment score increased significantly, the magnitude of change was small; as of 2009-2010 the average score was 53.5 for public schools (vs 50.1 in 2006-2007) and 42.2 for private schools (vs 37.2 in 2006-2007). Scores were higher in public schools than in private schools (Pschool size. For public schools, scores were higher in the Pacific and West South Central divisions compared with the national average. Changes in the school food environment have been minimal, with much room remaining for improvement. Additional policy changes may be needed to speed the pace of improvement. Copyright © 2012 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Elementary ELA/Social Studies Integration: Challenges and Limitations

Science.gov (United States)

Heafner, Tina L.

2018-01-01

Adding instructional time and holding teachers accountable for teaching social studies are touted as practical, logical steps toward reforming the age-old tradition of marginalization. This qualitative case study of an urban elementary school, examines how nine teachers and one administrator enacted district reforms that added 45 minutes to the…

Economic Evaluation of a Public Service Potential of a Municipality - Urban Development in Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florin Marian BUHOCIU

2011-11-01

Full Text Available In Romania there are 13 cities urban growth poles, including the city of Galati. Our research presents the structure of public services as well as a recital of the trade becoming more sectors / public areas and is developing a major commercial component. It is therefore necessary to evaluate both the overall public services, public or private and commercial of the NACE codes. Were identified 15 key activities that provide 90% of all available services for them and presenting the turnover and number of employees. Malfunctions roots in key areas identified were evaluated on the structure and layout in the area of public services. In this way you can calculate specific indicators of public services of such a city, being able to compare their levels with corresponding levels of the same indicators of urban growth pole unite and can also take the best decisions for development near the levels of both types of municipalities in Romania.

Does elementary school alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use increase middle school risk?

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Nance; Battistich, Victor; Syme, S Leonard; Boyce, W Thomas

2002-06-01

To assess whether alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use in elementary school may have serious implications for continued ATOD use in middle school and beyond. Longitudinal analyses were conducted on questionnaire data from 331 middle school students who had previously provided ATOD-use data during elementary school. Non-school personnel administered questionnaires in three participating school districts in three different states. The sample of students was ethnically and geographically diverse, including students from a range of low socioeconomic status backgrounds living in rural, urban or inner-city environments. Middle school alcohol use was almost three times as likely to occur if alcohol use had occurred in elementary school (OR = 2.94, p Elementary school use of tobacco and marijuana also greatly increased the likelihood of middle school use (OR = 5.35, p elementary school, during the middle childhood years.

Electre III method in assessment of variants of integrated urban public transport system in Cracow

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katarzyna SOLECKA

2014-12-01

Full Text Available There is a lot of methods which are currently used for assessment of urban public transport system development and operation e.g. economic analysis, mostly Cost-Benefit Analysis – CBA, Cost-Effectiveness Analysis - CEA, hybrid methods, measurement methods (survey e.g. among passengers and measurement of traffic volume, vehicles capacity etc., and multicriteria decision aiding methods (multicriteria analysis. The main aim of multicriteria analysis is the choice of the most desirable solution from among alternative variants according to different criteria which are difficult to compare against one another. There are several multicriteria methods for assessment of urban public transport system development and operation, e.g. AHP, ANP, Electre, Promethee, Oreste. The paper presents an application of one of the most popular variant ranking methods – Electre III method. The algorithm of Electre III method usage is presented in detail and then its application for assessment of variants of urban public transport system integration in Cracow is shown. The final ranking of eight variants of integration of urban public transport system in Cracow (from the best to the worst variant was drawn up with the application of the Electre III method. For assessment purposes 10 criteria were adopted: economical, technical, environmental, and social; they form a consistent criteria family. The problem was analyzed with taking into account different points of view: city authorities, public transport operators, city units responsible for transport management, passengers and others users. Separate models of preferences for all stakeholders were created.

Urban public health: is there a pyramid?

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Meirong; Chen, Bin; Yang, Zhifeng; Cai, Yanpeng; Wang, Jiao

2013-01-28

Early ecologists identified a pyramidal trophic structure in terms of number, biomass and energy transfer. In 1943, the psychologist Maslow put forward a pyramid model to describe layers of human needs. It is indicated that the pyramid principle is universally applicable in natural, humanistic and social disciplines. Here, we report that a pyramid structure also exists in urban public health (UPH). Based on 18 indicators, the UPH states of four cities (Beijing, Tokyo, New York, and London) are compared from the point of view of five aspects, namely physical health, living conditions, social security, environmental quality, and education and culture. A pyramid structure was found in each city when focusing on 2000-2009 data. The pyramid of Beijing is relatively similar to that of Tokyo, and the pyramids of New York and London are similar to each other. A general development trend in UPH is proposed and represented by different pyramid modes. As a basic conjecture, the UPH pyramid model can be verified and developed with data of more cities over a longer period, and be used to promote healthy urban development.

Public Parks and Wellbeing in Urban Areas of the United States.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lincoln R Larson

Full Text Available Sustainable development efforts in urban areas often focus on understanding and managing factors that influence all aspects of health and wellbeing. Research has shown that public parks and green space provide a variety of physical, psychological, and social benefits to urban residents, but few studies have examined the influence of parks on comprehensive measures of subjective wellbeing at the city level. Using 2014 data from 44 U.S. cities, we evaluated the relationship between urban park quantity, quality, and accessibility and aggregate self-reported scores on the Gallup-Healthways Wellbeing Index (WBI, which considers five different domains of wellbeing (e.g., physical, community, social, financial, and purpose. In addition to park-related variables, our best-fitting OLS regression models selected using an information theory approach controlled for a variety of other typical geographic and socio-demographic correlates of wellbeing. Park quantity (measured as the percentage of city area covered by public parks was among the strongest predictors of overall wellbeing, and the strength of this relationship appeared to be driven by parks' contributions to physical and community wellbeing. Park quality (measured as per capita spending on parks and accessibility (measured as the overall percentage of a city's population within ½ mile of parks were also positively associated with wellbeing, though these relationships were not significant. Results suggest that expansive park networks are linked to multiple aspects of health and wellbeing in cities and positively impact urban quality of life.

Association of Sociodemographic and Perceived Environmental Factors with Public Bicycle Use among Taiwanese Urban Adults

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Yung Liao

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Background: This study examined the sociodemographic and perceived environmental factors associated with public bicycle use among Taiwanese urban adults. Methods: A random-digit-dialing telephone-based cross-sectional survey was administered to Taiwanese urban adults aged 20–64 years in 2015. Data on sociodemographic variables, perceived environmental factors (for attributes identified in the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Environmental Module, and public bicycle use were obtained from 1002 adults in three cities. Adjusted logistic regression was used. Results: After adjustment for potential confounders, the results showed that adults aged 20–29 years (odds ratio (OR = 4.42 with a university degree or higher (OR = 2.03 were more likely to use public bicycles. In addition, adults living in Kaohsiung City were less likely to use public bicycles (OR = 0.24. Adults who saw people being active (OR = 1.76; 95% CI: 1.05–2.86 and had positive aesthetic experiences of their environment (OR = 1.69 were more likely to use public bicycles. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that seeing physically active people and positive aesthetic perceptions of the environment are key factors for developing transportation policies and intervention strategies for promoting public bicycle use among Taiwanese urban adults.

The intersection of urban planning, art, and public health: the Sunnyside Piazza.

Science.gov (United States)

Semenza, Jan C

2003-09-01

Deteriorating physical features of urban environments can negatively influence public health. Dilapidated environments and urban blight tend to promote alienation and can be associated with social disorder, vandalism, crime, drug abuse, traffic violations, and littering, which in turn affects health and well-being. In the late 1990s, the Sunnyside neighborhood in Portland, Ore, was plagued by many of these problems. In an attempt to invigorate neighborhood stewardship, the community organized and created a public gathering place; together, they painted a gigantic sunflower in the middle of an intersection and installed several interactive art features. As a result of these collective actions of "place-making," social capital has increased, thus revitalizing the community, and expanded social networks among residents have stimulated a sense of well-being.

Public Perception of Urban Air Pollution in Four Spanish Cities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oltra, C.; Jorcano, A.; Sala, R.

2015-01-01

This report presents the results of a study on public reactions to urban air pollution. An on-line survey was implemented in four Spanish cities. Various psychosocial dimensions were assessed: perception of local air quality; attention, understanding and public awareness of the problem of air pollution; perceived impacts on health and quality of life; beliefs of severity, susceptibility and controllability associated with the risk; emotional responses and related self-protection and involvement behaviors. Results show that residents in the four cities pay little attention to the quality of air in their daily life. They perceive air quality in their city as regular. Nevertheless, significant differences exist among cities that could be explained by air pollution levels. Participants believe that air pollution has significant impacts on their health and quality of life; however the degree of information and knowledge about air quality effects seems to be low. Fatalistic beliefs and low controllability regarding the possibility to protect from air pollution were found. Participants declare performing very few self-protection or involvement behaviors. Differences between cities were also found in this dimension. Those findings could be useful for risk communication programs and public involvement strategies in the field of urban air pollution.

FCJ-133 The Scripted Spaces of Urban Ubiquitous Computing: The experience, poetics, and politics of public scripted space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian Ulrik Andersen

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This article proposes and introduces the concept of ‘scripted space’ as a new perspective on ubiquitous computing in urban environments. Drawing on urban history, computer games, and a workshop study of the city of Lund the article discusses the experience of digitally scripted spaces, and their relation to the history of public spaces. In conclusion, the article discusses the potential for employing scripted spaces as a reinvigoration of urban public space.

Design of Urban Public Spaces: Intent vs. Reality

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Mikkel Hjort

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This study investigated how two public spaces for sport and recreation were utilized by different user groups, and how this aligned with the initial design objectives for these spaces. Two newly built urban spaces situated in Copenhagen, Denmark, provided the context for this investigation. The System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC was used to examine the physical activity of users in these two urban spaces. The architects responsible for designing each space were interviewed to ascertain the intended target group of each space and to unravel the reasons behind the design decisions. The SOPARC observations revealed that males were more vigorously active than females when using the recreation facilities, and the observed users did not align with the intended target groups. The interviews suggested that design decisions were based on minimal interdisciplinary knowledge, and that expert knowledge was chosen randomly. These findings point to a systematic lack of evidence-based practice when designing sport and recreational facilities. This article has implications for landscape architects and urban planners; a new method must be developed to embed interdisciplinary knowledge in the planning process of future sport and recreation projects. This must be done in a systematic way to make the design process transparent.

Use of small public urban green spaces (SPUGS)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peschardt, Karin Kragsig; Schipperijn, Jasper; Stigsdotter, Ulrika K.

2012-01-01

which environmental characteristics users prefer in relation to mental restoration. We investigate nine small public urban green spaces (SPUGS) in the dense city of Copenhagen in order to determine which environmental characteristics may influence the perceived restorativeness of SPUGS amongst average......UGS have been positively associated with stress-related illnesses. Paradoxically the densification tendency in western cities causes decreasing access to green environments. City planners and landscape architects are challenged when designing such areas due to a lack of space and knowledge about...

Safety Education in the Elementary School. Fastback 170.

Science.gov (United States)

Wayne, Joseph E.

This pamphlet deals with incorporating effective safety education programs into the elementary school curriculum. Covered in a discussion of the scope and nature of the safety problem are classes of accidents (motor vehicle, home, work, and public accidents) and causes of accidents. Various functions of safety education in elementary schools are…

Environmental Impacts of Promoting New Public Transport Systems in Urban Mobility: A Case Study

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Abel Ortego

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Urban mobility is highly dependent on private vehicles causing pollution, traffic congestion and traffic accidents. The tram has become one of the most relevant public transport modes in those cities which need to reduce the private vehicle dependency. However, the implementation of this kind of infrastructure must be done carefully to avoid unsuccessful route designs which make the system unfeasible to operate. With the aim of analysing the impact that a tram can cause in a city, an original methodology has been developed, which takes into account the effect of the new transport system implementation on three subimpacts: traffic, public bus and outskirts neighbourhoods. This methodology uses different data sources from urban traffic, environmental and energy systems. The methodology has been applied to the city of Zaragoza (Spain with a current population of around 700,000 inhabitants. The main results found were that tram line 1 saves 6% of the annual final energy consumption of urban mobility, urban traffic has decreased by 7.7% in the city as a whole and by 39.7% for streets close to the tramway.

Exploring public databases to characterize urban flood risks in Amsterdam

Science.gov (United States)

Gaitan, Santiago; ten Veldhuis, Marie-claire; van de Giesen, Nick

2015-04-01

Cities worldwide are challenged by increasing urban flood risks. Precise and realistic measures are required to decide upon investment to reduce their impacts. Obvious flooding factors affecting flood risk include sewer systems performance and urban topography. However, currently implemented sewer and topographic models do not provide realistic predictions of local flooding occurrence during heavy rain events. Assessing other factors such as spatially distributed rainfall and socioeconomic characteristics may help to explain probability and impacts of urban flooding. Several public databases were analyzed: complaints about flooding made by citizens, rainfall depths (15 min and 100 Ha spatio-temporal resolution), grids describing number of inhabitants, income, and housing price (1Ha and 25Ha resolution); and buildings age. Data analysis was done using Python and GIS programming, and included spatial indexing of data, cluster analysis, and multivariate regression on the complaints. Complaints were used as a proxy to characterize flooding impacts. The cluster analysis, run for all the variables except the complaints, grouped part of the grid-cells of central Amsterdam into a highly differentiated group, covering 10% of the analyzed area, and accounting for 25% of registered complaints. The configuration of the analyzed variables in central Amsterdam coincides with a high complaint count. Remaining complaints were evenly dispersed along other groups. An adjusted R2 of 0.38 in the multivariate regression suggests that explaining power can improve if additional variables are considered. While rainfall intensity explained 4% of the incidence of complaints, population density and building age significantly explained around 20% each. Data mining of public databases proved to be a valuable tool to identify factors explaining variability in occurrence of urban pluvial flooding, though additional variables must be considered to fully explain flood risk variability.

Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2013-14 (Fiscal Year 2014). First Look. NCES 2016-301

Science.gov (United States)

Cornman, Stephen Q.; Zhou, Lei

2016-01-01

This "First Look" contains national and state totals of revenues and expenditures for public elementary and secondary education for school year 2013-14. This "First Look" includes revenues by source and expenditures by function and object, including current expenditures per pupil and instructional expenditures per pupil. This…

The One Laptop School: Equipping Rural Elementary Schools in South India Through Public Private Partnerships

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Erik Jon Byker

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This article reports on a Public Private Partnership (PPP program in South India that provided information and communication technology (ICT to rural elementary schools. The article examined the current status of rural, government-run elementary schools in India by reviewing reports like the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER in India. Challenges like teacher absences, student drop-outs, lack of electricity, lack of separate toilets for genders, and a lack of teaching resources is discussed. To meet these challenges, the article describes the rise in popularity of India’s PPPs. Then the article reports on a case study of a PPP, called the SSA Foundation, which implemented a “one laptop per school” program in rural areas in the Indian States of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Using ethnographic data from field research, the case study includes a description of how the students in a rural Karnataka elementary school use their school’s laptop. The school was situated in a small village where most travel was non-motorized. Walking, usually without shoes, was the main form of transportation. A bicycle was considered a luxury. Most villagers worked in the surrounding ragi and millet fields; laboring, often with only simple tool blades. Wood fires were the main source of fuel for cooking. In this village, the school’s laptop became a prized possession. The case study offers a “thick description” (Geertz, 1973 of how the village school’s students used the laptop for learning basic computing skills and for learning English.

Urban sustainable development from public participation in urban management

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L. Karimifard

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Urban management in any context has a different economic, social and political structure, which is in harmony with the existing models of organization. In spite of these differences, in order to reach a sustainable urban development, several different conferences should be referred to. In the “Brundtland Commission 1987” about urban sustainable development these definitions have been given: “preservation and promotion of the quality level of city life. This consists of ecology, culture, politics, economies, and social participation. However, this development should in no case weigh on and create any problems for the future generations”. In all the definitions of urban management and urban sustainable development and in any political context citizens’ participation in decision making and insistence on social justice are mentioned. The aim of this article is a descriptive, analytic, and comparative study of different models of popular participation in different developed countries. Each of these countries has different social and political structure. However they all have the same aim which is the citizens’ empowerment. To reach the ideal urban management model it is necessary to have a clear image of the place and participation of citizens in order to create a socially, economically and politically sustainable developed society.

A Multi-Year Study of the Impact of the Rice Model Teacher Professional Development on Elementary Science Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Diaconu, Dana Viorica; Radigan, Judy; Suskavcevic, Milijana; Nichol, Carolyn

2012-01-01

A teacher professional development program for in-service elementary school science teachers, the Rice Elementary Model Science Lab (REMSL), was developed for urban school districts serving predominately high-poverty, high-minority students. Teachers with diverse skills and science capacities came together in Professional Learning Communities, one…

Urban Public Health: Is There a Pyramid?

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Meirong Su

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Early ecologists identified a pyramidal trophic structure in terms of number, biomass and energy transfer. In 1943, the psychologist Maslow put forward a pyramid model to describe layers of human needs. It is indicated that the pyramid principle is universally applicable in natural, humanistic and social disciplines. Here, we report that a pyramid structure also exists in urban public health (UPH. Based on 18 indicators, the UPH states of four cities (Beijing, Tokyo, New York, and London are compared from the point of view of five aspects, namely physical health, living conditions, social security, environmental quality, and education and culture. A pyramid structure was found in each city when focusing on 2000–2009 data. The pyramid of Beijing is relatively similar to that of Tokyo, and the pyramids of New York and London are similar to each other. A general development trend in UPH is proposed and represented by different pyramid modes. As a basic conjecture, the UPH pyramid model can be verified and developed with data of more cities over a longer period, and be used to promote healthy urban development.

Bullying, psychosocial adjustment, and academic performance in elementary school.

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Glew, Gwen M; Fan, Ming-Yu; Katon, Wayne; Rivara, Frederick P; Kernic, Mary A

2005-11-01

Over the past decade, concerns about bullying and its role in school violence, depression, and health concerns have grown. However, no large studies in the United States have examined the prevalence of bullying during elementary school or its association with objective measures of school attendance and achievement. To determine the prevalence of bullying during elementary school and its association with school attendance, academic achievement, disciplinary actions, and self-reported feelings of sadness, safety, and belonging. Cross-sectional study using 2001-2002 school data. Urban, West Coast public school district. Three thousand five hundred thirty (91.4%) third, fourth, and fifth grade students. Self-reported involvement in bullying. Twenty-two percent of children surveyed were involved in bullying either as a victim, bully, or both. Victims and bully-victims were more likely to have low achievement than bystanders (odds ratios [ORs], 0.8 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.7-0.9] and 0.8 [95% CI, 0.6-1.0], respectively). All 3 bullying-involved groups were significantly more likely than bystanders to feel unsafe at school (victims, OR, 2.1 [95% CI, 1.1-4.2]; bullies, OR, 2.5 [95% CI, 1.5-4.1]; bully-victims, OR, 5.0 [95% CI, 1.9-13.6]). Victims and bully-victims were more likely to report feeling that they don't belong at school (ORs, 4.1 [95% CI, 2.6-6.5] and 3.1 [95% CI, 1.3-7.2], respectively). Bullies and victims were more likely than bystanders to feel sad most days (ORs 1.5 [95% CI, 1.2-1.9] and 1.8 [95% CI, 1.2-2.8], respectively). Bullies and bully-victims were more likely to be male (ORs, 1.5 [95% CI, 1.2-1.9] and 3.0 [95% CI, 1.3-7.0], respectively). The prevalence of frequent bullying among elementary school children is substantial. Associations between bullying involvement and school problems indicate this is a serious issue for elementary schools. The research presented herein demonstrates the need for evidence-based antibullying curricula in the

Guidebook : managing operating costs for rural and small urban public transit systems.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-01

This guidebook is a resource for rural and small urban transit agency managers to use in better understanding, predicting, and managing operational costs. Doing so can improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of public transit in the...

Urban sustainable development from public participation in urban management

OpenAIRE

L. Karimifard

2016-01-01

Urban management in any context has a different economic, social and political structure, which is in harmony with the existing models of organization. In spite of these differences, in order to reach a sustainable urban development, several different conferences should be referred to. In the “Brundtland Commission 1987” about urban sustainable development these definitions have been given: “preservation and promotion of the quality level of city life. This consists of ecology, culture, polit...

Elementary and Secondary Educational Services of Public Television Grantees: Highlights from the 1998 Station Activities Survey. CPB Research Notes, No. 116.

Science.gov (United States)

Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Washington, DC.

This report is a summary of a variety of educational services offered by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) supported television stations as reported in CPB's annual Station Activities Survey (1998). Highlights from the data include: 141 stations (80% of all CPB supported stations) provide educational services to elementary or secondary…

Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2011-12 (Fiscal Year 2012). First Look. NCES 2014-301

Science.gov (United States)

Cornman, Stephen Q.

2015-01-01

This First Look report introduces new data for national and state-level public elementary and secondary revenues and expenditures for fiscal year (FY) 2012. Specifically, this report includes findings from the following types of school finance data: (1) Revenue and expenditure totals; (2) Revenues by source; (3) Expenditures by function and…

Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2014-15 (Fiscal Year 2015). First Look. NCES 2018-301

Science.gov (United States)

Cornman, Stephen Q.; Zhou, Lei; Howell, Malia R.; Young, Jumaane

2018-01-01

This First Look report introduces new data for national and state-level public elementary and secondary revenues and expenditures for fiscal year (FY) 2015. Specifically, this report includes the following school finance data: (1) revenue and expenditure totals; (2) revenues by source; (3) expenditures by function and object; (4) current…

Assessment of pharmacists' delivery of public health services in rural and urban areas in Iowa and North Dakota.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, David M; Strand, Mark; Undem, Teri; Anderson, Gabrielle; Clarens, Andrea; Liu, Xiyuan

2016-01-01

The profession of pharmacy is expanding its involvement in public health, but few studies have examined pharmacists' delivery of public health services. To assess Iowa and North Dakota pharmacists' practices, frequency of public health service delivery, level of involvement in achieving the essential services of public health, and barriers to expansion of public health services in rural and urban areas. This study implemented an on-line survey sent to all pharmacists currently practicing pharmacy in Iowa and North Dakota. Overall, 602 valid responses were analyzed, 297 in rural areas and 305 in urban areas. Three practice settings (chain stores [169, 28.2%], independent community pharmacies [162, 27.0%], and hospital pharmacies [156, 26.0%]) comprised 81.2% of the sample. Both chain and independent community pharmacists were more commonly located in rural areas than in urban areas (PDakota. These findings should be interpreted to be primarily due to differences in the role of the rural pharmacist and the quest for certain opportunities that rural pharmacists are seeking.

Public space and ecology in Medellin: of the indexes of square meters for inhabitant, to the system of urban green spaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Velez Restrepo, Luis Anibal

2002-01-01

This paper constitutes a critic for green urban areas management from the landscape ecology perspective. In the context of urban public space as a reference, the decree No.1504 (1998) about urban public space in the Colombian land planning, and the agreement No.62 (1999) for the Medellin land planning 2000-2010. In the first part the conceptual limitations (from the ecological point of view) of both the decree and land planning in relation lo green areas and city-nature relationships, are highlighted. Green areas are being treated, in fact, as accessory to the urban public spaces and nowadays constitute a functionally disarticulated complex. In the second part the Medellin land planning is examined in detail to show the above-mentioned limitations especially in the absence of an ecological perspective of the urban landscape together with a lack of articulation of private open spaces and green areas. In the third part the new environmental functions of urban green areas are considered, as well as the importance of taking into account and making feasible the interactions among them, under an ecological functioning perspective. Further than an index of square meters per inhabitant. A system of green urban areas and management policies oriented to a greater naturalization are needed. The last part suggests ways of incorporating ecological criteria to the urban environmental management to the urban public space and of course to the planning and management of Medellin urban green areas and its metropolitan area

Complexity, erotica and conflict in the urban public space

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Enrique Díaz Álvarez

2011-09-01

Full Text Available This article highlights the importance of the urban public space, as the quintessential scenario of intercultural interaction and communication. From a context of globalisation, and from an ethical-political perspective, the author urges a reconsideration of the complexity, eroticism and conflicts that are characterised by coexistence in the city, as elements that are capable of directing dialogue, co-implication and construction of affinities between individuals who enjoy and champion the fact of being different.

Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2012-13 (Fiscal Year 2013). First Look. NCES 2015-301

Science.gov (United States)

Cornman, Stephen Q.

2016-01-01

This First Look report introduces new data for national and state-level public elementary and secondary revenues and expenditures for fiscal year 2013 (FY 13). Specifically, this report includes findings from the following types of school finance data: (1) revenue and expenditure totals; (2) revenues by source; (3) expenditures by function and…

An Exploration of the Impact of Accountability Testing on Teaching in Urban Elementary Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Bisland, Beverly Milner

2015-01-01

This study explores accountability testing in the elementary schools of New York City with particular emphasis on the impact of a statewide social studies test on the value given to social studies instruction in comparison to other subjects. The attitudes of a group of elementary teachers are examined. Some of the teachers taught all subjects in…

Equity in the use of antiretroviral treatment in the public health care system in urban South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Cleary, Susan; Silal, Sheetal; Birch, Stephen; Carrara, Henri; Pillay-van Wyk, Victoria; Rehle, Thomas; Schneider, Helen

2011-03-01

The scaling up of antiretroviral treatment (ART) for HIV-infected adults requires a sizeable investment of resources in the South African public health care system. It is important that these resources are used productively and in ways that reach those in need, irrespective of social status or personal characteristics. In this study we evaluate whether the distribution of ART services in the public system reflects the distribution of need among adults in the urban population. Data from a 2008 national survey were used to estimate the distribution of socioeconomic status (SES) and sex in HIV-positive adults in urban areas. These findings were compared to SES and sex distributions in 635 ART users within 6 urban public ART facilities. Close to 40% of those with HIV are in the lowest SES quintile, while 67% are women. The distributions in users of ART are similar to these distributions in HIV-positive people. Patterns of ART use in study settings correspond to patterns of HIV in the urban population at the national level. This suggests that the South African ART programme is on track to ensure equitable delivery of treatment services in urban settings. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Elementary operators - still not elementary?

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Martin Mathieu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Properties of elementary operators, that is, finite sums of two-sided multiplications on a Banach algebra, have been studied under a vast variety of aspects by numerous authors. In this paper we review recent advances in a new direction that seems not to have been explored before: the question when an elementary operator is spectrally bounded or spectrally isometric. As with other investigations, a number of subtleties occur which show that elementary operators are still not elementary to handle.

A Study on the Legal Literacy of Urban Public School Administrators

Science.gov (United States)

Tie, Fatt Hee

2014-01-01

This study investigates the legal literacy of urban public school administrators in Malaysia. Data were collected from 109 school administrators. The instrument that was administered to the respondents comprised two parts: Part 1, the background information of the respondents; and Part 2, items on the law related to schools, such as teachers' duty…

Desirable microclimate in urban public space: a case study in Amanieh Ahvaz

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tahbaz, Mansoureh; Djanlilian, Shahrbanoo; Moosavi, Fatemeh [School of Architecture, Shahid Beheshti University (Iran, Islamic Republic of)], E-mail: shtahbaz@yahoo.com

2011-07-01

Here are the results of field study research on thermal sensation in outdoor public spaces in Ahvaz city, Amanieh region. Ahvaz, in south Khoozestan, is one of several Iranian cities with an unpleasantly hot and semi-humid climate. In urban spaces with low thermal quality, only urgent and necessary activities take place; then people leave as soon as their business is done. In contrast, where the weather is pleasant, not only do needful activities take place, many social activities do, too. Thermal sensation is one of the determinant criteria for space attraction. In cities with unpleasant weather conditions, arranging a tolerable microclimate in public urban spaces should have high priority. Architectural climatic strategies are needed to modify the heat of summer days to a lower thermal condition level (moderate or low heat stress). Four main design strategies are described and recommended in this study.

Re-emergence of Indigeneity in transformed Layouts in Urban Public Housing in Nigeria

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Abubakar Danladi Isah

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In contrast to the one whole homogenous configuration provided by developers that has often proved ineffective overtime, transformed public housing units are widespread in developing cities. Though transformation is a natural phenomenon of inhabitation, its various levels and degree can have implicit values. In recent times in Nigeria, heterogeneous spatial patterns of transformed houses in public housing estates has given empirical evidence of essentially inevitable reflection of culture sensitivity as hypothesized by previous studies. That hints that the mainstream sustainable values were probably ignored during design process. This study attempted to connect that possible missing link. To achieve that aim, it developed two objectives. First, is to identify core values behind space layouts in the mainstream. Then, to examine how they exist in the transformed layout as reflected at communal origins. It investigated on 42 transformed units in selected urban Public housings neighborhoods via a stratified conditional sampling conducted in five states of Nigeria. Qualitative methods were adopted for data analysis. After identifying the core ethnic groups in the region, their social indicators with regards to space use were determined through ethnographic principles. These indicators were then operationally defined, and used as a tool to examine users’ motivations in the transformation process in urban context. Spatial pattern analysis, by using gamma delineation, revealed the social content in the transformations after comparing initial design and the transformed spatial configurations. The outcome signified the mainstream cultural values in the transformation process hence in Public housing design. The convergence of mainstream values into urban transformed layouts suggested that they cannot be ignored during design process. The outcome of this research might be useful in designing sustainable public housings in culture sensitive environments

INDIGENOUS STUDENTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN URBAN RONDÔNIA: THE OMISSION OF PUBLIC POLICY FAILURE OF ETHNIC ORIGINS.

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Vanubia Sampaio Santos

2013-04-01

Full Text Available This work presents the outline of a study that is underway, seeking evidence and question the reality of Indian students in schools not as the situations of indigenous affirmation and omission identity (ethnic belonging in urban public schools in Rondônia. The obtained data show everyday situations that characterize violence and prejudice against students indígenas.Essas and other situations that reveals the interethnic tension remains dormant and can manifest in many different situations. At school, occurs in intercultural interaction. To discuss these and other issues raised in the survey, support for authors who discuss indigenous education, management, public policy, anti-colonialist project, empowerment, autonomy and leadership indigenous perspective of the indigenous movement with Grupioni (2001, Lopes da Silva (2000; D'Angelis (2012; Bergamaschi (2012, Both (2009; Mendonça (2009; Castoriadis (1988; Secchi (2008; Tadeu da Silva (1999 and Paulo Freire (1982 with their outstanding contribution to the dialogue on indigenous education. Keywords: Indian student. Urban school. Prejudice. Omission identity.

Public spaces and urban sustainability in the tropical built environment

Science.gov (United States)

Yusof, Y. M.; Kozlowski, M.

2018-01-01

Sustainability is an overarching sense of responsibility towards the future. On a city-wide level, urban sustainability incorporates a wide body of changes especially as they relate to the built environment, all of which intended at creating a livable place. This paper discusses existing public spaces in view of their achievement against a set of criteria for the built environment. The paper introduces performance design criteria for the tropical built environment. The key findings indicate that long-term strategies, guidance and directions for the city and region can achieve development which corresponds to local climate, synergies and provide a higher proportion of public spaces that offer something for everyone.

Connecting Urban Students with Engineering Design: Community-Focused, Student-Driven Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Carolyn; Kruchten, Catherine; Moshfeghian, Audrey

2017-01-01

The STEM Achievement in Baltimore Elementary Schools (SABES) program is a community partnership initiative that includes both in-school and afterschool STEM education for grades 3-5. It was designed to broaden participation and achievement in STEM education by bringing science and engineering to the lives of low-income urban elementary school…

Sports profile in public elementary school

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Warren Pedersen, Lise; Trangbæk, Else

2012-01-01

In 2005, Copenhagen municipality decided to develop and implement a sport and movement profile at a local elementary school. The overall development is discussed as are specific results and consequences of the decision. The role of physical education and teachers in relation to a health discourse......, sport and school sports viewed as an arena for talent identification and development will be discussed. In addition, a question of inequality raised, as a group of talented athletes are accepted into specific sports classes, focusing on cultural capital and the possibility of the educational system...... as reproducing or as an arena for social mobility. Finally a discussion of the possibilities for either sports policy development or school policy development through single initiatives is presented....

Learning From Rudolf Steiner: The Relevance of Waldorf Education for Urban Public School Reform

Science.gov (United States)

Oberman, Ida

2007-01-01

The author of this paper investigates the relevance of Waldorf education for public urban school reform. Based on analysis of survey data from over 500 graduates of private U.S. Waldorf schools, review of documents from the Gates Foundation, and staff-interview and student-achievement data from four public Waldorf-methods schools, she develops…

Science Specialists or Classroom Teachers: Who Should Teach Elementary Science?

Science.gov (United States)

Levy, Abigail Jurist; Jia, Yueming; Marco-Bujosa, Lisa; Gess-Newsome, Julie; Pasquale, Marian

2016-01-01

This study examined science programs, instruction, and student outcomes at 30 elementary schools in a large, urban district in the northeast United States in an effort to understand whether there were meaningful differences in the quality, quantity and cost of science education when provided by a science specialist or a classroom teacher. Student…

Assessment of pharmacists’ delivery of public health services in rural and urban areas in Iowa and North Dakota

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, David M.; Strand, Mark; Undem, Teri; Anderson, Gabrielle; Clarens, Andrea; Liu, Xiyuan

2016-01-01

Background: The profession of pharmacy is expanding its involvement in public health, but few studies have examined pharmacists’ delivery of public health services. Objective: To assess Iowa and North Dakota pharmacists’ practices, frequency of public health service delivery, level of involvement in achieving the essential services of public health, and barriers to expansion of public health services in rural and urban areas. Methods: This study implemented an on-line survey sent to all pharmacists currently practicing pharmacy in Iowa and North Dakota. Results: Overall, 602 valid responses were analyzed, 297 in rural areas and 305 in urban areas. Three practice settings (chain stores [169, 28.2%], independent community pharmacies [162, 27.0%], and hospital pharmacies [156, 26.0%]) comprised 81.2% of the sample. Both chain and independent community pharmacists were more commonly located in rural areas than in urban areas (PDakota. These findings should be interpreted to be primarily due to differences in the role of the rural pharmacist and the quest for certain opportunities that rural pharmacists are seeking. PMID:28042356

Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2009-10 (Fiscal Year 2010). First Look. NCES 2013-305

Science.gov (United States)

Cornman, Stephen Q.; Young, Jumaane; Herrell, Kenneth C.

2012-01-01

The Common Core of Data (CCD) is an annual collection of public elementary and secondary education data by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the data collection for the finance surveys on behalf of NCES. State education…

The Development of an Automated Book Catalog for the State and Urban Publications Collection at Mankato State College.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Susan B.; Lester, Daniel W.

The State and Urban Publications Collection at Mankato State College contains materials from state and local agencies on urban planning. By 1971, when the collection had grown to the point that its haphazard organization was decreasing its usefulness as a resource tool, the library and the Urban Studies Institute formulated an information…

Elementary Technology Demonstration Schools: The Third Year 1992-93. Publication Number 92.31.

Science.gov (United States)

Sabatino, Melissa

The 1992-93 school year was the third year of the Elementary Technology Demonstration Schools program of the Austin (Texas) schools; the project is funded by International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) and Apple Computer Inc. Grants from these corporations were used to equip three elementary schools with IBM equipment and one with Apple…

75 FR 65357 - Request for Public Comment: 30-Day Proposed Information Collection: Office of Urban Indian Health...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-22

... reporting on annual trends. Affected Public: Title V funded urban Indian health programs. Type of... information collected in a useful and timely fashion; (c) the accuracy of public burden estimate (the...

Everyday spaces of inter-ethnic interaction: the meaning of urban public spaces in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peters, K.B.M.; Haan, de H.J.

2011-01-01

Ethnic diversity is manifest in public spaces by the presence of people originating from all over the world. It is also manifest in typical ethnic spaces that are predominantly used by specific ethnic groups. This article focuses on how people from various ethnic backgrounds use urban public spaces

Politics, Religion and Morals: The Symbolism of Public Schooling for the Urban Middle-Class Identity

Science.gov (United States)

Rowe, Emma E.

2016-01-01

Research points to sections of the middle-class repopulating the "ordinary" urban public school and whilst there are key differences in how they are navigating public school choices, from "seeking a critical mass" to resisting traditional methods of choice and going "against-the-grain", or collectively campaigning for…

A Descriptive Study of Multicultural Elementary Student Playground Behaviors and Their Relationship to Gender, Age, Race and Socioeconomic Status.

Science.gov (United States)

Dahmes, Victoria M.

This paper examines the observable play behaviors of elementary school students to determine how children interact within and among cultural groups. Observations were conducted during the recess period at an urban elementary school attended by 623 boys and girls age 6 through 12. Recess periods and play areas were segregated by grade and sex. Data…

Earlier School Start Times as a Risk Factor for Poor School Performance: An Examination of Public Elementary Schools in the Commonwealth of Kentucky

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Peggy S.; Smith, Olivia A.; Gilbert, Lauren R.; Bi, Shuang; Haak, Eric A.; Buckhalt, Joseph A.

2015-01-01

Adequate sleep is essential for child learning. However, school systems may inadvertently be promoting sleep deprivation through early school start times. The current study examines the potential implications of early school start times for standardized test scores in public elementary schools in Kentucky. Associations between early school start…

Participatory environmental governance in China: Public hearings on urban water tariff setting.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhong, L.; Mol, A.P.J.

2008-01-01

In the late 1990s China started to expand its market economic reform to the public sector, such as water services. This reform led to major changes in urban water management, including water tariff management. The reforms in water tariff management relate not only to tariffs, but also to the

Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts: School Year 2011-12 (Fiscal Year 2012). First Look. NCES 2014-303

Science.gov (United States)

Cornman, Stephen Q.

2015-01-01

This First Look report presents data on public elementary and secondary education revenues and expenditures at the local education agency (LEA) or school district level for fiscal year (FY) 2012.1. Specifically, this report includes findings from the following types of school finance data: (1) Revenue and expenditure totals by state and the 100…

Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts: School Year 2012-13 (Fiscal Year 2013). First Look. NCES 2015-303

Science.gov (United States)

Cornman, Stephen Q.

2016-01-01

This First Look report presents data on public elementary and secondary education revenues and expenditures at the local education agency (LEA) or school district level for fiscal year (FY) 2013. Specifically, this report includes findings from the following types of school finance data: (1) revenue and expenditure totals by state and the 100…

Homicides, Public Goods, and Population Health in the Context of High Urban Violence Rates in Cali, Colombia.

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez, Lina; Prada, Sergio; Estrada, Daniela

2017-12-04

Obesity and frequent mental and physical distress are often associated with major health problems. The characteristics of the urban environment, such as homicide rates and public goods provision, play an important role in influencing participation in physical activity and in overall mental health. This study aimed to determine whether there was a relationship between homicide rates and public goods provision on the health outcomes of the citizens of Cali, Colombia, a city known for its high urban violence rate and low municipal investment in public goods. We used a linear probability model to relate homicide rates and public goods provision (lighted parks, effective public space per inhabitant, and bus stations) at the district level to health outcomes (obesity and frequent mental and physical distress). Individual data were obtained from the 2014 CaliBRANDO survey, and urban context characteristics were obtained from official government statistics. After controlling for individual covariates, results showed that homicide rates were a risk factor in all examined outcomes. An increase in 1.0 m 2 of public space per inhabitant reduced the probability of an individual being obese or overweight by 0.2% (95% confidence interval (CI) = - 0.004 to - 0.001) and the probability of frequent physical distress by 0.1% (95% CI = - 0.002 to - 0.001). On average, the presence of one additional bus station increased the probability of being obese or overweight by 1.1%, the probability of frequent mental distress by 0.3% (95% CI = 0.001-0.004), and the probability of frequent physical distress by 0.02% (95% CI = 0.000-0.003). Living in districts with adequate public space and lighted parks lowers the probability of being obese and high homicide rates, which are correlated with poor health outcomes in Cali, Colombia. Investments in public goods provision and urban safety to reduce obesity rates may contribute to a better quality of life for the population.

Media art and the urban environment engendering public engagement with urban ecology

CERN Document Server

2015-01-01

This illuminating text formally appraises the innovative ways new media artists engage urban ecology. Highlighting the role of artists as agents of technological change, the work reviews new modes of seeing, representing, and connecting within the urban setting. Across fourteen chapters, the book describes how state-of-the-art technology can be exploited in order to create artworks that transcend the technology’s original purpose, thus expanding the language of environmental engagement whilst also demonstrating a clear understanding of the societal issues and values being addressed. Topics and features: Explores urban ecology and its engagement, surveying a diverse range of artists, artworks and performances Assesses how data from smart cities may be used to create artworks that can recast residents’ understanding of urban space Examines dynamic transformations of urban space through the reimagining of urban information Discusses the engagement of urban residents with street art, including collaborative c...

Factors of School Effectiveness and Performance of Selected Public and Private Elementary Schools: Implications on Educational Planning in the Philippines

OpenAIRE

Gilbert C. Magulod Jr.

2017-01-01

What defines effective school is the necessity of the school community to tailor interventions to improve quality of education. This study determined the factors of school effectiveness and level of school performance of private and public elementary schools in the Second Congressional District of Cagayan Province, Philippines. The study made use of mixed-method research. For quantitative, the descriptive correlational method was used to identify the relationship between school ...

Fine-Scale Environmental Indicators of Public Health and Well-Being for Urban Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Urban ecosystem services contribute to public health and well-being by buffering natural and man-made hazards, and by promoting healthful lifestyles that include physical activity, social interaction, and engagement with nature. As part of the EnviroAtlas online mapping tool, EP...

Environmental vulnerability in public perceptions and attitudes : The case of Israel's urban centers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Drori, Israel

Objective. This article investigates how urban environmental vulnerability to hazards reflects in the perceptions and attitudes of the public in three major cities in Israel: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa. Our central argument is that the differences between the residents' perceptions and attitudes

Beyond urban penalty and urban sprawl: back to living conditions as the focus of urban health.

Science.gov (United States)

Freudenberg, Nicholas; Galea, Sandro; Vlahov, David

2005-02-01

Researchers have long studied urban health, both to describe the consequences of urban living and to design interventions to promote the health of people living in cities. Two approaches to understanding the impact of cities on health have been dominant, namely, urban health penalty and urban sprawl. The urban penalty approach posits that cities concentrate poor people and expose them to unhealthy physical and social environments. Urban sprawl focuses on the adverse health and environmental effects of urban growth into outlying areas. We propose a model that integrates these approaches and emphasizes urban living conditions as the primary determinant of health. The aim of the model is to move beyond describing the health-related characteristics of various urban populations towards identifying opportunities for intervention. Such a shift in framework enables meaningful comparisons that can inform public health activities at the appropriate level and evaluate their effectiveness in improving the health of urban populations. The model is illustrated with two examples from current urban public health practice.

49 CFR 37.27 - Transportation for elementary and secondary education systems.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Transportation for elementary and secondary education systems. 37.27 Section 37.27 Transportation Office of the Secretary of Transportation... elementary and secondary education systems. (a) The requirements of this part do not apply to public school...

'Thoroughly Good Football': Teachers and the Origins of Elementary School Football.

Science.gov (United States)

Kerrigan, Colm

2000-01-01

Discusses the origins of elementary school soccer (football), addressing topics such as: the role of public schools in organized soccer, soccer in elementary schools, the first schoolboy soccer association, South London Schools' Football Association, the London Schools' Football Association, and the English Schools' Football Association. (CMK)

41 CFR 101-6.205-3 - Elementary and secondary schools.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... schools. 101-6.205-3 Section 101-6.205-3 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property...-Nondiscrimination in Programs Receiving Federal Financial Assistance § 101-6.205-3 Elementary and secondary schools. The requirements of §§ 101-6.205-1 and 101-6.205-2 with respect to any elementary or secondary school...

45 CFR 84.33 - Free appropriate public education.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Free appropriate public education. 84.33 Section..., Elementary, and Secondary Education § 84.33 Free appropriate public education. (a) General. A recipient that operates a public elementary or secondary education program or activity shall provide a free appropriate...

45 CFR 605.33 - Free appropriate public education.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Free appropriate public education. 605.33 Section... Preschool, Elementary, and Secondary Education § 605.33 Free appropriate public education. (a) General. A recipient that operates a public elementary or secondary education program shall provide a free appropriate...

Racial Discipline Disproportionality in Montessori and Traditional Public Schools: A Comparative Study Using the Relative Rate Index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katie E. Brown

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Research from the past 40 years indicates that African American students are subjected to exclusionary discipline, including suspension and expulsion, at rates two to three times higher than their White peers (Children’s Defense Fund, 1975; Skiba, Michael, Nardo, & Peterson, 2002. Although this phenomenon has been studied extensively in traditional public schools, rates of racially disproportionate discipline in public Montessori schools have not been examined. The purpose of this study is to examine racial discipline disproportionality in Montessori public elementary schools as compared to traditional elementary schools. The Relative Rate Index (RRI is used as a measure of racially disproportionate use of out-of-school suspensions (Tobin & Vincent, 2011. Suspension data from the Office of Civil Rights Data Collection was used to generate RRIs for Montessori and traditional elementary schools in a large urban district in the Southeast. While statistically significant levels of racial discipline disproportionality are found in both the Montessori and traditional schools, the effect is substantially less pronounced in Montessori settings. These findings suggest that Montessori schools are not immune to racially disproportionate discipline and should work to incorporate more culturally responsive classroom management techniques. Conversely, the lower levels of racially disproportionate discipline in the Montessori schools suggests that further study of discipline in Montessori environments may provide lessons for traditional schools to promote equitable discipline.

Marginalization and health service coverage among indigenous, rural, and urban populations: a public health problem in Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Roldán, José; Álvarez, Marsela; Carrasco, María; Guarneros, Noé; Ledesma, José; Cuchillo-Hilario, Mario; Chávez, Adolfo

2017-12-01

  Marginalization is a significant issue in Mexico, involving a lack of access to health services with differential impacts on Indigenous, rural and urban populations. The objective of this study was to understand Mexico’s public health problem across three population areas, Indigenous, rural and urban, in relation to degree of marginalization and health service coverage.   The sampling universe of the study consisted of 107 458 geographic locations in the country. The study was retrospective, comparative and confirmatory. The study applied analysis of variance, parametric and non-parametric, correlation and correspondence analyses.   Significant differences were identified between the Indigenous, rural and urban populations with respect to their level of marginalization and access to health services. The most affected area was Indigenous, followed by rural areas. The sector that was least affected was urban.   Although health coverage is highly concentrated in urban areas in Mexico, shortages are mostly concentrated in rural areas where Indigenous groups represent the extreme end of marginalization and access to medical coverage. Inadequate access to health services in the Indigenous and rural populations throws the gravity of the public health problem into relief.

Arthropods: Attitude and Incorporation in Preservice Elementary Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Wagler, Ron; Wagler, Amy

2011-01-01

Invertebrates perform many beneficial and essential ecological services for humans. Despite this, the general public tends to view them negatively. Preservice elementary teachers often find themselves in a tenuous position because they possess the same negativity toward invertebrates as the general public but have been commissioned by United…

State farm-to-school laws influence the availability of fruits and vegetables in school lunches at US public elementary schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Nicholson, Lisa; Turner, Lindsey; Schneider, Linda; Chriqui, Jamie; Chaloupka, Frank

2014-05-01

State laws and farm-to-school programs (FTSPs) have the potential to increase fruit and vegetable (FV) availability in school meals. This study examined whether FV were more available in public elementary school lunches in states with a law requiring/encouraging FTSPs or with a locally grown-related law, and whether the relationship between state laws and FV availability could be explained by schools opting for FTSPs. A pooled, cross-sectional analysis linked a nationally representative sample of public elementary schools with state laws. A series of multivariate logistic regressions, controlling for school-level demographics were performed according to mediation analysis procedures for dichotomous outcomes. Roughly 50% of schools reported FV availability in school lunches on most days of the week. Schools with the highest FV availability (70.6%) were in states with laws and schools with FTSPs. State laws requiring/encouraging FTSPs were significantly associated with increased FV availability in schools and a significant percentage (13%) of this relationship was mediated by schools having FTSPs. Because state farm-to-school laws are associated with significantly higher FV availability in schools-through FTSPs, as well as independently-enacting more state legislation may facilitate increased FTSP participation by schools and increased FV availability in school meals. © 2014, American School Health Association.

The changing nature of urban public places in Dhaka City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mashrur Rahman Mishu

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Throughout the history, public places have been asserted as one of the key components of urban life for their physical, social, political, symbolic and environmental roles. However, the nature and quality of public places in recent years have raised the question how far these places remain ‘public’ in true sense. The study systematically explores how the public places of Dhaka have transformed throughout the history in different time periods. It attempts to assess the ‘publicness’ of the existing public places focusing on the changing nature of these places and the tensions arise from different perspectives. The research is descriptive and employs a case study approach. Osmany Uddan, a park situated in the prime location in the city center and the Hatirjheel, a recently developed lakeside area, have been considered as two cases. The findings from the case studies reveal that although these places are public considering the ownership, their quality and characteristics as public place are diminishing day by day. Limited physical and social accessibility have narrowed the group of users who can use the public place for a variety of purposes. Another major phenomenon which can be attributed to the changing nature of public place is the growing private interest. In this backdrop, it needs planning and design considerations to make public place more inclusive to diverse groups of people as such these places can perform multiple functions in balance.

The politics of public domain : Ethical urbanism around marketplaces in London, Amsterdam & Istanbul

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Janssens, F.

2017-01-01

New marketplaces pop up every day in cities around the world. As catalysts for gentrification, however, these new marketplaces are often celebrated at the expense of the public markets that they replace. This replacement is symptomatic of today's urban governance, which is characterised by what I

A Phenomenological Examination of Antisocial Behaviors in the Elementary School Workplace

Science.gov (United States)

Morton, Cynthia

2010-01-01

Antisocial behavior has a direct impact on the public elementary school setting. While considerable research has been conducted on collegiality in postsecondary schools, this study addressed the gap in practice concerning the lack of attention in regard to the impact of antisocial behavior on collegial relationships in the elementary school…

Urbanization and Leisure: Aspects of the Historical Creation of Public Spaces in Vitoria (ES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Lucy Oliveira Freire

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This paper seeks to expose part of a research and, through it contribute to the debates about leisure in the present city in a context whose urban spaces and society could become more democratic. Performs a historical analysis of public spaces for leisure in the city of Vitoria from the late nineteenth century to the present, trying to print a critical view of the location of spaces in the city. The tarting point of the analysis is the importance of leisure in the daily life of the inhabitants linked to the waterfront, manifesting, for example, in fisheries, in physical exercise, the landscape of contemplation, in swimming, the beaches of uses, in games in the sand, fishing, the outdoors hiking, among other activities. This article is part of the research of a historical study stages of the city urbanization process between the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, concurrent to leisure analyzes at the time. The center of attention is the creation of public spaces along the beach line boardwalk in the 1980s and 1990s,and the large urban transformation period that has being intensified with a concentrated geographically leisure sites in the east of the waterfront in the city. Finally, the paper presents some considerations about challenging the expansion of projects done by the government to expand the relations of citizens with the sea through the use of public spaces in other areas of the city

Urbanization and Leisure: Aspects of the Historical Creation of Public Spaces in Vitoria (ES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Lucy Oliveira Freire

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper seeks to expose part of a research and, through it contribute to the debates about leisure in the present city in a context whose urban spaces and society could become more democratic. Performs a historical analysis of public spaces for leisure in the city of Vitoria from the late nineteenth century to the present, trying to print a critical view of the location of spaces in the city. The starting point of the analysis is the importance of leisure in the daily life of the inhabitants linked to the waterfront, manifesting, for example, in fisheries, in physical exercise, the landscape of contemplation, in swimming, the beaches of uses, in games in the sand, fishing, the outdoors hiking, among other activities. This article is part of the research of a historical study stages of the city urbanization process between the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, concurrent to leisure analyzes at the time. The center of attention is the creation of public spaces along the beach line boardwalk in the 1980s and 1990s,and the large urban transformation period that has being intensified with a concentrated geographically leisure sites in the east of the waterfront in the city. Finally, the paper presents some considerations about challenging the expansion of projects done by the government to expand the relations of citizens with the sea through the use of public spaces in other areas of the city.

Public Transportation Based Dynamic Urban Pollution Monitoring System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando LOPEZ-PEÑA

2010-02-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the development and results of a mobile sensor based opportunistic urban pollution monitoring network that uses public transportation buses as platforms for its deployment. This work is an extended and improved version of the paper presented to the IDAACS’09 conference. It reports some aspects of the implementation of a single pollution sensor based sensing node prototype which was used for testing an opportunistic communications network and which was reported in depth elsewhere. More emphasis is given to the description of the basic sensing unit and its modular conversion into a sensing system able to acquire data on several pollutants as well as temperature, humidity and geo-location information. The software architecture developed around it in order to process the huge amounts of data the system produces is also described. The different prototypes were tested on the public transportation system of the city of Vigo and on multiple test runs around the city of A Coruña in the north-west of Spain producing very promising results.

City of sounds: An heuristic of sensible aspects of public life in contemporary urban landscape

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Fortuna

2009-07-01

Full Text Available The analysis of the sensible aspects of public life, or, in other words, Henri Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis, has an enormous heuristic potential for the study of cities and their images. This text argues that city images are also made of sounds and that urban sounds can reveal not only urban evolution, but also the current mode of organization of the social environments of cities. However, the Social Sciences have not dealt consistently with these sounds. Making inroads into Sociology and Geography, this text defends the need to pay more attention to the urban soundscapes, in order to detect with more rigor their social-political trajectories and configurations.

The Effectiveness of Special Education Teacher Evaluation Processes: Perspectives from Elementary Principals

Science.gov (United States)

Glowacki, Heather; Hackmann, Donald G.

2016-01-01

This study examined perceptions of Illinois public elementary school principals regarding the effectiveness of their school districts' evaluation systems for special education teachers in promoting professional development and job performance accountability. Using an online questionnaire, 330 of the state's 1,551 elementary principals responded to…

Public Schools

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — This Public Schools feature dataset is composed of all Public elementary and secondary education in the United States as defined by the Common Core of Data, National...

Urban Forestry Laboratory Exercises for Elementary, Middle and High School Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Kupkowski, Gary; And Others

The curriculum in this program has been developed for the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Each level builds on the other, and forms a "thread of skills" that are upgraded at each level. The program is divided into two components. The first component is for the development of a school arboretum, tree walk, and herbarium. The second…

Burnout in Prospective Elementary School Teachers: Is It Related to Reasons for Choosing the Elementary School Teaching Major, Beliefs about the Teaching Career and Satisfaction with the Choice?

Science.gov (United States)

Dundar, Sahin

2014-01-01

The present study was carried out to examine the relationships between elementary school teacher candidates' motivations for choosing the teaching profession, beliefs about the teaching profession, satisfaction with the choice, and burnout. The study was carried out with 171 senior elementary school teacher candidates at one public university in…

An analysis of the public discourse about urban sprawl in the United States: Monitoring concern about a major threat to forests

Science.gov (United States)

David N. Bengston; Robert S. Potts; David P. Fan; Edward G. Goetz

2005-01-01

Urban sprawl has been identified as a serious threat to forests and other natural areas in the United States, and public concern about the impacts of sprawling development patterns has grown in recent years. The prominence of public concern about sprawl is germane to planners, managers, and policymakers involved in efforts to protect interface forests from urban...

Public issues associated with planning a large diameter pipeline in a multi-use urban corridor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buszynski, M. [SENES Consultants Ltd., Richmond Hill, ON (Canada)

2004-07-01

The demand for natural gas in a downtown area of Toronto is expected to increase significantly due to the proposed construction of two new generation stations. However, there are few opportunities to locate the pipelines in large urban centers because of the lack of foresight by municipalities and others in preserving corridors for utilities. Enbridge Gas conducted a system planning study to determine the best methods for overcoming public issues that were encountered while planning the route for a NPS 36 inch diameter natural gas pipeline in this urban region. In Ontario, distribution pipelines are regulated by the Ontario Energy Board, whose environmental guidelines for the location, construction and operation of hydrocarbon pipelines require the identification of indirectly affected landowners and detailed analysis of public issues and how they can be resolved. Issues include noise, vibration, dust and traffic. Secondary use of the electric transmission rights-of-way resulted in the identification of several other issues, including aesthetics of the right-of-way and loss of privacy for adjacent residential properties. It was determined that the optimal solution was to parallel a section of existing NPS 30 pipeline running in a north-south right-of-way located east of the Don Valley Parkway. The techniques used to address public issues identified 180 directly affected and 3,200 indirectly affected landowners. The Enbridge study revealed that it is possible to plan a right-of-way through an urban corridor in a manner that is compatible with existing development and that satisfies the general public. 6 figs.

Participatory environmental governance in China: public hearings on urban water tariff setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Li-Jin; Mol, Arthur P J

2008-09-01

In the late 1990s China started to expand its market economic reform to the public sector, such as water services. This reform led to major changes in urban water management, including water tariff management. The reforms in water tariff management relate not only to tariffs, but also to the decision-making on tariffs. Water tariff decision-making seems to move away from China's conventional mode of highly centralized and bureaucratic policy- and decision-making. The legalization, institutionalization and performance of public hearings in water tariff management forms a crucial innovation in this respect. This article analyzes the emergence, development and current functioning of public hearings in water tariff setting, and assesses to what extent public hearings are part of a turning point in China's tradition of centralized bureaucratic decision-making, towards more transparent, decentralized and participative governance.

Shuttle Planning for Link Closures in Urban Public Transport Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van der Hurk, Evelien; Koutsopoulos, Haris N.; Wilson, Nigel

2016-01-01

Urban public transport systems must periodically close certain links for maintenance, which can have significant effects on the service provided to passengers. In practice, the effects of closures are mitigated by replacing the closed links with a simple shuttle service. However, alternative...... cost, which includes transfers and frequency-dependent waiting time costs. This model is applied to a shuttle design problem based on a real-world case study of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority network of Boston, Massachusetts. The results show that additional shuttle routes can reduce...

Effectiveness of an Alternative Certification Program for the Preparation of Elementary Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Follo, Eric J.; Rivard, James J.

2009-01-01

This study focuses on the effectiveness of the alternative elementary teacher certification program at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. The program was developed in response to the projected teacher shortage, the need for teachers in subjects such as mathematics and science, the need for teachers in urban schools, and the need for…

Elementary School-Wide Implementation of a Blended Learning Program for Reading Intervention

Science.gov (United States)

Prescott, Jen Elise; Bundschuh, Kristine; Kazakoff, Elizabeth R.; Macaruso, Paul

2018-01-01

The authors examined the implementation of a blended learning program for literacy instruction across kindergarten through Grade 5 in a Title I urban elementary school, including a population of students (18%) who are English learners. Student progress in the online component of the blended learning program was a significant predictor of growth in…

Housing, Urban Renewal and Socio-Spatial Integration. A Study on Rehabilitating the Former Socialistic Public Housing Areas in Beijing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoxi Hui

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The initiative of this study derived from my concern of two critical urban issues in China today: housing and urban renewal. In the recent two decades, the Chinese urban housing stock underwent a significant, if not extreme, transformation. From 1949 to 1998, the urban housing stock in China largely depended on the public sector, and a large amount of public housing areas were developed under the socialistic public housing system in Beijing and other Chinese cities. Yet in 1998, a radical housing reform stopped this housing system. Thus, most of the public housing stock was privatized and the urban housing provision was conferred to the market. The radical housing privatization and marketization did not really resolve but intensified the housing problem. Along with the high-speed urbanization, the alienated, capitalized and speculative housing stock caused a series of social and spatial problems. The Chinese government therefore attempted to reestablish the social housing system in 2007. However, the unbalanced structure of the Chinese urban housing stock has not been considerably optimized and the housing problem is still one of the most critical challenges in China. Based on the background of privatization, the former socialistic public housing areas in Beijing confront the ambiguity of their housing stock and the confusion of housing management. While they still accommodate the majority of urban residents and are identified by their good places, (social and programmatic mixed communities, vibrant local life, and diversified housing types, they are facing the serious challenges of physical deterioration and social decline. Therefore, urban renewal was thought as an effective solution seeking to improve the living conditions in those neighborhoods. Nevertheless, urban renewal in itself is also a controversial issue. In order to solve the housing problem, the large-scale urban renewal in Beijing started at the beginning of the 1990s. The radical

Urban air pollution in school-related microenvironments in Bogota, Colombia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Felipe Franco

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Particle-related pollution (PM10, PM2.5 and soot was measured in both indoor and outdoor microenvironments at four public elementary schools in Bogota, Colombia. Three of these schools were located alongside major urban roads in which different types of public transit systems are used (bus rapid transit system and conventional transit buses. The fourth school was located on a non-congested road (background school. Pollutant levels at schools situated on major-roads were higher than those found at the low-congestion-road school. Outdoor black carbon daily mean concentrations at the schools located near major roads were up to six times higher than those recorded at the background school. Mean particulate matter concentrations at schools near major roads were above international standards, suggesting that school-age children in Bogota are exposed to pollution levels that are considered to be harmful by environmental and public health authorities. Elevated indoor and outdoor pollutant concentrations documented in this study suggested that traffic has a direct impact on air quality regarding the schools’ characterised microenvironments.

Elementary School Children Contribute to Environmental Research as Citizen Scientists

OpenAIRE

Miczajka, Victoria L.; Klein, Alexandra-Maria; Pufal, Gesine

2015-01-01

Research benefits increasingly from valuable contributions by citizen scientists. Mostly, participating adults investigate specific species, ecosystems or phenology to address conservation issues, but ecosystem functions supporting ecosystem health are rarely addressed and other demographic groups rarely involved. As part of a project investigating seed predation and dispersal as ecosystem functions along an urban-rural gradient, we tested whether elementary school children can contribute to ...

Elementary Students' Metaphors for Democracy

Science.gov (United States)

Dundar, Hakan

2012-01-01

The purpose of the research was to reveal elementary 8th grade students' opinions concerning democracy with the aid of metaphors. The students were asked to produce metaphors about the concept of democracy. 140 students from 3 public schools in Ankara (Turkey) participated in the research. 55% of the students were females and 45% were males. The…

Geospatial Based Information System Development in Public Administration for Sustainable Development and Planning in Urban Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Kouziokas, Georgios N.

2016-09-01

It is generally agreed that the governmental authorities should actively encourage the development of an efficient framework of information and communication technology initiatives so as to advance and promote sustainable development and planning strategies. This paper presents a prototype Information System for public administration which was designed to facilitate public management and decision making for sustainable development and planning. The system was developed by using several programming languages and programming tools and also a Database Management System (DBMS) for storing and managing urban data of many kinds. Furthermore, geographic information systems were incorporated into the system in order to make possible to the authorities to deal with issues of spatial nature such as spatial planning. The developed system provides a technology based management of geospatial information, environmental and crime data of urban environment aiming at improving public decision making and also at contributing to a more efficient sustainable development and planning.

Early Reading Programs in High-Poverty Schools: Emerald Elementary Beats the Odds.

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Fisher, Charles; Adler, Martha A.

This report describes the early reading program in Emerald Elementary School, located in a Midwest urban fringe district. From 1996 through 1998, Emerald's students performed well above the district average or near the state average on reading achievement. During this period, the school had at least half of its students eligible for free or…

Lessons Learned: A Strategic Alliance to Improve Elementary Physical Education in an Urban School District.

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Thompson, Hannah R; Haguewood, Robin; Tantoco, Nicole; Madsen, Kristine A

2015-01-01

Physical education (PE) can help to achieve important public health goals, but is often under-prioritized and lacking in schools. To detail the actions, impact, and successes of a strategic alliance formed by three collaborating organizations to improve PE in a large California school district. Semistructured interviews with alliance members, principals, and teachers in 20 elementary schools, 3 years after the alliance formation. Interviewees reported district-level increases in priority and funding for PE and attributed improvements to the alliance's collection and dissemination of local data on the status of PE. Common goals, trust, and open communication within the alliance were seen as critical to the alliance's success. However, changes in district- or school-level accountability measures for PE were not reported. This strategic alliance succeeded in promoting district-level priority and funding for PE. Ongoing alliance work will focus on increasing accountability measures for PE, which may take longer to implement.

Does performance evaluation help public managers? A Balanced Scorecard approach in urban waste services.

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Guimarães, Bernardo; Simões, Pedro; Marques, Rui Cunha

2010-12-01

The urban waste market has evolved significantly in the past decades, which among other changes, has led to the creation of new utilities and new business models. However, very few things have changed for the users. Urban waste collection remains mainly under the responsibility of local authorities and the charges paid by the users in most countries are very low compared to the provision costs. This situation forces the injection of public money into the system, encouraging the 'quiet-life' within the utilities and, therefore, inefficiency. The present study intends to analyze the potential for the application of the Balanced Scorecard (BSc) methodology into the waste utilities. After a comprehensive revision of the urban waste sector in Portugal, the methodology of BSc and its application in local public services is described and discussed. Focusing on implementation rather than on strategy, a set of performance indicators is proposed to be utilized in the different management models of waste utilities in Portugal: the municipalities, semi-autonomous utilities, municipal companies and mixed companies. This implementation is then exemplified through four case studies, one for each type of utility. This paper provides a flexible framework proposal to be applied to waste utilities operating both in Portugal and abroad. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Handwriting Instruction in Elementary Schools: Revisited!

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Asher, Asha; Estes, Joanne

2016-01-01

Handwriting is an essential literacy and communication skill developed through a variety of instructional methods in elementary school. This study explored the consistency in handwriting instruction across grade levels in a Midwest public school district 15 years after the school initially implemented a uniform handwriting program. Additionally,…

ART PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND URBAN REGENERATION. Mapping LA MINA PROJECT

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Núria Ricart

2009-04-01

Full Text Available The evolution of public art throughout the twentieth century has resulted since the 60’s in a kind of practical intervention in the urban domain with a strong social and participatory intention. This paper presents several of these projects in relation to the kind of participattory levels, and detecting different trends. The paper Specially focuses on the project “Cartografies de La Mina”, developed in Sant Adrià de Besòs (Barcelona between 2002 and 2005 by the POLIS Research Centre at the University of Barcelona.

A Second Year Evaluation of the ESEA Title III Urban Leadership Program.

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Frerichs, Allen H.

The Urban Leadership Program, funded under Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, was carried out among sixth graders at the Albert Einstein School in Chicago, Illinois. The primary purpose of the program was to develop skills and competence to prepare participants for survival and success in a large urban environment. A…

Stereotype Threat Effects on African American and Latina/o Elementary Students Tested Together

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Wasserberg, Martin James

2017-01-01

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate whether a diagnostic testing condition leads to stereotype threat effects for African American and Latina/o children (N = 81) when tested together at an urban elementary school in Miami, Florida. Design/methodology/approach: To analyze the effect of stereotype threat on participants' reading test…

77 FR 66483 - Public Comment on the Draft Federal Urban Design Element and the Draft Update to the Federal...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-05

... NCPC review required by law. The new Federal Urban Design Element provides policies that will guide the... public comment a draft new Federal Urban Design Element and draft revisions to the Preservation and... Features Element articulates policies that guide federal actions preserving Washington's historic character...

Urban Public Space and the Construction of Social Life: A Social-Pedagogical Perspective

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De Visscher, Sven; Bouverne-De Bie, Maria; Verschelden, Griet

2012-01-01

This paper addresses the question of what meaning urban public space has in relation to the process of children's socialisation. It builds on data from qualitative research into the social-pedagogical meaning of three contrasting neighbourhoods in the city of Ghent. In this research, the neighbourhood was studied as a social and spatial context in…

The Effect of Coping Knowledge on Emergency Preparedness in Elementary School Students

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Kim, Shin-Jeong; Kang, So-Ra; Lee, Seung-Hee; Kang, Kyung-Ah

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of coping knowledge for emergency preparedness in Korean elementary school students. A school-based coping education program was provided seven times to 271 fourth- and fifth-grade students in two urban schools by researchers with the school nurses. The Process Model of Stress and Coping and…

Public participation and satisfaction in urban regeneration projects in Tanzania: The case of Kariakoo, Dar es Salaam

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Joseph Paulo Layson

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Based on predictions, almost 60% of the world population will be living in cities by 2030. Tanzania is urbanizing at a rapid rate of 4.7%, and 30% of the total population lives in urban areas. Urban regeneration projects in developing countries are facing various challenges. Moreover, the issue of challenges of community participation and satisfaction in regeneration projects is less documented. In recent decades, a bottom-up planning approach has been advocated as an approach for sustainable development planning whereby local actors participate in decision-making. But how top-down planning meets bottom-up planning is less documented, as well as the correlation between participation and satisfaction. This is due to the fact that zoning system has been dominating in urban planning, where experts zone areas according to land uses with an input from the community. In this research community participation, public satisfaction in urban regeneration projects was investigated. The research was based on Kariakoo, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The research explored public perceptions on satisfaction and the relationship between community participation and community satisfaction in urban regeneration projects. 292 respondents were interviewed on their perceptions on the redevelopment satisfaction. The results were analyzed using SPSS and tabulated in a form of tables, figures, and charts. The results revealed that it is not necessary that the more the participation the more the satisfaction, hence the more the quality of the service/plan. This means that several factors have an influence on satisfaction of urban redevelopment such as gender, level of education, age, time lived or stayed in the area, as well as the level of participation.

Exploring Culturally Sustaining Writing Pedagogy in Urban Classrooms

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Woodard, Rebecca; Vaughan, Andrea; Machado, Emily

2017-01-01

We examine how culturally sustaining pedagogy that fosters linguistic and cultural pluralism might be taken up in writing instruction. Using data collected through semistructured interviews with nine urban elementary and middle school writing teachers, we document teachers' conceptualizations and enactments of culturally sustaining writing…

Public engagement with information on renewable energy developments: The case of single, semi-urban wind turbines.

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Parks, J M; Theobald, K S

2013-01-01

This paper explores perceptions of public engagement with information on renewable energy developments. It draws on a case study of proposals by a major supermarket chain to construct single wind turbines in two semi-urban locations in the UK, analysing data from interviews with key actors in the planning process and focus groups with local residents. The paper concludes that key actors often had high expectations of how local people should engage with information, and sometimes implied that members of the public who were incapable of filtering or processing information in an organised or targeted fashion had no productive role to play in the planning process. It shows how the specific nature of the proposals (single wind turbines in semi-urban locations proposed by a commercial private sector developer) shaped local residents' information needs and concerns in a way that challenged key actors' expectations of how the public should engage with information.

Inflammatory mediators in nasal lavage among school-age children from urban and rural areas in São Paulo, Brazil

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Clóvis Eduardo Santos Galvão

Full Text Available CONTEXT: Some studies have shown that inflammatory processes in the nasal air passages may reflect or affect those in the lower airways. We decided to indirectly assess the inflammatory status of the nasal airways in two groups of children with different sensitization rates to aeroallergens. OBJECTIVE: To compare the inflammatory activity in the nasal airways, through the determination of mediators in nasal lavage fluid in two distinct populations. TYPE OF STUDY: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Two public elementary schools, one in an urban setting and the other in a rural setting of the State of São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: Two groups of 40 elementary school children with different sensitization rates to aeroallergens were formed. Samples of nasal lavage fluid were assessed for eosinophil cationic protein (ECP and tryptase. Non-parametric tests were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Significantly higher levels of ECP were observed among students living in the urban area than those in the rural area (p < 0.05. No significant difference in the tryptase levels was observed. Also, the urban children who were sensitized to aeroallergens presented higher levels of ECP in nasal mucosa than the non-sensitized children, while this difference was not observed among the rural children. DISCUSSION: The lack of mast cell activity and increased eosinophil degranulation revealed a chronic inflammatory state in the nasal air passages. The higher eosinophil activity in the urban area, coinciding with higher sensitization to aeroallergens, suggests that there must be some factors in the urban area that can modulate airway inflammation by influencing the activation of inflammatory cells. CONCLUSION: Our findings showed that there was no difference in the concentrations of tryptase in nasal lavage fluids between the two studied groups. However, the children from the urban area presented with higher concentrations of eosinophil cationic protein than did those

Urban streets

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schönfeld, von Kim Carlotta; Bertolini, Luca

2017-01-01

Today's urban streets are usually planned for purposes of mobility: pedestrians, as well as a variety of vehicles such as cars, trucks, and sometimes bicycles, are usually factored into an urban street plan. However, urban streets are also increasingly recognized as public spaces, accommodating

The Effect of School Principals' Leadership Styles on Elementary School Students' Reading Achievement Scores

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Jones, James M.

2013-01-01

Principal leadership studies have indicated that leadership can play an important role in augmenting students' achievement scores. One significant influence that can affect achievement scores is the leadership style of the principal. This study focuses on fourth-grade achievement scores within urban elementary schools and explores the relationship…

Investigation of preservice elementary teachers' thinking about science

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Cobern, William W.; Loving, Cathleen C.

2002-12-01

It is not uncommon to find media reports on the failures of science education, nor uncommon to hear prestigious scientists publicly lament the rise of antiscience attitudes. Given the position elementary teachers have in influencing children, antiscience sentiment among them would be a significant concern. Hence, this article reports on an investigation in which preservice elementary teachers responded to the Thinking about Science survey instrument. This newly developed instrument addresses the broadrelationship of science to nine important areas of society and culture and is intended to reveal the extent of views being consistent with or disagreeing with a commonly held worldview of science portrayed in the media and in popular science and science education literature. Results indicate that elementary teachers discriminate with respect to different aspects of culture and science but they are not antiscience.

Urbanization in Kenya: Urbanization Trends and Prospects; Rural Development and Urban Growth. An International Urbanization Survey Report to the Ford Foundation.

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Laurenti, Luigi; Gerhart, John

Two articles on the urbanization of Kenya are presented in this survey. The first one, "Urbanization Trends and Prospects," by Luigi Laurenti, states that urbanization has only recently been recognized as a problem of some importance in Kenya, and this recognition is far from comprehensive. Consequently, public policy--and especially…

Professional Development Urban Schools: What Do Teachers Say?

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Green, Tanya R.; Allen, Mishaleen

2015-01-01

This quantitative causal-comparative study compared perceptions of professional development opportunities between high-achieving and low-achieving elementary-middle school teachers in an urban school district using the Standards Assessment Inventory (SAI). A total of 271 teachers participated including 134 (n = 134) teachers from high-achieving…

Creating a school nutrition environment index and pilot testing it in elementary and middle schools in urban South Korea.

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Park, Sohyun; Kwon, Kwang-Il; Kweon, Soon Ju; Wang, Youfa; Gittelsohn, Joel

2017-10-01

The role of a school's nutrition environment in explaining students' eating behaviors and weight status has not been examined in an Asian setting. The purpose of this study was to create a school nutrition environment index and to pilot test the index in elementary and middle schools in urban South Korea. This study used a mixed-methods approach. Environment assessment tools were developed based on formative research, which comprised literature reviews, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions. Key elements from the formative research were included in the assessment tool, which consisted of a structured survey questionnaire for school dietitians. Fifteen school dietitians from 7 elementary and 8 middle schools in Seoul completed the questionnaire. The formative research revealed four main sections that guided a summary index to assess a school's nutrition environment: resource availability, education and programs, dietitians' perceptions and characteristics, and school lunch menu. Based on the literature reviews and interviews, an index scoring system was developed. The total possible score from the combined four index sections was 40 points. From the 15 schools participating in the pilot survey, the mean school nutrition-environment index was 22.5 (standard deviation ± 3.2; range 17-28). The majority of the schools did not offer classroom-based nutrition education or nutrition counseling for students and parents. The popular modes of nutrition education were school websites, posters, and newsletters. This paper illustrates the process used to develop an instrument to assess a school's nutrition environment. Moreover, it presents the steps used to develop a scoring system for creation of a school nutrition environment index. As pilot testing indicated the total index score has some variation across schools, we suggest applying this instrument in future studies involving a larger number of schools. Future studies with larger samples will allow investigation

Learning Environment and Attitudes Associated with an Innovative Science Course Designed for Prospective Elementary Teachers

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Martin-Dunlop, Catherine; Fraser, Barry J.

2008-01-01

This study assessed the effectiveness of an innovative science course for improving prospective elementary teachers' perceptions of laboratory learning environments and attitudes towards science. The sample consisted of 27 classes with 525 female students in a large urban university. Changing students' ideas about science laboratory teaching and…

Documentation to the NCES Common Core of Data Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey: School Year 2010-11. Version Provisional 2a. NCES 2012-338rev

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Keaton, Patrick

2012-01-01

The Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe file includes data for the following variables: NCES school ID number, state school ID number, name of the school, name of the agency that operates the school, mailing address, physical location address, phone number, school type, operational status, locale code, latitude, longitude, county number,…

Geochemical study of urban soils in public areas of an industrialized town (Ajka, western Hungary)

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Zacháry, D.; Jordán, Gy.; Szabó, Cs.

2012-04-01

Soil is one of the most essential parts of urban ecosystem contributing to the biogeochemical cycles along the rock-soil-plant-animal and human pathway. Soil plays a fundamental role in plant nutrient uptake and groundwater filtration, too. Urban soils differ from non-urban soils in many aspects, including their origin, and they may also concentrate contaminants in large quantities due to intensive human activities. The pollution sources are industry, traffic, fertilizer, tailing and waste. In addition to the increasing rate of urban areas, urban soils are under growing interest and their pollution have received significant attention in the past few decades. This work focuses on the toxic element (As, Hg, Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, Ni) content of soils and their spatial distribution in order to find a link between contamination sources and the receiving urban soils at sensitive receptor locations such as children's playgrounds and parks. Ajka town is located in western Hungary. It has an old-established industrial history with multiple contamination sources of heavy alumina industry and coal-based power plants supplied by the nearby bauxite and coal mines. At 44 locations 46 soil samples have been collected at a depth of 0-10 cm along a 1x1 km grid. The whole grid covers an area of 48 km2. In each grid cell a sampling site was selected at public areas. Sample preparation included drying at 40 C°, thorough homogenization and sieving to 2 mm fine earth before chemical analysis. Grain size distribution and soil pH were also determined. Samples were analyzed with ICP-OES and SEM methods. The As, Hg, Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd and Ni concentrations range from 2.07 ppm to 9.48 ppm, 0.02 ppm to 2.84 ppm, 5.08 ppm to 35.74 ppm, 2.55 ppm to 47.78 ppm, 17.00 ppm to 91.00 ppm, 0.07 ppm to 0.61 ppm and 5.57 ppm to 32.09 ppm, respectively. The results revealed the contaminated areas associated with past industrial sites. This study also identified locations with considerable contamination at

Documentation to the NCES Common Core of Data Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey: School Year 2011-12. Provisional Version 1a. NCES 2014-100

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Keaton, Patrick

2013-01-01

The documentation for this provisional version 1a file of the National Center for Education Statistics' (NCES) Common Core of Data (CCD) Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey for SY 2011-12, contains a brief description of the data collection, along with information required to understand and access the data file. The SY 2011-12…

Introducing Urban Cultural Heritage Management into Urban Planning Management

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2008-01-01

<正>1. Concept comparison of urban cultural heritage management and urban planning management 1.1 Urban cultural heritage managementUrban cultural heritage management is an important component of cultural heritage management which is a systematic conser-vation to maintain the cultural value of cul-tural heritages so as to meet the enjoyment demand of the current or future generations. At present, the cultural heritage conserva-tion principles have been defined by many worldwide laws or charters, such as the Venice Charter of ICOMOS, the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, etc., and have been brought into legislation or policies in many countries. The fi nal goal of urban cul-tural heritage management is to find a real sustainable approach to manage heritages, which could benefit the heritages them-selves, the heritage managers and the local communities as well. Cultural heritage man-agement includes the management of urban cultural heritages, that of natural heritages in non-urban areas and that of intangible cultural heritages.1.2 Urban planning managementUrban planning management is a type of urban management. From the practical viewpoint, urban management should be an overall management which includes urban planning management, urban infrastructure and public facility management, urban en-vironment and public order management, etc., takes urban infrastructures and public resources as management object, and ischaracterized by the goal of exerting the comprehensive effects of economy, society and environment. While from the techni-cal viewpoint, urban planning management refers to the planning management executed by urban governments based on the relevant laws and regulations, including the manage-ment of urban land-use and that of different types of constructions. It actually means the organizing, guiding, controlling and coordinating process focusing on different construction projects in cities. The urban cultural heritage mentioned here includes all the physical

Developing Preservice Teachers' Self-Efficacy through Field-Based Science Teaching Practice with Elementary Students

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Flores, Ingrid M.

2015-01-01

Thirty preservice teachers enrolled in a field-based science methods course were placed at a public elementary school for coursework and for teaching practice with elementary students. Candidates focused on building conceptual understanding of science content and pedagogical methods through innovative curriculum development and other course…

Parental encouragement of initiative-taking and adjustment in Chinese children from rural, urban, and urbanized families.

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Chen, Xinyin; Li, Dan

2012-12-01

Due to the requirements of the competitive, market-oriented urban society, parents in urban and urbanized families are more likely than parents in rural families to encourage initiative-taking in child rearing in China. The socialization experiences of children from different types of families may be related to their adjustment. This study examined parental socialization attitudes, social and school adjustment, and their relations in Chinese children from rural, urban, and urbanized families. Participants were elementary school students (N = 1,033; M age = 11 years) and their parents in China. Data were obtained from parental reports, peer evaluations, teacher ratings, and school records. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed that parents in urban and urbanized families had higher scores than parents in rural families on encouragement of initiative-taking. Urban children, particularly girls, were more sociable, obtained higher social status, and had fewer school problems than their rural counterparts. Children from urbanized families were different from rural children and similar to urban children in social and school adjustment. Moreover, multigroup invariance tests showed that parental encouragement of initiative-taking was associated more strongly with children's sociable-assertive behavior and social standing in the urban and urbanized groups than in the rural group. The results indicate that particular socialization attitudes may vary in their adaptive value in child development as a function of specific social and cultural requirements in changing societies. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Urban land planning in Serbia

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Zeković Slavka L.

2002-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the capitalization, urban land management and planning routine have been explored. The focus dwells on the praxis and urban planning perspectives as a link and means for realizing the public interest in space and the role of 'urban transplants' as a lever of urban development. It has also been pointed to a certain discrimination of the property status and property rights through the category of 'public interest', which is articulated by way of urban planning. The unfairness of the existing planning system towards private property and 'taxation' of entrepreneurial activities is evident, especially in urban land use i.e. installing the height of the land rent. It is expected that urban planning is competent upon the background of societal democratization, privatization and introduction of market institutions where the perspectives shift towards democratic transformation, the regulatory role and protection of property rights and different actors’ interests in using urban land. The conclusion is that changes in the management of urban land are required with recommendations to consider public-private sector partnerships.

Factors Influencing the Private Involvement in Urban Rail Public-Private Partnership Projects in China

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Yongjian Ke

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Private investors have been encouraged to participate in the development and operation of urban rail projects in China through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs, given the fact that subnational governments are suffering from urgent development demands and severe fiscal pressure. However, there is no formal assessment to determine the private involvement in a PPP project. This problem is particularly critical in the sector of urban rail, in which the huge investment cannot rely on the private sector alone. This study hence aimed to uncover and identify the influencing factors. Multiple research methods, including content analysis, case study and focus group discussion were adopted to achieve the research purpose. Seven types of influencing factors were identified, including project financial model, government fiscal commitment, risk allocation, public accountability, efficiency considerations, policy and regulations, and organisational marketing strategies. The findings add to the current knowledge base by uncovering the drivers behind private involvement in a PPP project. They are also beneficial for industry practitioners as a basis/checklist to determine the private involvement.

Entering the urban frame: early lesbian activism and public space in Montréal.

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Podmore, Julie A; Chamberland, Line

2015-01-01

This article examines the spatial strategies used by Montréal lesbian activists in the 1970s and 1980s to fight for the lesbian "right to the city." After situating lesbian public activism within Henri Lefebvre's ideal of spatial justice, this article provides case studies of four moments during which Montréal lesbian activists joined or initiated public demonstrations as lesbians. The focus is on the multiple ways in which lesbian activists performed politicized lesbian identities in urban public spaces. Their spatial strategies in this first era of the lesbian and gay rights movement provide an alternative account of claiming lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer rights to the heterosexual city.

Assessing gaps and poverty-related inequalities in the public and private sector family planning supply environment of urban Nigeria.

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Levy, Jessica K; Curtis, Sian; Zimmer, Catherine; Speizer, Ilene S

2014-02-01

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, and its population is expected to double in urban area, and by 2050, that proportion will increase to three quarters (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division 2012; Measurement Learning & Evaluation Project, Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative, National Population Commission 2012). Reducing unwanted and unplanned pregnancies through reliable access to high-quality modern contraceptives, especially among the urban poor, could make a major contribution to moderating population growth and improving the livelihood of urban residents. This study uses facility census data to create and assign aggregate-level family planning (FP) supply index scores to 19 local government areas (LGAs) across six selected cities of Nigeria. It then explores the relationships between public and private sector FP services and determines whether contraceptive access and availability in either sector is correlated with community-level wealth. Data show pronounced variability in contraceptive access and availability across LGAs in both sectors, with a positive correlation between public sector and private sector supply environments and only localized associations between the FP supply environments and poverty. These results will be useful for program planners and policy makers to improve equal access to contraception through the expansion or redistribution of services in focused urban areas.

Negotiating and Designing Public Space. Experiences with a new M.Sc. in Urban Design Program in Hong Kong

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Hendrik Tieben

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This contribution reflects on first experiences made with a newly launched Master of Science in Urban Design program at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. As an important part of this program, students have to develop their design proposal in response to feedback of different stakeholders and community members. Thus the program responds to the growing aspiration of Hong Kong’s citizens to shape the urban development of their city and a lack of a meaningful participation process in the region. With its high density, protected country parks, efficient public transport and large scale housing program, generally, Hong Kong offers important lessons for contemporary urbanism. However, since the end of the British colonial rule and in face of increasing property prices, pollution and the disappearance of local heritage, intensive debates started about the regions future. Another central point of the recent discussion in Hong Kong – and key theme of the new urban design program - is the demand for the rights and qualities of public space. The paper presents the set-up of the design studio, which was closely linked to a course on “urban processes”. During the semester, students had to organize community forums and street exhibitions in a specific district, invite stakeholders and residents and discuss with them their ideas. Their projects, then, had to respond on the various feedbacks and integrate them in their design and policy proposals. The text reflects on the student projects and the lessons learned in the process. It addresses general questions such as the challenges in communicating with a diverse community (e.g. language barriers and culturally different ideas of public space. It addresses the question of the intended and unintended effects of a participatory design studio in the community, and possible follow-ups. And it reflects on the general role of design and designers in shaping community spaces.

Food as a reward in the classroom: school district policies are associated with practices in US public elementary schools.

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Turner, Lindsey; Chriqui, Jamie F; Chaloupka, Frank J

2012-09-01

The use of food as a reward for good student behavior or academic performance is discouraged by many national organizations, yet this practice continues to occur in schools. Our multiyear cross-sectional study examined the use of food as a reward in elementary schools and evaluated the association between district policies and school practices. School data were gathered during the 2007-2008, 2008-2009, and 2009-2010 school years via mail-back surveys (N=2,069) from respondents at nationally representative samples of US public elementary schools (1,525 unique schools, 544 of which also participated for a second year). During every year, the corresponding district policy for each school was gathered and coded for provisions pertaining to the use of food as a reward. School practices did not change over time and as of the 2009-2010 school year, respondents in 42.1% and 40.7% of schools, respectively, indicated that food was not used as a reward for academic performance or for good student behavior. In multivariate logistic regression analyses controlling for school characteristics and year, having a district policy that prohibited the use of food as a reward was significantly associated with school respondents reporting that food was not used as a reward for academic performance (Preward than were respondents in the South and Northeast. As of 2009-2010, only 11.9% of the districts in our study prohibited the use of food as a reward. Strengthening district policies may reduce the use of food rewards in elementary schools. Copyright © 2012 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Urban school leadership for elementary science education: Meeting the needs of English Language Learners

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Alarcon, Maricela H.

Science education reform and state testing accountability call upon principals to become instructional leaders in science. Specifically, elementary school principals must take an active role in science instruction to effectively improve science education for all students including English Language Learners. As such, the research questioned posed in this study centered on How are elementary school principals addressing the academic needs of Latino Spanish-speaking English language learners within science education? This study employed a qualitative research design to identify the factors contributing to the exemplary performance in science, as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), for English Language Learner students in three high poverty bilingual elementary schools based on a multiple case study. As part of the data collection process, interviews were conducted with three school principals, three science academic support teachers, and two 5th grade bilingual teachers. Additionally, observations were acquired through school principal shadowing. The findings revealed four attributes necessary for effective instructional leadership in science education. First, Positive School Culture was defined as the core that linked the other three instructional leadership attributes and thus increased their effectiveness. Second, Clear Goals and Expectations were set by making science a priority and ensuring that English language learners were transitioning from Spanish to English instruction by the fifth grade. Third, Critical Resourcing involved hiring a science academic support teacher, securing a science classroom on campus, and purchasing bilingual instructional materials. Fourth, principal led and supported Collaboration in which teachers met to discuss student performance based data in addition to curriculum and instruction. These research findings are vital because by implementing these best practices of elementary school principals, educators

Job satisfaction of Jamaican elementary school teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Rodgers-Jenkinson, Fay; Chapman, David W.

1990-09-01

This study investigated correlates of job satisfaction among public (N=190) and private (N=100) Jamaican elementary school teachers. Emphasis was on the identification of factors that could be affected through administrative intervention. Results indicated that the quality of school working conditions and respondents' relationships with other teachers were significantly related to satisfaction for both public and private school teachers. School prestige and parental encouragement were also significant predictors for public school teachers; leadership style, organizational structure, and teacher-parent relationships predicted job satisfaction for private school teachers. Implications of these findings for Jamaican education are discussed.

Job satisfaction of primary health-care providers (public sector in urban setting

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Pawan Kumar

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Job satisfaction is determined by a discrepancy between what one wants in a job and what one has in a job. The core components of information necessary for what satisfies and motivates the health work force in our country are missing at policy level. Therefore present study will help us to know the factors for job satisfaction among primary health care providers in public sector. Materials and Methods: Present study is descriptive in nature conducted in public sector dispensaries/primary urban health centers in Delhi among health care providers. Pretested structured questionnaire was administered to 227 health care providers. Data was analyzed using SPSS and relevant statistical test were applied. Results: Analysis of study reveals that ANMs are more satisfied than MOs, Pharmacist and Lab assistants/Lab technicians; and the difference is significant (P < 0.01. Age and education level of health care providers don′t show any significant difference in job satisfaction. All the health care providers are dissatisfied from the training policies and practices, salaries and opportunities for career growth in the organization. Majority of variables studied for job satisfaction have low scores. Five factor were identified concerned with job satisfaction in factor analysis. Conclusion: Job satisfaction is poor for all the four groups of health care providers in dispensaries/primary urban health centers and it is not possible to assign a single factor as a sole determinant of dissatisfaction in the job. Therefore it is recommended that appropriate changes are required at the policy as well as at the dispensary/PUHC level to keep the health work force motivated under public sector in Delhi.

Triggering of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Symptoms in Patients Using Urban Public Transportation.

Science.gov (United States)

de Saboya Lenzi, Luiz Guilherme; Fernandes, Carlos Henrique; Myiamoto Meirelles, Lia; Baptista Gomes Dos Santos, João; Faloppa, Flávio; Raduan Neto, Jorge

2016-09-01

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common compressive neuropathy found in clinical practice. Recent studies evaluated which external factors could be involved in the CTS symptoms, including prolonged exposure to vibration, especially in the upper limb. This study investigated signs and symptoms in patients with CTS after using urban transport on (1) both upper limbs, (2) how long before these symptoms appear, and (3) the hands position or body reaction during the act of pressing the safety bars. Methods: The study was conducted from July 2012 to April 2013. A total of 205 (178 women and 27 men) patients were evaluated. CTS was diagnosed in 285 hands. All participants answered a questionnaire formulated by the authors. The questionnaire was applied by researchers who were single-blinded and not involved in the research. Results: Most of the participants (87%) were women, but there was no statistical significance in age between groups (women = 51.24 ± 8.47 years, men = 51.10 ± 6.52 years, P > .05). The symptoms appeared significantly in the first 15 minutes after boarding when compared with patients who had no symptoms during the journey. There was no difference between hands position along the journey and the onset of symptoms. Conclusions: The onset of symptoms in patients with CTS using urban public transportation most commonly occurred in the first 15 minutes after boarding. Public transport vibration seems to be, at least in part, directly related to the development of symptoms. Questionnaires for the assessment of paresthesia symptoms during the use of public transport may be useful for CTS diagnosis.

Reducing Urban Violence: A Contrast of Public Health and Criminal Justice Approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Cerdá, Magdalena; Tracy, Melissa; Keyes, Katherine M

2018-01-01

Cities are investing millions in Cure Violence, a public health approach to reduce urban violence by targeting at-risk youth and redirecting conflict to nonviolent responses. The impact of such a program compared with criminal justice responses is unknown because experiments directly comparing criminal justice and public health approaches to violence prevention are infeasible with observational data. We simulated experiments to test the influence of two interventions on violence: (1) Cure Violence and (2) directed police patrol in violence hot spots. We used an agent-based model to simulate a 5% sample of the New York City (NYC) adult population, with agents placed on a grid representing the land area of NYC, with neighborhood size and population density proportional to land area and population density in each community district. Agent behaviors were governed by parameters drawn from city data sources and published estimates. Under no intervention, 3.87% (95% CI, 3.84, 3.90) of agents were victimized per year. Implementing the violence interrupter intervention for 10 years decreased victimization by 13% (to 3.35% [3.32, 3.39]). Implementing hot-spots policing and doubling the police force for 10 years reduced annual victimization by about 11% (to 3.46% [3.42, 3.49]). Increasing the police force by 40% combined with implementing the violence interrupter intervention for 10 years decreased violence by 19% (to 3.13% [3.09, 3.16]). Combined investment in a public health, community-based approach to violence prevention and a criminal justice approach focused on deterrence can achieve more to reduce population-level rates of urban violence than either can in isolation. See video abstract at, http://links.lww.com/EDE/B298.

Implementing Elementary School Next Generation Science Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Katheryn B.

Implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards requires developing elementary teacher content and pedagogical content knowledge of science and engineering concepts. Teacher preparation for this undertaking appears inadequate with little known about how in-service Mid-Atlantic urban elementary science teachers approach this task. The purpose of this basic qualitative interview study was to explore the research questions related to perceived learning needs of 8 elementary science teachers and 5 of their administrators serving as instructional leaders. Strategies needed for professional growth to support learning and barriers that hamper it at both building and district levels were included. These questions were considered through the lens of Schon's reflective learning and Weick's sensemaking theories. Analysis with provisional and open coding strategies identified informal and formal supports and barriers to teachers' learning. Results indicated that informal supports, primarily internet usage, emerged as most valuable to the teachers' learning. Formal structures, including professional learning communities and grade level meetings, arose as both supportive and restrictive at the building and district levels. Existing formal supports emerged as the least useful because of the dominance of other priorities competing for time and resources. Addressing weaknesses within formal supports through more effective planning in professional development can promote positive change. Improvement to professional development approaches using the internet and increased hands on activities can be integrated into formal supports. Explicit attention to these strategies can strengthen teacher effectiveness bringing positive social change.

An Urban-Spatial Analysis of the Women in the Informal Sectors of Greater Guwahati City of Assam, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zona Bhuyan

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This article reflects the use of urban space by women in urban informal sectors in the city of Guwahati located in North East India. The population influx from across the borders in the aftermath of the partition has huge implications both on polity and on economy of the northeastern states in general and Assam in particular.  Importantly, the urban informal sectors have a sizeable share in terms of its significant contributions towards Gross Domestic Product (GDP as well as generation of employment opportunities largely. Using a feminist perspective, the research is an attempt to investigate the engagement of women in the informal sector in greater Guwahati. Research findings reveal that the occupations of the women workers are location-specific, that is, the manufacturing sectors (textiles, food preparation, printing and skilled service are mainly home/shop based production (fixed locations whereas the service sectors (leisure, caring, elementary construction, elementary sales and cleaning occupation operate at variable locations (construction sites, street pavements, marketplaces and other various locations. Further analysis shows that the informal sector is highly demand dependent and such demands are in the central business areas of the city, therefore informal sector services (skilled services and elementary services are found to be located in and around the central areas of Guwahati city. Women operators in the informal sector are attracted to the central business district because of the many advantages that it enjoys relative to other parts of a city. The paper concludes by calling on policy makers and physical planning agencies to evolve more pragmatic strategies for urban development matters in order that urban informal sector activities can be integrated into urban development plans. Finally, further research is called for on how urban planners could redesign the urban space with appropriate consideration of the informal sector

Theoretical Studies of Elementary Hydrocarbon Species and Their Reactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allen, Wesley D. [Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry. Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry; Schaefer, III, Henry F. [Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry. Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry

2015-11-14

This is the final report of the theoretical studies of elementary hydrocarbon species and their reactions. Part A has a bibliography of publications supported by DOE from 2010 to 2016 and Part B goes into recent research highlights.

On public space design for Chinese urban residential area based on integrated architectural physics environment evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, J. Y.; Cheng, W.; Ma, C. P.; Tan, Y. T.; Xin, L. S.

2017-04-01

The residential public space is an important part in designing the ecological residence, and a proper physics environment of public space is of greater significance to urban residence in China. Actually, the measure to apply computer aided design software into residential design can effectively avoid an inconformity of design intent with actual using condition, and a negative impact on users due to bad architectural physics environment of buildings, etc. The paper largely adopts a design method of analyzing architectural physics environment of residential public space. By analyzing and evaluating various physics environments, a suitability assessment is obtained for residential public space, thereby guiding the space design.

Is an elementary particle really: (i) a particle? (ii) elementary?

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics. Is an elementary particle really: (i) a particle? (ii) elementary? Over centuries, naïve notions about this have turned out incorrect. Particles are not really pointlike. The word elementary is not necessarily well-defined. Notes:

Single-Sex Classes in Two Arkansas Elementary Schools: 2008-2009

Science.gov (United States)

Stotsky, Sandra; Denny, George; Tschepikow, Nick

2010-01-01

Interest in single-sex classes continues to grow in the United States, but there has been little research at the elementary level in this country or elsewhere to help guide educators' decision-making about the overall value of single-sex classes in public schools and the specific value of single-sex classes in public schools for increasing boy's…

Promoting Physical Activity in Elementary Schools: Needs Assessment and a Pilot Study of Brain Breaks

Science.gov (United States)

Perera, Thushanthi; Frei, Simone; Frei, Balz; Bobe, Gerd

2015-01-01

A sedentary life style contributes to many chronic diseases and poor educational performance. Since elementary school-aged children spend most wakeful hours in school, classroom teachers are essential for providing physical activity (PA) breaks during school. As first objective, we assessed current PA levels for Oregon public elementary schools…

Peer and Teacher Preference, Student-Teacher Relationships, Student Ethnicity, and Peer Victimization in Elementary School

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Feihong; Leary, Kevin A.; Taylor, Lorraine C.; Derosier, Melissa E.

2016-01-01

We examined the effects of peer preference and teacher preference for students, students' perceived relationship with their teacher and student ethnicity on peer victimization in late elementary school. Participants were students in the third through fifth grades in four public elementary schools in a southern state. Using hierarchical linear…

Elementary school on the move– moving in elementary school

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reiner Hildebrandt-Stramann

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Elementary school in Germany has changed during the last five years because, among other reasons, movement has entered it. The title's pun calls attention for two lines of work that characterize school pedagogy contemporary discussion. One of these lines is related to the last 15 years changing process at elementary school: it states that elementary school must be a learning and living place for children. The other line is related to movement pedagogy processes, which has been achieving higher and higher dimensions. Elementary school must be seen from movement point of view and must be transformed in a place for movement.

Behavioral Dysphonia and Depression in Elementary School Teachers.

Science.gov (United States)

Marques da Rocha, Luise; Behlau, Mara; Dias de Mattos Souza, Luciano

2015-11-01

To verify the relationship between behavioral dysphonia and current depressive episodes in municipal elementary school teachers. We hypothesize that teachers with behavioral dysphonia will be more susceptible to psychiatric disorders. Cross-sectional study, quantitative, conducted across municipal schools in both rural and urban regions of Pelotas. Five-hundred seventy-five teachers from urban and rural areas of the same Brazilian state were included. The full version of the Voice Handicap Index validated into Brazilian Portuguese was used to determine the presence of behavioral dysphonia. A profile of vocal behaviors was also used to quantify the number of phonotraumatic events. In addition, the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview was used to determine current episodes of depression. Data were analyzed via correlative studies using chi-square and Poisson regression analyses. Across all teachers, the prevalence of dysphonia was 33.9% and 55% reported that they had already taken a leave because of their voice. Those teachers with a current depressive episode had a higher rate of dysphonia compared with those without depression (prevalence ratio [PR] 1.66; P Teachers who presented with a risk of serious vocal problems had a prevalence ratio of 2.58, indicating a greater proportion of dysphonia, whereas teachers classified as champions of abuse were five times more likely compared with those teachers with behaved or candidates for voice problems. There is an association between behavioral dysphonia and current depressive episodes in elementary school teachers. Copyright © 2015 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Qualitative Study of Prospective Elementary Teachers' Grasp of Agricultural and Science Educational Benchmarks for Agricultural Technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Trexler, Cary J.; Meischen, Deanna

2002-01-01

Interviews with eight preservice elementary teachers regarding benchmarks related to agricultural technology for food and fiber showed that those from rural areas had more complex understanding of the trade-offs in technology use; urban residents were more concerned with ethical dilemmas. Pesticide pollution was most understood, genetic…

Associations between park characteristics and perceived restorativeness of small public urban green spaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peschardt, Karin Kragsig; Stigsdotter, Ulrika K.

2013-01-01

of nine small public urban green spaces (SPUGS) in the dense city of Copenhagen. Furthermore, we investigate whether there is a difference in preferences for park characteristics amongst average users and the most stressed users of SPUGS. We conducted an on-site questionnaire survey where respondents......Urban green space in dense city areas is a limited resource. However, previous research indicates that such areas have a positive influence on mental restoration. As stress is a common problem in cities, we test to see whether park characteristics are associated with the perceived restorativeness...... answered the perceived restorativeness scale (PRS). All SPUGS were analysed using the eight perceived sensory dimensions (PSDs) which describe different park characteristics. The analyses were conducted to see whether the PSDs were present or not and to determine how strong or weak they were. For the first...

Factors influencing the control strategy of hybrid drive of urban public transport buses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barta, Dalibor; Mruzek, Martin

2015-01-01

The efficiency of each drives is dependent on many factors. Hybrid drives and specially the drives of urban public transport may be affected by other factors given by transport infrastructure or operational conditions. These factors condition the suitable configuration of the individual elements of hybrid drive and the establishment of good control strategy of such drive. The study of influencing factors of the control strategy is the aim of this paper. (full text)

Study on Driver Visual Physiological Characteristics in Urban Traffic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fengyuan Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In the integrated traffic environment, human factor is always a main factor of the three elementary factors, besides the vehicle and road factor. The driver physiological and psychological characteristics have an important impact especially on traffic safety in urban road traffic conditions. Some typical traffic scenes in condition of urban road, such as light signal control at intersection, overtaking, and passing, are selected for condition analysis. An eye movement apparatus was used to obtain driver eye closure, blink frequency, and other visual physiological indicators in the traffic conditions of urban road. The regular patterns of driver visual characteristics in the corresponding scenes were analyzed in detail to provide data and theoretical support for the further research on traffic safety of urban environment from the viewpoint of driver psychology and behavior.

The Elementary School Counselor's Role: Perceptions of Teachers.

Science.gov (United States)

Ginter, Earl J.; And Others

1990-01-01

Surveyed 313 public elementary school teachers concerning their perceptions of counselor functions. Results indicated that the role of the counselor appeared to be comprised of two distinct factors. The helper dimension centered on problem identification and resolution while the consultant dimension was aimed at providing professional or technical…

Vulnerability effects of passengers' intermodal transfer distance preference and subway expansion on complementary urban public transportation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Liu; Yan, Yongze; Ouyang, Min; Tian, Hui; He, Xiaozheng

2017-01-01

The vulnerability studies on urban public transportation systems have attracted growing attentions in recent years, due to their important role in the economy development of a city and the well-beings of its citizens. This paper proposes a vulnerability model of complementary urban public transportation systems (CUPTSs) composed of bus systems and subway systems, with the consideration of passengers’ intermodal transfer distance preference (PITDP) to capture different levels of complementary strength between the two systems. Based on the model, this paper further introduces a CUPTSs-aimed vulnerability analysis method from two specific aspects: (a) vulnerability effects of different PITDP values, which facilitate the design of policies to change PITDP to reduce system vulnerability; (b) vulnerability effects of different subway expansion plans, which facilitate the vulnerability investigation of current expansion plan and the identification of the optimal expansion plan from the system vulnerability perspective. The proposed CUPTSs-aimed vulnerability analysis method is applied to investigate the complementary bus and subway systems in the city of Wuhan, China. The insights from this study are helpful to analyze other CUPTSs for valuable planning suggestions from the vulnerability perspective. - Highlights: • We model complementary urban public transportation systems’ (CUPTSs) vulnerability. • We use a PITDP metric to capture different levels of complementary relationship. • We study vulnerability under different PITDP and different subway expansion plans. • We analyze dynamic vulnerability of CUPTSs during their expansion process.

Design of Urban Public Spaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjort, Mikkel; Martin, W Mike; Stewart, Tom

2018-01-01

knowledge, and that expert knowledge was chosen randomly. These findings point to a systematic lack of evidence-based practice when designing sport and recreational facilities. This article has implications for landscape architects and urban planners; a new method must be developed to embed...

Monitoring User-Based Accessibility Assessment in Urban Environments and in Public Buildings

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Gintaras Stauskis

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The research features analysis of user-experience-based accessibility assessment and progress monitoring of buildings and public spaces; this analysis is used as a tool for facilitating the development of humane, socially sustainable and an inclusive urban environment. A group of users representing people with different kinds of disabilities, the elderly and families with children was created to assess the quality of access to various buildings with different functions and locations across Vilnius and in Singapore. A school, two hospitals, a rehab centre and two offices were selected for access monitoring in Vilnius City, while a hotel, a café and two metro stations with public squares were chosen for access assessment in Singapore. As the same method was principally applied to assess accessibility of selected buildings in Vilnius City in 2000 and 2017 and in Singapore in 2012, the article draws a comparative analysis of access levels in these two cities located in different global regions. The results show a definite improvement of access quality over time and also identify the critical aspects in this process. The segment of plot planning represents the lowest quality of access for all assessed building types as compared to the building segment and the external–internal element segments. The paper also draws conclusions that access improvement is a continuous process of implementing advanced urban policy instruments, and city planners can contribute to it by constantly analysing and presenting to public the monitoring data about the progress in access improvement. Comparing the assessment results between Vilnius City and Singapore – cities that are located in different global regions and in different socio-economic environments – provides a practical tool for benchmarking and setting the priorities for this process.

The New Northview Elementary School. Public School Reporter, Vol. 3, No. 1.

Science.gov (United States)

Olathe Board of Education, KS.

The Northview Elementary School is described, some features including a centrally located library-instructional materials center, flexibility through the absence of load bearing walls allowing flexible use of space, planning areas for teachers, and a minimum of corridor space. Among the unusual features are windowless construction, individual…

1975 annual report of the Elementary Particle Physics Department

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1976-03-01

The annual report gives a short summary of experiments in progress and of approved proposals of experiments to be performed at CERN by the Elementary Particle Physics Department of Saclay, and also publication lists and informations about the Department activities during 1975 [fr

Elementary Mathematics Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Fennell, Francis; Kobett, Beth McCord; Wray, Jonathan A.

2013-01-01

Elementary school mathematics leaders often come to the realization that their position, however titled and determined, although dedicated to addressing needs in math teaching and learning, also entails and directly involves leadership. Elementary school math specialists/instructional leaders (referenced here as elementary mathematics leaders, or…

Public engagement on urban air pollution: an exploratory study of two interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Oltra, Christian; Sala, Roser; Boso, Àlex; Asensio, Sergi López

2017-06-01

The use of portable sensors to measure air quality is a promising approach for the management of urban air quality given its potential to improve public participation in environmental issues and to promote healthy behaviors. However, not all the projects that use air quality mobile sensors consider the potential effects of their use on the attitudes and behaviors of non-expert individuals. This study explores the experiences, perceptions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions of 12 participants who used a real-time NO 2 sensor over a period of 7 days in the metropolitan area of Barcelona and compares them with 16 participants who did not have access to the device but rather to documentary information. The study design is based on recombined focus groups who met at the beginning and end of a 7-day activity. The results suggest that the experience with the sensors, in comparison with the traditional information, generates greater motivation among participants. Also, that the use of the sensor seems to support a more specific awareness of the problem of air pollution. In relation to risk perception, the textual and visual information seems to generate stronger beliefs of severity among participants. In both groups, beliefs of low controllability and self-efficacy are observed. Neither using the sensor nor reading the documentary information seems to contribute positively in this sense. The results of the study aim to contribute to the design of public involvement strategies in urban air pollution.

Urban Renewable Building And Neighborhood Optimization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2016-09-07

URBANopt is a user interface for creating and running district and city scale building energy simulations. The framework is built around the OpenStudio Urban Measures which are part of the OpenStudio project. Building footprints, building height, building type, and other data can be imported from public records or other sources. Footprints and locations for new buildings and district systems can also be specified. OpenStudio Measures are used to create starting point energy models and to model energy design features and efficiency measures for each building. URBANopt allows a user to pose several scenarios such as “what if 30% of the commercial retail buildings added roof top solar” or “what if all elementary schools converted to ground source heat pumps” and then visualize the impacts at a district or city scale. URBANopt is capable of modeling existing buildings, new construction, and district energy systems. URBANopt can be used to explore options for achieving Zero Energy across a collection of buildings (e.g., Zero Energy Districts).

The Association Between Forms of Aggression, Leadership, and Social Status Among Urban Youth

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Courtney N.; Paskewich, Brooke S.; Leff, Stephen S.

2014-01-01

While much prior research has documented the negative associations between aggression, peer relationships, and social skills, other research has begun to examine whether forms of aggression also may be associated with prosocial skills and increased social status. However, few studies have examined these associations within diverse samples of elementary aged youth. The current study examined the associations between aggression, popularity, social preference, and leadership among 227 urban, ethnic minority (74 % African American, 9 % bi-racial including African American, 12 % other ethnic minorities, and 5 % European American) elementary school youth (average age 9.5 years, 48.5 % female). Results indicated that in an urban, high risk environment, displaying aggressive behaviors was associated with increased perceived popularity, decreased social preference, and, in some cases, increased perceived leadership. The results also suggested gender differences in the association between the forms of aggression (i.e. relational and overt) and popularity. The current study underscores the importance of examining youth leadership along with forms of aggression and social status among urban minority youth. Implications for future research and aggression prevention programming are highlighted. PMID:23086015

"Are We Doing Damage?" Choosing an Urban Public School in an Era of Parental Anxiety

Science.gov (United States)

Cucchiara, Maia

2013-01-01

There is an ample scholarly and popular literature describing the rise in "anxiety" among middle-class parents. This paper draws from a study of urban middle-class parents who were considering sending their children to public school. Focusing on one neighborhood and its school, it describes the impact of anxiety on the choice process. It further…

A comparative institutional evaluation of public-private partnerships in Dutch urban land-use and revitalisation projects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijkamp, P.; van der Burch, M.; Vindigni, G.

2002-01-01

In the spirit of the devolution of public policy, we have recently witnessed an increasing popularity of decentralised forms of decision-making in urban land-use policy, in which both local (or regional) authorities and the private sector play a more prominent joint role in the preparation and

Dress Codes Blues: An Exploration of Urban Students' Reactions to a Public High School Uniform Policy

Science.gov (United States)

DaCosta, Kneia

2006-01-01

This qualitative investigation explores the responses of 22 U.S. urban public high school students when confronted with their newly imposed school uniform policy. Specifically, the study assessed students' appraisals of the policy along with compliance and academic performance. Guided by ecological human development perspectives and grounded in…

State and district policy influences on district-wide elementary and middle school physical education practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Chriqui, Jamie F; Eyler, Amy; Carnoske, Cheryl; Slater, Sandy

2013-01-01

To examine the influence of state laws and district policies on district-wide elementary school and middle school practices related to physical education (PE) time and the percentage of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) time during PE. Multivariate, cross-sectional analysis of state laws, district wellness and PE policies, and district PE practices for school year 2010-2011 controlling for district-level urbanicity, region, size, race/ethnicity of students, and socioeconomic status and clustered on state. One hundred ninety-five public school districts located in 42 states. District-level PE coordinators for the included districts who responded to an online survey. Minutes and days of PE per week and percent time spent in MVPA during PE time. District PE coordinators reported significantly less PE time than national standards-82.9 and 189.6 minutes at the elementary school and middle school levels, respectively. Physical education was provided an average of 2.5 and 3.7 days per week, respectively; and the percentage of MVPA time in PE was 64.4% and 65.7%, respectively. At the elementary school level, districts in either states with laws governing PE time or in a state and district with a law/policy reported significantly more days of PE (0.63 and 0.67 additional days, respectively), and districts in states with PE time laws reported 18 more minutes of PE per week. At the middle school level, state laws were associated with 0.73 more days of PE per week. Neither state laws nor district policies were positively associated with percent MVPA time in PE. State laws and district policies can influence district-level PE practices-particularly those governing the frequency and duration of PE-although opportunities exist to strengthen PE-related laws, policies, and practices.

Faecal Pathogen Flows and Their Public Health Risks in Urban Environments: A Proposed Approach to Inform Sanitation Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, Freya; Petterson, Susan; Norman, Guy

2018-01-01

Public health benefits are often a key political driver of urban sanitation investment in developing countries, however, pathogen flows are rarely taken systematically into account in sanitation investment choices. While several tools and approaches on sanitation and health risks have recently been developed, this research identified gaps in their ability to predict faecal pathogen flows, to relate exposure risks to the existing sanitation services, and to compare expected impacts of improvements. This paper outlines a conceptual approach that links faecal waste discharge patterns with potential pathogen exposure pathways to quantitatively compare urban sanitation improvement options. An illustrative application of the approach is presented, using a spreadsheet-based model to compare the relative effect on disability-adjusted life years of six sanitation improvement options for a hypothetical urban situation. The approach includes consideration of the persistence or removal of different pathogen classes in different environments; recognition of multiple interconnected sludge and effluent pathways, and of multiple potential sites for exposure; and use of quantitative microbial risk assessment to support prediction of relative health risks for each option. This research provides a step forward in applying current knowledge to better consider public health, alongside environmental and other objectives, in urban sanitation decision making. Further empirical research in specific locations is now required to refine the approach and address data gaps. PMID:29360775

Urban Sloths: Public Knowledge, Opinions, and Interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kissia Ferreira Pereira

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Free-range sloths living in an urban environment are rare. In this study, the opinions, attitudes, and interactions with a population of Bradypus variegatus were investigated through short, structured interviews of people in the pubic square where the sloths live, in addition to informal, opportunistic observations of human-sloth interactions. A questionnaire was applied to people in the square where the sloths reside, and informal, opportunistic observations of human-sloth interactions were made. 95% of respondents knew of the sloths’ existence in the square and 87.8% liked their presence. Opinions about population size differed greatly and younger people were concerned as to whether the square was an appropriate place for them. Some human-sloth interactions showed the consequences of a lack of biological knowledge. People initiated all sloth-human interactions. The fact that sloths are strictly folivorous has avoided interactions with humans and, consequently, mitigated any negative impacts of the human-animal interaction on their wellbeing. These results demonstrate that, while there is a harmonious relationship between people and sloths, actions in environmental education of the square’s public could be beneficial for the sloths.

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Accreditation:Impact on Elementary Student Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Darlene Y. Bruner

2004-07-01

Full Text Available Currently, 848 Georgia public elementary schools that house third- and fifth-grades in the same building use the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS accreditation as a school improvement model. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether elementary schools that are SACS accredited increased their levels of academic achievement at a higher rate over a five-year period than elementary schools that were not SACS accredited as measured by the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS. Independent variables included accreditation status, socioeconomic status (SES of schools, and baseline scores of academic achievement. Dependent variables included mathematics and reading achievement scores. There was a statistically significant difference found when examining the SES of schools and baseline scores of the elementary schools. SACS accredited elementary schools had higher SES and higher baseline scores in third- and fifth grade mathematics and reading. However, the multiple regression model indicated no statistically significant differences in gain scores between SACS accredited and non-SACS accredited elementary schools in third- and fifth-grade mathematics and reading achievement during the five year period examined in this study.

Urban Mobility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2017-01-01

This anthology is the proceedings publication from the 2015 NAF Symposium in Malmö, Sweden. The aim of the 2015 NAF Symposium “Urban Mobility – Architectures, Geographies and Social Space” was to facilitate a cross-disciplinary discussion on urban mobility in which the juxtaposition of different...

Urban Mobility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2017-01-01

This anthology is the proceedings publication from the 2015 NAF Symposium in Malmö, Sweden. The aim of the 2015 NAF Symposium “Urban Mobility – Architectures, Geographies and Social Space” was to facilitate a cross-disciplinary discussion on urban mobility in which the juxtaposition of different ...

Family Characteristics and Elementary School Achievement in an Urban Ghetto

Science.gov (United States)

Solomon, Daniel; And Others

1972-01-01

The relationships of sex, father absence, family size, and birth order to factor scores representing general academic achievement'' were investigated in a sample of urban black ghetto fifth-grade children. Significant main effects were found for sex and family size. (Author)

Measuring student engagement among elementary students: pilot of the Student Engagement Instrument--Elementary Version.

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, Chandra P; Reschly, Amy L; Lovelace, Matthew D; Appleton, James J; Thompson, Dianne

2012-06-01

Early school withdrawal, commonly referred to as dropout, is associated with a plethora of negative outcomes for students, schools, and society. Student engagement, however, presents as a promising theoretical model and cornerstone of school completion interventions. The purpose of the present study was to validate the Student Engagement Instrument-Elementary Version (SEI-E). The psychometric properties of this measure were assessed based on the responses of an ethnically diverse sample of 1,943 students from an urban locale. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the 4-factor model of student engagement provided the best fit for the current data, which is divergent from previous SEI studies suggesting 5- and 6-factor models. Discussion and implications of these findings are presented in the context of student engagement and dropout prevention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

Urban School Leadership for Elementary Science Education: Meeting the Needs of English Language Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Alarcon, Maricela H.

2012-01-01

Science education reform and state testing accountability call upon principals to become instructional leaders in science. Specifically, elementary school principals must take an active role in science instruction to effectively improve science education for all students including English Language Learners. As such, the research questioned posed…

The Status of Daily Physical Activity in Northern Ontario's Elementary Public Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Rickwood, Greg

2015-01-01

The importance of daily physical activity (DPA) for children and youth is highlighted in Canada's Active Healthy Kids annual report on fitness. Since 2005, this report has revealed that elementary-aged students are spending most of their waking hours stationary, in front of screens (phones, televisions, computers). To counteract this trend, the…

Music Education in Puerto Rican Elementary Schools: A Study from the Perspective of Music Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

López-León, Ricardo; Lorenzo-Quiles, Oswaldo; Addessi, Anna Rita

2015-01-01

This article presents, for the first time, descriptive research on the status of music education in Puerto Rican public elementary schools. General music education at elementary schools on the island has been part of the school offering for more than 50 years. As yet, music education at this level has not been recognized as an essential discipline…

Enviromental sanitation in urban and rural areas: its importance in the control of enteric infections.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolman, A

1975-01-01

In Central and South America, enteric infections constitute one of the leading causes of disease and death. The terrible toll is exacted by a host of different microorganisms, virtually all of which are transmitted via contact with human excreta. To change this picture we need many more water supply and sewerage systems, better food preparation and handling, and public comprehension of how elementary good hygiene promotes good health. Attaining these objectives will be difficult, but less costly than one might suppose, and there is little to be gained by delay. The basic enviromental causes of enteric disease are clear, current conditions have been aggravated by rapid population growth and urbanization, and basic corrective measures have already been postponed long enough.

Sustainable urban structures to challenge climate change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emil CREANGA

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Public spaces within the city in all their form of different types - streets, boulevards, squares, plazas, market places, green areas - are the backbone of cities. Over the centuries buildings defined the shape and quality of public spaces, valorising them in various ways. The post-modern development of urban form generated a great number of “urban spaces”, where there is no longer correspondence between architectural forms and social and political messages: shopping malls and theme parks, inner public spaces, strip developments etc. Urban sprawl accompanied by loss of agricultural/rural land and its impact on the environment are serious concerns for most cities over Europe. To strike the right balance between inner city regeneration, under-use of urban land in the old abandoned sites and the ecological benefits that accompany the new private business initiatives in suburban areas, is one of the major challenges confronting cities in Europe. The paper will analyze the complex relations between architecture and public space, in an attempt to understand how traditional urban structures, public and green spaces, squares and streets, could provide orientation for quality-oriented regeneration. Case in point is Bucharest - capital city of Romania - where aggressive intervention in the urban structure during the 1980s disrupted the fabric of the city. The investigation is oriented towards fundamental questions such as: how to secure and preserve sites that serve as initial points in upgrading processes, how to balance private investment criteria and the quality interests of the urban communities. The major aim is to provide a support for decision making in restoring the fundamental role of public urban space in shaping urban form and supporting community life.

Elementary school teachers’ knowledge on dyslexia

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Isabelly Silva do Nascimento

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: to describe the knowledge of elementary school teachers on child dyslexia. Methods: 10 teachers from the 1st to the 5th year of elementary education in public schools in the municipality of Abreu e Lima, Pernambuco, Brazil, participated in the study. A semi-structured interview was conducted with each teacher, individually, in the school itself and was based on some guiding questions. Results: content analysis allowed the identification of three thematic categories: 1. Teacher training does not address dyslexia; 2. Feelings and difficulties of the literacy teacher facing the challenges of literacy; 3. Lack of knowledge about dyslexia: school management of possibly dyslexic children. Conclusion: the research revealed the lack of knowledge of literacy teachers on dyslexia, despite having undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as that of teachers who participated in training offered by the municipal education network.

Public-private partnerships in China's urban water sector

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhong, L.; Mol, A.P.J.; Fu, T.

2008-01-01

During the past decades, the traditional state monopoly in urban water management has been debated heavily, resulting in different forms and degrees of private sector involvement across the globe. Since the 1990s, China has also started experiments with new modes of urban water service management

Urbanizing the Iranian Public: Text, Tehran and 1922

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elling, Rasmus Christian

2018-01-01

By using the heuristic device of transpatialization and the methodology of urban cultural studies, this article argues that the 1922 serialized novel Tehrān-e Makhuf (Dreadful Tehran) by Seyyed Mortaza Moshfeq-e Kazemi (1902-1978), with its distinctly urban modes of imagination and production, at...

Interrupting Everyday Life: Public Interventionist Art as Critical Public Pedagogy

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Desai, Dipti; Darts, David

2016-01-01

In this article we explore two urban interventions art projects in the public sphere designed by our Masters' students at New York University as they set the stage for a discussion on how urban art interventions can function as a form of critical public pedagogy. We argue that these kinds of public art projects provided a space for dialogue with…

Zero emission vehicle for dense grid urban public transportation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

D' Ovidio, G. [University of l' Aquila, Faculty of Engineering, DAU (Italy)

2000-07-01

This paper reports the operating scheme of a public transportation vehicle with zero polluting emission, working in urban areas in a transport network which has short and regular stop spacing not greater than 400-500 m, and by segments covered by 'shuttle-type' vehicles with high operating frequencies. In particular, the traction of the vehicle, of electric type exclusively, is supported by the functional coupling of an accumulation and alimentation system composed respectively of Fuel Cell e Flywheel Energy Storage Unite. This study proposes and analyzes a typology of hybrid vehicle of which the configuration of traction is specialized for the exigency connected to the different phases of the motion. The study contains the analysis and the measurement of the principal components of the propulsion system to the vary of the loading capabilities of the vehicles and of the geometric characteristic of the transport network.

Public Schools Energy Conservation Measures, Report Number 4: Hindman Elementary School, Hindman, Kentucky.

Science.gov (United States)

American Association of School Administrators, Arlington, VA.

Presented is a study identifying and evaluating opportunities for decreasing energy use at Hindman Elementary School, Hindman, Kentucky. Methods used in this engineering investigation include building surveys, computer simulations and cost estimates. Findings revealed that modifications to the school's boiler, temperature controls, electrical…

Earthquakes, public spaces and (the social construction of environmental disasters. The role of public space for risk mitigation and urban redevelopment and the role of environmental disasters for re­ assessing the ‘space of the Public’.

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Barbara Pizzo

2014-02-01

Full Text Available This paper stems from long­lasting research dedicated to urban risk reduction through a planning approach. It focuses on public space, proposing an inversion of the usual perspective: instead of considering public spaces for risk mitigation and urban redevelopment, here the imperatives of environmental safety and urban resilience can be instrumental for exploring the meaning and role of the public space from a different, rather compelling point of view. One starting point is the concept of SUM, Strategic Urban Structure (or Framework, from the Italian “Struttura urbana minima”, which has been introduced in order to set out the contents of urban risk reduction in local administration agendas and particularly into ordinary planning processes. The SUM has been conceived both as an analytical and a normative/planning tool. Public spaces are the backbone of both urban structure and of the SUM. From their features, localization, distribution within thesettlement, and their systemic characters, largely depend the capacity of a town to positively react to a seismic event. Six case­studies of small and medium­size historic towns in the Umbria Region (one of the many Italian Regions with a high level of seismic risk, help to understand the complexities and problems related to seismic prevention within historical centres, and the conflicts between conservation of the heritage and the imperatives of environmental safety. In order to overcome possible criticalities identified in a SUM, it is necessary to provide alternatives to its functioning through redundant elements. The concept of redundancy, which is strictly related to that of uncertainty, is very interesting and promising in this field of research.

Publicity and identity in the public space architecture

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Maria de Lourdes Carneiro da Cunha Nóbrega

2009-12-01

Full Text Available This article aims at showing the relationship between publicity elements, such as posters and signs, with the city architecture, so that the contribution of these elements with the identity of the urban sites, especially the historical ones, can be understood. In order to do that, a focal point is given to Rua da Palma, located in the city of Recife (Pernambuco, Brazil. For the development of this research, which was based on the present morphological analysis of the site, a survey of photographs and the use of the buildings in the street from 2006 to 2009 was carried out. Also, the existing urban legislation was analyzed. Studies undertaken by authors such as Certau (1994, Venturi (1977 and Koolhaas (2004, among others, and concepts related to retail marketing helped in the conclusion of this analysis of the urban space, which presents architecture as a publicity media, often transforming the identity of the area. A starting point is presented here for future investigation on the role of urban laws and urban control, which deal with the placement of publicity elements in the architecture of the city and contribute for the formation or the urban landscape. This landscape which is considered an integral part of a cultural identity.

Chronic Teacher Turnover in Urban Elementary Schools

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Kacey Guin

2004-08-01

Full Text Available This study examines the characteristics of elementary schools that experience chronic teacher turnover and the impacts of turnover on a school’s working climate and ability to effectively function. Based on evidence from staff climate surveys and case studies, it is clear that high turnover schools face significant organizational challenges. Schools with high teacher turnover rates have difficulty planning and implementing a coherent curriculum and sustaining positive working relationships among teachers. The reality of these organizational challenges is particularly alarming, given that high turnover schools are more likely to serve low-income and minority students. The negative relationship between teacher turnover and school functioning, and the fact that turbulent schools are disproportionately likely to serve lowincome and minority students have important implications for both district and school-level policies. Specifically: Teacher turnover rates are one indicator of school health, which school districts should consider when focusing on school improvements. Districts need to begin by developing the means to identify individual schools that experience high levels of teacher turnover. Current district policies in implementing professional development for teachers in low-performing schools are inefficient when teachers do not remain in the schools in which they are trained. In order for low-performing schools to improve, districts need to consider providing incentive programs so that high quality teachers apply for, and remain in, these schools. Future research is needed to address the causal link between turnover, organizational functioning and student outcomes. Additionally, there is a need for research examining district policies that may facilitate teacher turnover within a district, including how districts place and transfer teachers, as well as how teachers’ salaries are budgeted.

Development of WebQuest Lesson Enhancing Thai Reading Skills for Students with Down Syndrome at Lower Elementary

Science.gov (United States)

Kaewchote, Nantawan; Chongchaikit, Maturos

2012-01-01

The purpose of this research was to enhancing the Thai language oral reading skills of lower elementary students with Down syndrome using WebQuest lesson. The sample groups were the 5 lower elementary students, purposively selected from Watnonsaparam public school under the Office of Saraburi Educational Service Area, Thailand. The research…

Reasons for Choosing the Teaching Profession and Beliefs about Teaching: A Study with Elementary School Teacher Candidates

Science.gov (United States)

Dündar, Sahin

2014-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to examine elementary school teacher candidates' motivations for choosing the teaching profession, beliefs about teaching, and satisfaction with the choice. Data were collected from 176 freshman elementary school teacher candidates at two public universities in Turkey. Results showed that the decision to choose…

The Search Stage: When, Where, and What Information Do Urban Public High School Students Gather about College

Science.gov (United States)

Malone, Helen Janc

2013-01-01

This qualitative longitudinal multiple case study offers a perspective into the college information gathering practices across a sample of low-income students at two large urban public high schools. The findings show that students engage in and benefit from comprehensive information gathering strategies but that disparities exist across academic…

PERCEPTION OF MODES OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT COMPARED TO TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR OF URBAN INHABITANTS IN LIGHT OF MARKETING RESEARCH

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Katarzyna HEBEL

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The study introduces the notion of “travel behaviour” among urban inhabitants, as well as highlighting its most common determinants, one of which is the perception of public transport. The study includes a comparative analysis of the link between passenger perceptions of the main modes of public transport in relation to the actual mode of transport chosen to complete a certain journey, based on market research results collected within a given city.

Indiana Third Grade Reading ISTEP+ Scores Comparisons in a Public Elementary School to a Public Elementary Charter School

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, Cassandra D.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference with student achievement at third grade in reading with a traditional public school as compared to a public charter school; both schools were a part of the Southwest Region School Corporation. This quasi-experimental study compared third grade ISTEP+ scale scores in…

Capturing value increase in urban redevelopment : a study of how the economic value increase in urban redevelopment can be used to finance the necessary public infrastructure and other facilities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Muñoz Gielen, D.

2010-01-01

Everyone would agree that urban development, especially when involving the building of residential areas, should be accompanied by sufficient and good public infrastructure and facilities. We all want neighborhoods with the necessary roads, green areas, social facilities, affordable housing and

Exploring the linkages among urban form travel behavior and public health with person level data from smart phone applications.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-01

The interaction between the built environment, travel behavior and public health is now a major concern for both : researchers and urban planners. Currently, there is little empirical research that explores and examines the : relationship between eac...

Proactive Strategies for Advancing Elementary School Counseling Programs: A Blueprint for the New Millennium.

Science.gov (United States)

Lenhardt, Marie C.; Young, Patti Ann

2001-01-01

Professional counselors must assume the responsibility for the continued expansion and growth of the counseling profession. Article provides counselors with practical strategies to strengthen their public image and promote more positions and programming, particularly, at the elementary level. Background information is included on public relations,…

[Urban construction, professions, and immigration at the origin of urban studies in Venezuela, 1870-1957].

Science.gov (United States)

Martin Frechilla, J J

1996-01-01

The individuals and circumstances involved in the creation of the first graduate urban studies program in Venezuela are recalled, beginning with the odernization of Caracas under the impulse of President Antonio Guzman Blanco, elected in 1870. Guzman Blanco converted himself into Venezuela's first urbanist with the establishment of organizational frameworks and completion of massive public works projects, which were based largely on the urban models of the US and Europe. Engineering and public health were consolidated as the two most influential sources of professional competence for guiding urban development. By the mid-1930s, growth fueled by petroleum revenues was causing rapid urbanization, and it became apparent that trained professionals able to manage the increasingly complex tasks of urban planning were in short supply. A new surge of modernizing construction began in 1936 and led to a cooperative arrangement with a French firm, whose personnel were to be required to train Venezuelan engineers for future service in urban planning. An influx of refugees from the Spanish Civil War and the increasing influence of urban planning processes in the US were also observed. The National Commission on Urbanism was created in 1946 as a dependency of the Ministry of Planning to facilitate public administration of the development and control of cities. Throughout the period, a debate was underway on the need for a multidisciplinary approach to urban planning versus a primarily architectural or engineering approach. In 1957, some consensus was reached on the need for urban planning to be viewed as more than a speciality of architecture. A framework was developed for a graduate program in 1969 in the Central University of Venezuela. The National Commission on Urbanism was disbanded in 1957, largely because of its excessive focus on architecture to the exclusion of other disciplines relevant to the urbanization process.

Homelessness in the Elementary School Classroom: Social and Emotional Consequences

Science.gov (United States)

Chow, Kirby A.; Mistry, Rashmita S.; Melchor, Vanessa L.

2015-01-01

This study examined elementary school teachers' experiences working with homeless students. Specifically, we focused on the psychosocial impacts of homelessness on students and their teachers. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 teachers who worked at designated public schools for family homeless shelters. A prominent…

Moche CAPE Formula: Cost Analysis of Public Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Moche, Joanne Spiers

The Moche Cost Analysis of Public Education (CAPE) formula was developed to identify total and per pupil costs of regular elementary education, regular secondary education, elementary special education, and secondary special education. Costs are analyzed across five components: (1) comprehensive costs (including transportation and supplemental…

Front versus rear seat placement of children aged 12 or younger within vehicles: a rural/urban comparison in North Dakota.

Science.gov (United States)

Huseth-Zosel, Andrea L

2012-01-01

Research has shown that rear-seated children are 36 to 40 percent safer than front-seated children. Because of the substantial differences in traffic safety culture that appear to exist in rural areas and the limited research regarding seat placement and rurality, this study seeks to contribute to the safety literature by determining at what rate children are riding in the front seat and whether differences exist between rural and urban areas in regards to child front seat placement. Current child placement frequencies within vehicles were ascertained through direct observations of morning child drop-offs at randomly selected urban and rural elementary schools in eastern North Dakota during November and December of 2009, with a focus on children aged 12 or younger. Two observers wearing orange safety vests and carrying observation sheets were stationed at each elementary school a minimum of 45 min prior to each school's designated start time. Based on the vehicles that entered the school's parking lot/drop-off circle and from which a minimum of one child exited, observers were instructed to record vehicle type, presence of children in the front seat appearing to be younger than 13 years old, availability of room in the back seat, and placement of other children in the vehicle. During November and December of 2009 a total of 537 vehicles were observed at urban schools and 150 vehicles were observed at rural schools. Of the 537 vehicles observed at urban schools, 28.7 percent had children seated in the front seat, whereas 41.3 percent of the 150 vehicles observed at rural schools had front-seated children. Significant urban/rural differences exist in child seat placement, with vehicles in rural areas much more likely to be carrying front-seated children than vehicles in urban areas. Based on a sample of vehicles observed at urban and rural elementary schools in North Dakota, the results of this study indicate that there are significant rural/urban differences in

Perception of Urban Environmental Risks and the Effects of Urban Green Infrastructures (UGIs) on Human Well-being in Four Public Green Spaces of Guangzhou, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, Junya; Wang, Yafei; Fan, Chen; Xia, Beicheng; de Groot, Rudolf

2018-05-28

Cities face many challenging environmental problems that affect human well-being. Environmental risks can be reduced by Urban Green Infrastructures (UGIs). The effects of UGIs on the urban environment have been widely studied, but less attention has been given to the public perception of these effects. This paper presents the results of a study in Guangzhou, China, on UGI users' perceptions of these effects and their relationship with sociodemographic variables. A questionnaire survey was conducted in four public green spaces. Descriptive statistics, a binary logistic regression model and cross-tabulation analysis were applied on the data from 396 valid questionnaires. The results show that UGI users were more concerned about poor air quality and high temperature than about flooding events. Their awareness of environmental risks was partly in accordance with official records. Regarding the perception of the impacts of environmental risks on human well-being, elderly and female respondents with higher education levels were the most sensitive to these impacts. The respondents' perceptions of these impacts differed among the different green spaces. The effects of UGIs were well perceived and directly observed by the UGI users, but were not significantly influenced by most sociodemographic variables. Moreover, tourists had a lower perception of the impacts of environmental risks and the effects of UGI than residents did. This study provides strong support for UGIs as an effective tool to mitigate environmental risks. Local governments should consider the role of UGIs in environmental risk mitigation and human well-being with regard to urban planning and policy making.

Health inequalities in hypertension and diabetes management among the poor in urban areas: a population survey analysis in south Korea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Young-Jee Jeon

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This study investigated whether the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension and diabetes differed by residential areas. In addition, the rate of good hypertension or diabetes control was examined separately in men and women, and in urban and rural areas. Methods This study used Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination V (2010–2012 data, a nationwide cross-sectional survey of general South Korean population. Residential areas were categorized into urban and rural areas. To examine differences between the residential areas in terms of prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension and diabetes we performed a multivariate logistic regression adjusting for age, body mass index, physical activity, alcohol use, smoking, marital status, monthly income, and educational level. To investigate control of hypertension or diabetes within each residential area, we performed a subgroup analysis in both urban and rural areas. Results The prevalence of hypertension is higher among men in urban areas than among those in rural areas (OR = 0.80; 95 % CI = 0.67–0.96, reference group = urban areas. However, the subgroups did not differ in terms of diabetes prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control. Regardless of both sex and residential area, participants in good control of their hypertension and diabetes were younger. Inequality in good control of hypertension was observed in men who lived in urban (≤Elementary school, OR 0.74, 95 % CI 0.60–0.92 and rural areas (≤Elementary school, OR 0.67, 95 % CI 0.46–0.99. Inequality in health status was found in women who resided in urban areas (≤Elementary school, OR 0.53, 95 % CI 0.37–0.75. Good control of diabetes also showed inequalities in health status for both men (≤Elementary school, OR 0.61, 95 % CI 0.40–0.94; Middle/High school, OR 0.69, 95 % CI 0.49–0.96 and women in urban areas (≤1 million won, OR 0.56, 95�

Public-Private Partnerships For A Sustainable Tourism Development of Urban Destinations. The Case of Braşov, Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adina CANDREA

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Considering that there are few success chances for isolated businesses, public-private partnerships represent the basis of tourism businesses’ sustainable development, aiming to attract increasing numbers of visitors in tourism destinations. Within this context, the main aim of the present paper is to identify tourism stakeholders’ intentions to participate in public-private partnerships for a sustainable tourism development of urban destinations. Focused on the increased importance of partnerships between tourism stakeholders, with the common goal of sustainable tourism development, a survey was conducted among the tourism service providers from the Romanian urban destination, Braşov. The research results outline the defi ciencies in the analyzed destination, which lead to a low notoriety of the destination’s management and marketing organization among local tourism stakeholders. In addition, the results show a low level of involvement of tourism operators in supporting the collaboration efforts of this organization. Based on the research results, a theoretical model was proposed for the identifi cation of the signifi cant factors which infl uence local stakeholders’ intentions to participate in public-private partnerships for a sustainable tourism development.

Performance of Urban Transit in Jordan

OpenAIRE

Dr. Hashem R. Al-Masaeid; Amir Shtayat

2016-01-01

Urban public transit has essential and active role for sustainable and balanced socio-economic and environmental development. This study investigated the performance of urban public transit services in three major cities in Jordan, including Amman, Irbid, and Zarqa. Accessibility, mobility, productivity, punctuality, waiting time and comfort of public transit were investigated in the study. Data were obtained from Land Transport RegulatoryCommission of Jordan, municipalities, and ...

Using Minecraft as a Geodesign Tool for Encouraging Public Participation in Urban Planning . GI_Forum|GI_Forum 2017, Volume 1 |

OpenAIRE

2017-01-01

Simulation of reality in computer games has recently been adopted for urban planning purposes. Minecraft™ is a computer game in which players use 1m³ blocks of various materials to construct buildings in an imaginary world. It has become popular recently as a geodesign tool for encouraging public participation in urban planning. As part of this research, a prototype model was developed based on the enhanced transformation of actual spatial datasets into a Minecraft virtual world. A Minecraft-...

Digital Science Notebooks: Perspectives from an Elementary Classroom Teacher

Science.gov (United States)

Paek, Seungoh; Fulton, Lori A.

2017-01-01

This study investigates how tablet-based note-taking applications can be integrated into elementary science classes as digital science notebooks. A teacher with 20 students in Grades 4-5 from a public charter school in Hawaii participated in the study. The participating science teacher introduced a tablet-based note taking application (TNA) to her…

Teaching planetary sciences to elementary school teachers: Programs that work

Science.gov (United States)

Lebofsky, Larry A.; Lebofsky, Nancy R.

1993-01-01

Planetary sciences can be used to introduce students to the natural world which is a part of their lives. Even children in an urban environment are aware of such phenomena as day and night, shadows, and the seasons. It is a science that transcends cultures, has been prominent in the news in recent years, and can generate excitement in young minds as no other science can. Planetary sciences also provides a useful tool for understanding other sciences and mathematics, and for developing problem solving skills which are important in our technological world. However, only 15 percent of elementary school teachers feel very well qualified to teach earth/space science, while better than 80 percent feel well qualified to teach reading; many teachers avoid teaching science; very little time is actually spent teaching science in the elementary school: 19 minutes per day in K-3 and 38 minutes per day in 4-6. While very little science is taught in elementary and middle school, earth/space science is taught at the elementary level in less than half of the states. It was pointed out that science is not generally given high priority by either teachers or school districts, and is certainly not considered on a par with language arts and mathematics. Therefore, in order to teach science to our youth, we must empower our teachers, making them familiar and comfortable with existing materials. In our earlier workshops, several of our teachers taught in classrooms where the majority of the students were Hispanic (over 90 percent). However, few space sciences materials existed in Spanish. Therefore, most of our materials could not be used effectively in the classroom. To address this issue, NASA materials were translated into Spanish and a series of workshops for bilingual classroom teachers from Tucson and surrounding cities was conducted. Our space sciences workshops and our bilingual classroom workshops and how they address the needs of elementary school teachers in Arizona are

Written narrative practices in elementary school students.

Science.gov (United States)

Romano-Soares, Soraia; Soares, Aparecido José Couto; Cárnio, Maria Silvia

2010-01-01

Promotion of a written narratives production program in the third grade of an Elementary School. To analyze two written narrative practice proposals in order to verify which resources are more efficient in benefitting the textual productions of third grade Elementary School students. Sixty students were selected from two third grade groups of a public Elementary School in São Paulo (Brazil). For the analysis, students were divided into two groups (Group A and Group B). Fourteen children's storybooks were used. In Group A, the story was orally told by the researchers in a colloquial manner, keeping the narrator role and the original structure proposed by the author. In Group B, the story was fully read. The book was projected onto a screen and read aloud so the students could follow the reading and observe the corresponding illustrations. Voice changing resources in the characters' dialogues were used. In the overall comparison, statistically significant results were found for moment (initial and final assessments) and for interaction between groups. It was observed that both groups presented substantial development from initial to final assessment. The Written Narratives Promotion Program based on the shared reading of children's storybooks constituted a more effective strategy than telling the stories using a single reader.

Elementary Preservice Teachers' and Elementary Inservice Teachers' Knowledge of Mathematical Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Schwerdtfeger, Sara

2017-01-01

This study examined the differences in knowledge of mathematical modeling between a group of elementary preservice teachers and a group of elementary inservice teachers. Mathematical modeling has recently come to the forefront of elementary mathematics classrooms because of the call to add mathematical modeling tasks in mathematics classes through…

Parental involvement in elementary school-aged child’s creativity

Science.gov (United States)

Suparmi; Suardiman, S. P.; Kumara, A.

2018-01-01

This study aims at describing the parental involvement in cultivating elementary school-aged child’s creativity. The qualitative research was designed with multidisciplinary study approach. Eight students and some parents from public elementary schools of Ngawen 4th of Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, and 4 students from an elementary school in Sleman, Yogyakarta were involved in the process of collecting the data. In-depth interview, observation, and documentation were used simultaneously to collect the data. The results showed that: 1) the subject had a level of intelligence quotient; the intelligence of verbal creativity above the average level, and creative behaviour on average, 2) interaction of parents and child-related discussions, experiences, and plans, academic problems in school were needed to boost the students’ creativity, 3) interactions of parents and school-related participations in school were also encouraged to implant students’ social awareness, 4) interaction among parents communicated each other to have a better result of academic awareness, and 5) Parents should install family norms to cultivate children’s intelligence quotient.

Urban hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

The Third International Conference on Urban Storm Drainage will be held in Goteborg, Sweden, June 4-8, 1984. Contact A. Sjoborg, Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goteborg, Sweden, for more information. The Fourth Conference will be in late August 1987 in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the Fifth Conference is planned for Tokyo in 1990. The proceedings of the First International Conference, held in Southampton, England, in April 1978, are available from Wiley-Interscience under the title “Urban Storm Drainage.”The proceedings of the Second International Conference, held in Urbana, Illinois, in June 1981, are available from Water Resources Publications, Littleton, Colo., under the title, “Urban Stormwater Hydraulics and Hydrology” and “Urban Stormwater Quality, Management, and Planning.”

Public participation in green urban policy: two strategies compared

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mabelis, A.A.; Maksymiuk, G.

2009-01-01

Governments can use three ways to maintain biodiversity: spatial planning, planning of processes (management) and communication. Good communication between scientists, planners, managers and users of urban green areas may be essential to achieve success in maintaining urban biodiversity. In this

[Proper use of pest control products and liability in their use in urban environments, in relation to public health and safety aspects].

Science.gov (United States)

Dutto, Moreno; Rubbiani, Maristella

2011-01-01

Pest control in urban settings is a public health issue that is often overlooked and left to the discretion of those who participate in pest control operations. In this article the authors aim to analyse and provide guidelines regarding liability in the use of pesticides and safety standards that must be adopted during pest control operations in confined areas or open spaces in urban or domestic settings.

Sacred Structures: Narrating Lifeworlds and Implications for Urban Arts Education Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Rolling, James Haywood, Jr.

2012-01-01

This article utilizes the story of an art studio project involving 2nd-grade students in a new urban elementary school as they explored and engaged with architectural spaces in their community during their yearlong study of the theme of "Community." The purpose of this writing is to theorize and codify some major tenets of a narrative…

Schools at the Rural-Urban Boundary - Blurring the Divide?

Science.gov (United States)

Burdick-Will, Julia; Logan, John R

2017-07-01

Schools mirror the communities in which they are located. Research on school inequality across the rural-urban spectrum tends to focus on the contrast between urban, suburban, and rural schools and glosses over the variation within these areas as well as the similarities between them. To address this gap and provide a richer description of the spatial distribution of educational inequality, we examine the school composition, achievement, and resources of all U.S. elementary schools in 2010-2011. We apply standard census definitions of what areas fall within central cities, the remainder of metropolitan regions, and in rural America. We then apply spatially explicit methods to reveal blurred boundaries and gradual gradients rather than sharp breaks at the edges of these zones. The results show high levels of variation within the suburbs and substantial commonality between rural and urban areas.

Classroom peer relationships and behavioral engagement in elementary school: the role of social network equity.

Science.gov (United States)

Cappella, Elise; Kim, Ha Yeon; Neal, Jennifer W; Jackson, Daisy R

2013-12-01

Applying social capital and systems theories of social processes, we examine the role of the classroom peer context in the behavioral engagement of low-income students (N = 80) in urban elementary school classrooms (N = 22). Systematic child observations were conducted to assess behavioral engagement among second to fifth graders in the fall and spring of the same school year. Classroom observations, teacher and child questionnaires, and social network data were collected in the fall. Confirming prior research, results from multilevel models indicate that students with more behavioral difficulties or less academic motivation in the fall were less behaviorally engaged in the spring. Extending prior research, classrooms with more equitably distributed and interconnected social ties-social network equity-had more behaviorally engaged students in the spring, especially in classrooms with higher levels of observed organization (i.e., effective management of behavior, time, and attention). Moreover, social network equity attenuated the negative relation between student behavioral difficulties and behavioral engagement, suggesting that students with behavioral difficulties were less disengaged in classrooms with more equitably distributed and interconnected social ties. Findings illuminate the need to consider classroom peer contexts in future research and intervention focused on the behavioral engagement of students in urban elementary schools.

Educational Possibilities of Keeping Goats in Elementary Schools in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Koda, Naoko; Kutsumi, Shiho; Hirose, Toshiya; Watanabe, Gen

2016-01-01

Many Japanese elementary schools keep small animals for educational purposes, and the effects and challenges have been investigated. Although goats are medium-sized animals that are familiar to Japanese, few practical studies have been conducted on keeping goats in schools. This study investigated the effects and challenges of keeping goats in elementary schools and discussed its educational possibilities. A semi-structured interview survey was conducted with 11 personnel that were responsible for keeping goats in 6 elementary schools in urban areas. They described benefits, problems, and tips related to keeping goats. Participant observation was also conducted on daily human–goat interactions in these schools. The results indicated that children in all six grades were able to care for goats. Goats were used for various school subjects and activities. As a result of keeping goats, children developed affection for them, attitude of respect for living things, greater sense of responsibility, and enhanced interpersonal interactional skills. Stronger ties between the schools and parents and community were developed through cooperation in goat-keeping. Some anxieties existed about the risk of injury to children when interacting with goats. Other challenges included the burden of taking care of the goats on holidays and insufficient knowledge about treatment in case of their illness or injury. The results suggested similarities to the benefits and challenges associated with keeping small animals in elementary schools, although the responsibility and the burden on the schools were greater for keeping goats than small animals because of their larger size and the need for children to consider the goats’ inner state and to cooperate with others when providing care. At the same time, goats greatly stimulated interest, cooperation, and empathy in children. Goats can expand educational opportunities and bring about many positive effects on child development. PMID:28083538

Urban performances

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Samson, Kristine

2012-01-01

Through three different urban performances, the paper investigates how, when and under which circumstances urban space is transformed and distorted from its every day use and power relations. Distortion is an annual street festival in Copenhagen with the objective to distort the functional city...... creates an intensive space for the empowerment and liberation of the body. Occupy Wall street and its action in the autumn 2001 is the ultimate example of how urban political performances intensifies and transform every day spaces. Through examples of how OWS tactically appropriates and transforms urban...... space, I seek to show how representational space, for instance the public square, is transformed and distorted by heterogeneous and unforeseen modes of operating. Despite differing in their goal and outset, I wish to unfold an alternative to urban transformation practices in planning and architecture...

Urban energy planning in Turku

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fertner, Christian; Christensen, Emil Maj; Große, Juliane

prevailing urban sprawl, characterising urban development since the 1950s. The city is densifying and promoting sustainable urban develop-ment, though at a regional scale with several growth centres. Its future development is envisioned in the “Structure model 2035”, focusing on more compact urban...... development along public transport corridors. From the case report three issues arise which might be of considerable interest in a broader context of the PLEEC project: 1. Working with energy efficient regional urban structure (e.g. regarding urban sprawl) in a low density country and on a voluntary...

The Relationship between Elementary Principals' Visionary Leadership and Students' Reading Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Mora-Whitehurst, Rina

2013-01-01

This article focuses on elementary principals as instructional leaders, as well as public school initiatives and educational accountability in the United States. It presents the methodology, instrumentation, measures of academic achievement in Florida, data collection, and processing procedures. Finally, it presents data analysis, results of the…

Sustainability Measures of Urban Public Transport in Cities: A World Review and Focus on the Asia/Middle East Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chris De Gruyter

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Previous studies of public transport sustainability in cities have been very limited to date, particularly in more developing countries located throughout Asia and the Middle East. This paper assesses the sustainability of urban public transport systems in cities by adopting a quantitative measurement framework containing 15 public transport sustainability indicators. It compares aggregate sustainability performance of urban public transport in international regions of cities, and then examines the relative sustainability of selected cities in the Asia and Middle East region. The world region analysis shows that Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America achieve the highest aggregate normalised scores for sustainable public transport, in that order. In general, the results suggest that western developed countries (Western Europe, North America, and Oceania have better performance on environmental and social indicators but poorer performance on system effectiveness and economic indicators. Asia and Latin America perform the other way round; better on economic and system effectiveness and worse on social and environmental indicators. Eastern Europe is one of the few regions with higher level performance all round. The city-based analysis of Asia/Middle East suggested that out of the 26 cities studied, the top 3 cities in terms of sustainable public transport in the Asia and Middle East Region are: 1st, Manila (Philippines; 2nd, Tokyo (Japan; and 3rd, Chennai (India. Dubai (United Arab Emirates (UAE, rated 26th, Shizuoka (Japan, rated 25th and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia, rated 24th were the lowest rated cities. The paper explores the implications of the findings and makes suggestions for future research.

Availability of processed foods in the perimeter of public schools in urban areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Leite, Fernanda Helena Marrocos; Oliveira, Maria Aparecida de; Cremm, Elena Carvalho; Abreu, Débora Silva Costa de; Maron, Luana Rieffe; Martins, Paula Andrea

2012-07-01

To assess the availability of food in relation to their degree of industrial processing and the types of food stores in the perimeters of elementary schools. This is a cross-sectional study. 82 food stores located within a 500 m radius buffer of three public schools located in three distinct regions with different socioeconomic levels in the municipality of Santos, state of São Paulo, Brazil, were assessed. All streets within a 500-meter radius of the schools were covered, geographic coordinates were recorded and information about the stores and food items available were collected by direct observation and interview with store managers. Available food items were classified in relation to their degree of industrial processing as ultra-processed foods and minimally processed foods. Kernel's density maps were used to assess the degree of agglomeration of stores near the schools. The stores that offered mostly ultra-processed foods were significantly closer to schools than those who offered mostly minimally processed foods. There was a significant difference between the availability of processed food in different types of stores and between the three regions assessed. The data found by this work evidence that children who attend the three public schools assessed are exposed to an environment that encourages the consumption of ultra-processed foods through easier access of these products in the studied stores.

After-School Multifamily Groups: A Randomized Controlled Trial Involving Low-Income, Urban, Latino Children

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Lynn; Moberg, D. Paul; Brown, Roger; Rodriguez-Espiricueta, Ismael; Flores, Nydia I.; Burke, Melissa P.; Coover, Gail

2006-01-01

This randomized controlled trial evaluated a culturally representative parent engagement strategy with Latino parents of elementary school children. Ten urban schools serving low-income children from mixed cultural backgrounds participated in a large study. Classrooms were randomly assigned either either to an after-school, multifamily support…

Are the "Best" Teachers in the "Neediest" Schools? An Urban Intradistrict Equity Inquiry

Science.gov (United States)

De Luca, Barbara M.; Takano, Kaori; Hinshaw, Steven A.; Raisch, C. Daniel

2009-01-01

The purpose of this research was to determine the relationship between distribution of teacher resources and student need. The effort was to determine if the "best" teachers are teaching the "neediest" students in the elementary schools in the "Big 8" urban school districts in Ohio as equity principles would mandate.…

Exogenous factors and market value: an appraisal model of capital gains in urban redevelopment programs in public/ private partnerships

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesco Calabrò

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The proposed article aims to illustrate an experimental model applicable, in the planning stage, to an appraisal of the capital gains in a residential requalification in public/ private partnership. The model develops a method using a conventional cost value through a multicriteria model which evaluates the influence of qualitative exogenous variables to the market value of the property. The aim is to develop a synthetic procedure, transparent, shared and easy to use by the public authorities, in determining the total benefits associated with urban transformations, in order to achieve a fair sharing of profits between public and private entities.

The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as tipping point

Science.gov (United States)

Shultz, James M; Muschert, Glenn W; Dingwall, Alison; Cohen, Alyssa M

2013-01-01

Among rampage shooting massacres, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on December 14, 2012 galvanized public attention. In this Commentary we examine the features of this episode of gun violence that has sparked strong reactions and energized discourse that may ultimately lead toward constructive solutions to diminish high rates of firearm deaths and injuries in the United States. PMID:28228989

Implementing the Bounce Back Trauma Intervention in Urban Elementary Schools: A Real-World Replication Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Santiago, Catherine DeCarlo; Raviv, Tali; Ros, Anna Maria; Brewer, Stephanie K.; Distel, Laura M. L.; Torres, Stephanie A.; Fuller, Anne K.; Lewis, Krystal M.; Coyne, Claire A.; Cicchetti, Colleen; Langley, Audra K.

2018-01-01

The current study provides the first replication trial of Bounce Back, a school-based intervention for elementary students exposed to trauma, in a different school district and geographical area. Participants in this study were 52 1st through 4th graders (M[subscript age] = 7.76 years; 65% male) who were predominately Latino (82%). Schools were…

Research on the Design of Visually Impaired Interactive Accessibility in Large Urban Public Transport System

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Weiru

2017-12-01

In medieval times, due to people’s reliance on belief, public space of Christianity came into being. With the rise of secularization, religion gradually turned into private belief, and accordingly public space returned to private space. In the 21st century, due to people’s reliance on intelligent devices, information-interactive public space emerges, and as information interaction is constantly constraining the visually impaired, public space regressed to the exclusive space of limited people[1]. Modernity is marked by technical rationality, but an ensuing basic problem lies in the separation between human action, ethics and public space. When technology fails to overcome obstacles for a particular group, the gap between the burgeoning intelligent phenomena and the increasing ratio of visually impaired is also expanding, ultimately resulting in a growing number of “blind spots” in information-interactive space. Technological innovation not only promotes the development of the information industry, but also promotes the rapid development of the transportation industry. Traffic patterns are diversifying and diverging nowadays, but it’s a fatal blow for people with visually disabilities, Because they still can only experience the most traditional mode of transportation, sometimes even not go out. How to guarantee their interactive accessibility in large urban public transport system right, currently, is a very important research direction.

Assessing school disaster preparedness by applying a comprehensive school safety framework: A case of elementary schools in Banda Aceh City

Science.gov (United States)

Sakurai, A.; Bisri, M. B. F.; Oda, T.; Oktari, R. S.; Murayama, Y.

2017-02-01

The study assessed the depth of school disaster safety at public elementary schools in Banda Aceh City, Indonesia in terms of comprehensive school safety, especially school location, disaster management and disaster education. The findings indicate that 56% of public elementary schools in Banda Aceh City are exposed to high tsunami risk, and most externally driven school disaster preparedness activities were not continued by the schools due to lack of ownership and funding. To realize comprehensive school safety, disaster preparedness programs should neither be brought in by external donors, nor be in a patchwork. Rather, it should be conducted jointly and sustainably by the local school and the community and supported by multi-sectoral support in the city. Comprehensive school safety of public elementary schools in Banda Aceh City could be realized by reviewing, updating and localizing school disaster preparedness programs by all the education partners in the city with strong political will and commitment.

The Retention of Hispanic/Latino Teachers in Southeastern Rural Elementary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez, Oscar

2017-01-01

This qualitative study reviewed reasons so few Hispanic/Latino teachers remain employed with rural county public elementary schools. The study evaluated issues that present high retention and attrition concerns for Hispanic/Latino teachers in rural schools. In addition, the dissertation offered suggestions on ways to increase the representation of…

Elementary Environmental Activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, Robert J.

This guide presents suggestions for field trips, out-of-doors activities, material for centers, and individualized activities in the teaching of elementary school science and particularly environmental education at the elementary level. The guide includes a section on preparation and procedures for conducting field trips, including sample…

"You Make Me Erect!": Queer Girls of Color Negotiating Heteronormative Leadership at an Urban All-Girls' Public School

Science.gov (United States)

Quinn, Therese M.

2007-01-01

This article focuses on the concept of leadership endorsed by an urban all-girls' public school and how heteronormative ideas about female success were resisted by a group of the school's gay students through gender performances and named sexualities. The author argues that queer students are gender projects that the school uses to define and…

Communication of urgent public health messages to urban populations: lessons from the Massachusetts water main break.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, C Jason; Little, Alison A; Holliman, Jaime Bruce; Ng, Chun Y; Barrero-Castillero, Alejandra; Fu, Chong Min; Zuckerman, Barry; Bauchner, Howard

2011-10-01

To study when and how an urgent public health message about a boil-water order reached an urban population after the Massachusetts water main break. In-person surveys were conducted in waiting areas of clinics and emergency departments at a large urban safety net hospital within 1 week of the event. Of 533 respondents, 97% were aware of the order; 34% of those who lived in affected cities or towns were potentially exposed to contaminated water. Among those who were aware, 98% took action. Respondents first received the message through word of mouth (33%), television (25%), cellular telephone calls (20%), landline calls (10%), and other modes of communication (12%). In multivariate analyses, foreign-born respondents and those who lived outside the city of Boston had a higher risk of exposure to contaminated water. New modes (eg, cellular telephones) were used more commonly by females and younger individuals (ages 18 to 34). Individuals who did not speak English at home were more likely to receive the message through their personal networks. Given the increasing prevalence of cellular telephone use, public officials should encourage residents to register landline and cellular telephone for emergency alerts and must develop creative ways to reach immigrants and non-English-speaking groups quickly via personal networks.

Urbanization, Water Pollution, and Public Policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Carey, George W.; And Others

Reviewed in this report is a study concerned with water pollution as it relates to urbanization within the Regional Plan Association's set of 21 contiguous New York, New Jersey and Connecticut counties centered upon the numerous bay and estuarial reaches of the Port of New York and New Jersey. With a time frame covering a decade of water quality…

Monitoring Urban Tree Cover Using Object-Based Image Analysis and Public Domain Remotely Sensed Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meghan Halabisky

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Urban forest ecosystems provide a range of social and ecological services, but due to the heterogeneity of these canopies their spatial extent is difficult to quantify and monitor. Traditional per-pixel classification methods have been used to map urban canopies, however, such techniques are not generally appropriate for assessing these highly variable landscapes. Landsat imagery has historically been used for per-pixel driven land use/land cover (LULC classifications, but the spatial resolution limits our ability to map small urban features. In such cases, hyperspatial resolution imagery such as aerial or satellite imagery with a resolution of 1 meter or below is preferred. Object-based image analysis (OBIA allows for use of additional variables such as texture, shape, context, and other cognitive information provided by the image analyst to segment and classify image features, and thus, improve classifications. As part of this research we created LULC classifications for a pilot study area in Seattle, WA, USA, using OBIA techniques and freely available public aerial photography. We analyzed the differences in accuracies which can be achieved with OBIA using multispectral and true-color imagery. We also compared our results to a satellite based OBIA LULC and discussed the implications of per-pixel driven vs. OBIA-driven field sampling campaigns. We demonstrated that the OBIA approach can generate good and repeatable LULC classifications suitable for tree cover assessment in urban areas. Another important finding is that spectral content appeared to be more important than spatial detail of hyperspatial data when it comes to an OBIA-driven LULC.

Latinos' Changing Ethnic Group Representation From Elementary to Middle School: Perceived Belonging and Academic Achievement.

Science.gov (United States)

Morales-Chicas, Jessica; Graham, Sandra

2017-09-01

This study examined the association between change in ethnic group representation from elementary to middle school and Latino students' school belonging and achievement. The ethnic diversity of students' middle school was examined as a moderator. Participants were 1,825 Latino sixth graders from 26 ethnically diverse urban middle schools. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that a change in ethnic representation toward fewer Latinos in middle school than elementary school was related to less perceived belonging and lower achievement in schools with low ethnic diversity. There were no mean differences as a function of declining representation in more diverse middle schools, suggesting that greater school diversity was protective. Findings highlight the importance of examining school ethnic context, especially across the middle school transition. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Research on Adolescence © 2016 Society for Research on Adolescence.

Towards sustainable urban communities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haapio, Appu

2012-01-01

Requirements for the assessment tools of buildings have increased, assessing of building components or separate buildings is not enough. Neighbourhoods, built environment, public transportations, and services, should be considered simultaneously. Number of population living in urban areas is high and increasing rapidly. Urbanisation is a major concern due to its detrimental effects on the environment. The aim of this study is to clarify the field of assessment tools for urban communities by analysing the current situation. The focus is on internationally well known assessment tools; BREEAM Communities, CASBEE for Urban Development and LEED for Neigborhood Development. The interest towards certification systems is increasing amongst the authorities, and especially amongst the global investors and property developers. Achieved certifications are expected to bring measureable publicity for the developers. The assessment of urban areas enables the comparison of municipalities and urban areas, and notably supports decision making processes. Authorities, city planners, and designers would benefit most from the use of the tools during the decision making process. - Highlights: ► The urban assessment tools have strong linkage to the region. ► The tools promote complementary building and retrofitting existing sites. ► Sharing knowledge and experiences is important in the development of the tools.

Contradictions in participatory public art

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kortbek, Hjørdis Brandrup

2018-01-01

This article addresses the current focus within urban cultural policy on using art as a tool in urban development. Based on theories of participation, democracy and public art, the article sets out to investigate critically the concept of placemaking. The discussion is based on an analysis...... of the public art project, Placemaking that took place during 2015 in eight municipalities around Copenhagen in Denmark. I argue that, when used as a tool in urban development, participatory public art engenders contradictory encounters. These encounters challenge the cultural political effort to democratise...

38 CFR 18.433 - Free appropriate public education.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... education. 18.433 Section 18.433 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS..., Secondary, and Adult Education § 18.433 Free appropriate public education. (a) General. A recipient that operates a public elementary or secondary education program shall provide a free appropriate public...

Frequency Distribution of Hearing Disorders Among the Student of Public Elementary School in Neishaboor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dr. Mohammad Kamali

2000-05-01

Full Text Available Objectives: determining the frequency distribution of hearing disorders among the student of public elementary school by Otoscopy, Puretone Audiometry, Impedance Audiometiy and questionnaires. Methods and Materials: This study was carried out in a cross - sectional descriptive survey - on 1200 students (600 girls and 600 boys among the student of primary school of Neishabbor, academic year 1376-77 Results: 1- Otoscopy examination; abnormal conditions of external ear canal was found in 14.1% of cases; mostly impacted ceruman (13.6%; Abnormal conditions of tympanic membrane (0.4% and foreign body 0.16%. Abnormal conditions of external ear canal was statistically unmeaningful. (P V=0 .8 2- Impedance Audiometiy: 5. 75% Abnormal tympanograms were observed, mostly type C (3.15% 3- Pure Tone Audiometry: An overall 5.5% hearing loss was found in this population including 3% bilateral and 1.25% unilateral hearing loss. Only conductive hearing loss was found in this population (2.7% in right ear and 3.5% in left ear, PV=0.9. Hearing loss observed mostly in girls but the difference was slight. Family background showed no effects on the hearing disorders.9.8% of cases were in need of medical care and 0.3% were in need of rehabilitation services. Only 28.8% of parents, 36.3% of teachers and 40.9% of afflicted students were aware of the problem.

Starting a learning progression for agricultural literacy: A qualitative study of urban elementary student understandings of agricultural and science education benchmarks

Science.gov (United States)

Hess, Alexander Jay

Science and agriculture professional organizations have argued for agricultural literacy as a goal for K-12 public education. Due to the complexity of our modern agri-food system, with social, economic, and environmental concerns embedded, an agriculturally literate society is needed for informed decision making, democratic participation, and system reform. While grade-span specific benchmarks for gauging agri-food system literacy have been developed, little attention has been paid to existing ideas individuals hold about the agri-food system, how these existing ideas relate to benchmarks, how experience shapes such ideas, or how ideas change overtime. Developing a body of knowledge on students' agri-food system understandings as they develop across K-12 grades can ground efforts seeking to promote a learning progression toward agricultural literacy. This study compares existing perceptions held by 18 upper elementary students from a large urban center in California to agri-food system literacy benchmarks and examines the perceptions against student background and experiences. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the constant comparative method. Constructivist theoretical perspectives framed the study. No student had ever grown their own food, raised a plant, or cared for an animal. Participation in school fieldtrips to farms or visits to a relative's garden were agricultural experiences most frequently mentioned. Students were able to identify common food items, but could not elaborate on their origins, especially those that were highly processed. Students' understanding of post-production activities (i.e. food processing, manufacturing, or food marketing) was not apparent. Students' understanding of farms reflected a 1900's subsistence farming operation commonly found in a literature written for the primary grades. Students were unaware that plants and animals were selected for production based on desired genetic traits. Obtaining

Schools at the Rural-Urban Boundary – Blurring the Divide?

Science.gov (United States)

Burdick-Will, Julia; Logan, John R.

2018-01-01

Schools mirror the communities in which they are located. Research on school inequality across the rural-urban spectrum tends to focus on the contrast between urban, suburban, and rural schools and glosses over the variation within these areas as well as the similarities between them. To address this gap and provide a richer description of the spatial distribution of educational inequality, we examine the school composition, achievement, and resources of all U.S. elementary schools in 2010–2011. We apply standard census definitions of what areas fall within central cities, the remainder of metropolitan regions, and in rural America. We then apply spatially explicit methods to reveal blurred boundaries and gradual gradients rather than sharp breaks at the edges of these zones. The results show high levels of variation within the suburbs and substantial commonality between rural and urban areas. PMID:29430017

Does Collective Bargaining Influence the Pay Satisfaction of Elementary School Teachers?

Science.gov (United States)

Buckman, David G.; Tran, Henry; Young, I. Phillip

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of collective bargaining on teacher pay satisfaction and offer knowledge of the factors contributing to the pay satisfaction of public elementary school teachers. The study focuses on how human capital, occupational characteristics, and job related characteristics impact the pay satisfaction of…

Chemical and toxicological characterization of exhaust emissions from alternative fuels for urban public transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turrio Baldassarri, L.; Conti, R.; Crebelli, B.; Iamicelli, A.L.; De Berardis, M.; Gambino, A.L.; Iannaccone, S.

2008-01-01

The Istituto Superiore di Sanita (ISS, the National Institute of Health of Italy) and the Istituto dei Motori (IM) of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR, National Research Council) have carried out this study, jointly funded by the two institutes together with the Ministry of Environment. The chemical and toxicological characteristics of emissions from two urban bus engines were studied: a diesel engine fueled with both diesel oil and bio diesel blend and an equivalent spark-ignition one fuelled with compressed natural gas, operating in steady-state conditions. Regulated and unregulated pollutants, such as carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrated derivatives, carbonyl compounds and light aromatic hydrocarbons were quantified. Mutagenicity of the emissions was evaluated by the Salmonella typhimurium/mammalian microsome assay. The effect of the fuels under study on the size distribution of particulate matter was also evaluated. The impact of diesel-powered transport on urban air quality, and the potential benefits for human health deriving from the use of natural gas for public transport, are discussed [it

Department of Urban and Regi

African Journals Online (AJOL)

USER

2014-11-12

Nov 12, 2014 ... Data on pattern of travel behaviour of inter-urban public .... respondents' travel modes in inter- urban motor parks of Lagos metropolis ( 2. X =1248.374, ..... Federal government relevant agencies with a. Ethiopian Journal of ...

"I Am One-of-a-Kind": Unveiling the Silence of Korean American Elementary Students' Negotiations of Culture, Language, and Literacy

Science.gov (United States)

Ra, Esther H.

2012-01-01

In this study, the author explores the roles of family, culture, language as these shape both the articulated identities of Korean American elementary students, and their literacy practices at school. Using data from an academic year of ethnographic study at a public elementary school, located outside a northeastern metropolitan city, the author…

Perception, experience and the use of public urban spaces by residents of urban neighbourhoods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nataša Bratina Jurkovič

2014-06-01

Full Text Available In cities, public green open spaces offer residents a potentially better quality of life. The behavioural patterns by which people experience and use these spaces is therefore a valuable source of information for spatial planning. Indeed, studying how these spaces are used has also shown a significant difference between the intentions of planners and users. Only the frequency of visits to these public green spaces ultimately testifies to their appropriate and successful planning. Based on empirical research conducted in a residential area of Ljubljana, this article addresses the significance and methods of obtaining information on the experience and use of urban open spaces by residents of that neighbourhood. The article identifies factors (that could also be used by planners that significantly impact satisfaction levels among the intended users of the neighbourhood. The focus group method and socio spatial schema method were used, based on the assumption that a multi method approach provides more accurate and reliable information that is verifiable, and therefore more useful in developing planning policies. According to the research findings, residents perceive their “neighbourhood” to be the area around their home in which they know each other and socialise with neighbours. The factors that trigger a sense of satisfaction with their neighbourhood are well maintained green areas in the vicinity of their home, parks with trees that provide spaces for a variety of activities, tree lined streets, green areas connected into a system, the opportunity to use these areas for recreation and sports, and street furniture for rest or play. The spatial elements that hinder the use of such open spaces are, in particular, busy streets, unprotected pedestrian crossings, large garage areas and car parking.

[Network clusters of symptoms as elementary syndromes of psychopathology: implications for clinical practice].

Science.gov (United States)

Goekoop, R; Goekoop, J G

2016-01-01

In a recent publication we reported the existence of around 11 (to 15) 'elementary syndromes' that may combine in various ways, rather like 'building blocks', to explain the wide range of psychiatric symptoms. 'Bridge symptoms' seem to be responsible both for combining large sets of symptoms into elementary syndromes and for combining the various elementary syndromes to form one globally connected network structure. To discuss the implication of these findings for clinical practice. We performed a network analysis of symptom scores. Elementary syndromes provide a massive simplification of the description of psychiatric disease. Instead of the more than 300 categories in DSM-5, we now need to consider only a handful of elementary syndromes and personality domains. This modular representation of psychiatric illnesses allows us to make a complete, systematic and efficient assessment of patients and a systematic review of treatment options. Clinicians, patients, managerial staff and insurance companies can verify whether symptom reduction is taking place in the most important domains of psychopathology. Unlike classic multidimensional methods of disease description, network models of psychopathology can be used to explain comorbidity patterns, predict the clinical course of psychopathology and to designate primary targets for therapeutic interventions. A network view on psychopathology could significantly improve everyday clinical practice.

24 CFR 81.72 - Public-use database and public information.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Public-use database and public... Public-use database and public information. (a) General. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, the Secretary shall establish and make available for public use, a public-use database containing...

Bat ecology and public health surveillance for rabies in an urbanizing region of Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

O'Shea, T.J.; Neubaum, D.J.; Neubaum, M.A.; Cryan, P.M.; Ellison, L.E.; Stanley, T.R.; Rupprecht, C.E.; Pape, W.J.; Bowen, R.A.

2011-01-01

We describe use of Fort Collins, Colorado, and nearby areas by bats in 2001-2005, and link patterns in bat ecology with concurrent public health surveillance for rabies. Our analyses are based on evaluation of summary statistics, and information-theoretic support for results of simple logistic regression. Based on captures in mist nets, the city bat fauna differed from that of the adjacent mountains, and was dominated by big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus). Species, age, and sex composition of bats submitted for rabies testing locally and along the urbanizing Front Range Corridor were similar to those of the mist-net captures and reflected the annual cycle of reproduction and activity of big brown bats. Few submissions occurred November- March, when these bats hibernated elsewhere. In summer females roosted in buildings in colonies and dominated health samples; fledging of young corresponded to a summer peak in health submissions with no increase in rabies prevalence. Roosting ecology of big brown bats in buildings was similar to that reported for natural sites, including colony size, roost-switching behavior, fidelity to roosts in a small area, and attributes important for roost selection. Attrition in roosts occurred from structural modifications of buildings to exclude colonies by citizens, but without major effects on long-term bat reproduction or survival. Bats foraged in areas set aside for nature conservation. A pattern of lower diversity in urban bat communities with dominance by big brown bats may occur widely in the USA, and is consistent with national public health records for rabies surveillance. ?? 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC (outside the USA).

Daily variation of urban heat island effect and its correlations to urban greenery: A case study of Adelaide

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Soltani

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Urban structure and landscape cause an artificial temperature increase in cities, known as the urban heat island effect. The magnitude of such urban–rural temperature difference varies in daily and seasonal basis. Daily patterns of urban heat accumulation in Adelaide is under investigation. In this paper, East–West air temperature profile of Adelaide metropolitan area was mapped in 60 journeys alongside a straight cross route connecting Adelaide Hills to the West Beach under clear sky between 26 July and 15 August 2013. The most intense urban–rural temperature differences of 5.9 °C occurred during midnight in Adelaide. However, maximum urban heat variation occurred during the late afternoon when the near-surface urban heat fluctuates by 2 °C between the CBD East and Western Parklands. During summer heatwaves, the afternoon heat stress limits public life vibrancy in Adelaide. Increased urban greenery can facilitate resilience to heat by providing shadow and evaporative cooling. A better understanding of daily urban heat variations and the cooling effect of urban greenery assists urban policy making and public life management in the context of climate change.

An Italian Urban “Fashion” The Urban 1 Programme as a Catalyst for Institutional Planning Shift

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara Verones

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Since the 1990s Italy has been going through changes and experiments concerning modes and tools of urban government. New methods, based on public­private partnership, on a consensual basis, were progressively adopted, overcoming the traditional authoritative mechanisms and role of public actors. The contribution of Community policies such as initiatives on urban areas, has been crucial in creating new tools, influencing the existing ones and activating new approaches to planning. This paper builds some theoretical considerations on the contributions the implementation of European Programmes has given to the changes in the conception of urban interventions and thedebated shift in urban policies from “government” to “governance”. The aim is to build a critical analysis about how the Urban 1 initiative acted as a “catalyst” for the evolution of urban practices,accelerating the innovation of the planning cultures and practices. The article examines three cities where an Urban 1 Programme has been developed: Genoa, Naples and Palermo. The cases have beenselected in order to present the variety of interpretations of EU initiatives across Italy, fostering a critical discussion on EU programmes and their relationships with local planning policies.

24 CFR 92.200 - Private-public partnership.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Private-public partnership. 92.200 Section 92.200 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM Program Requirements § 92.200 Private-public partnership...

Cost-free and sustainable incentive increases healthy eating decisions during elementary school lunch.

Science.gov (United States)

Pittman, D W; Parker, J S; Getz, B R; Jackson, C M; Le, T-A P; Riggs, S B; Shay, J M

2012-01-01

We aimed to develop a cost-free and sustainable program to influence healthier eating decisions during elementary school lunch. Baseline food and beverage choices were assessed for 9 days during lunch service at two racially and economically diverse elementary schools in Spartanburg County, SC, USA. After being informed that the labeled items on the daily lunch menu represented the healthiest choice, students were allowed to ring a call bell in the cafeteria for public recognition when they chose all of the identified healthiest food and beverage items during lunch service. Using menus matched to the baseline phase, food and beverage choices were measured during a 9-day intervention phase. After 30 days, food and beverage choices were reassessed during a 3-day follow-up phase. Healthiest food & beverage choices increased 49% with >60% of students choosing non-flavored milk over flavored milk during the intervention phase. There was no difference in the success of the program between the two schools. The program continued and healthy eating decisions were significantly sustained at a 30-day follow-up assessment. Public recognition through bell ringing appears to be an effective practice to sustain increases in healthy eating decisions during elementary school lunch and warrants expansion to larger scale, longitudinal trials.

Sexual Orientation Topics in Elementary Teacher Preparation Programs in the USA

Science.gov (United States)

Jennings, Todd; Sherwin, Gary

2008-01-01

This investigation is a descriptive study documenting the inclusion of sexual orientation (gay and lesbian) topics in a sample of 65 public university elementary teacher preparation programs across the USA (representing the preparation of 14,000-19,000 new teachers annually). Findings indicate that only 55.6% of programs address sexual orientation…

Departmentalize Elementary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Tak Cheung; Jarman, Delbert

2004-01-01

In elementary schools today, most students receive their education in a single classroom from one teacher who is responsible for teaching language arts, social studies, math, and science. The self-contained classroom organization is predicated on the assumption that an elementary school teacher is a Jack (or Jill)-of-all-trades who is equally…

Rural-urban migration and urban unemployment in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Aigbokhan, B E

1988-01-01

This paper argues that urban unemployment in Nigeria has been due largely to a failure on the part of the government to pursue policies that reflect commitment on its part to its stated objectives, particularly with regard to employment opportunities. Rural-urban migration has been taking place in the country since the 1960s and at an increasing rate since the 1970s. Economic policies have contributed to this, notably the rural-urban imbalance resulting from the pattern of allocation of public investment expenditures and the wages determination process which tends to concentrate more on the urban sector. These have contributed to the widening urban-rural income differentials. In the face of such migration, the urban industrial sector has been able to absorb only a negligible proportion of migrants. A major factor that has contributed to this is the increased capital-intensity of the sector. Some laudable measures have been introduced this year, notably the establishment of the Directorate of Employment and the Directorate of Food, Road, and Rural infrastructure. The latter, if effectively implemented, should enhance rural income and thereby reduce the rural-urban income gap. The former should reduce the problem of open unemployment. While it is too early to assess the effects of these 2 measures on urban unemployment, they may not improve urban unemployment significantly. There is still the need to design policies to increase labor absorption in general.

Urban Space Explorer: A Visual Analytics System for Urban Planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Karduni, Alireza; Cho, Isaac; Wessel, Ginette; Ribarsky, William; Sauda, Eric; Dou, Wenwen

2017-01-01

Understanding people's behavior is fundamental to many planning professions (including transportation, community development, economic development, and urban design) that rely on data about frequently traveled routes, places, and social and cultural practices. Based on the results of a practitioner survey, the authors designed Urban Space Explorer, a visual analytics system that utilizes mobile social media to enable interactive exploration of public-space-related activity along spatial, temporal, and semantic dimensions.

Talk about a Racial Eclipse: Narratives of Institutional Evasion in an Urban School-University Partnership

Science.gov (United States)

Phelps Moultrie, Jada; Magee, Paula A.; Paredes Scribner, Samantha M.

2017-01-01

During a student teaching experience, teacher education candidates affiliated with an urban School of Education school-university partnership witnessed a disturbing interaction between an early career White male teacher and a first-grade Black male student at an assigned elementary school. The subsequent interactions among the teacher, principal,…

Urban Form, Air Pollution, and Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Hankey, Steve; Marshall, Julian D

2017-12-01

Urban form can impact air pollution and public health. We reviewed health-related articles that assessed (1) the relationships among urban form, air pollution, and health as well as (2) aspects of the urban environment (i.e., green space, noise, physical activity) that may modify those relationships. Simulation and empirical studies demonstrate an association between compact growth, improved regional air quality, and health. Most studies are cross-sectional and focus on connections between transportation emissions and land use. The physical and mental health impacts of green space, public spaces that promote physical activity, and noise are well-studied aspects of the urban environment and there is evidence that these factors may modify the relationship between air pollution and health. Urban form can support efforts to design clean, health-promoting cities. More work is needed to operationalize specific strategies and to elucidate the causal pathways connecting various aspects of health.

Research in elementary particle physics. Technical progress report, June 1, 1983-May 31, 1984

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirsch, L.E.; Schnitzer, H.J.; Bensinger, J.R.; Abbott, L.F.

1984-01-01

Under this contract, research has been performed on both the theoretical and experimental properties of elementary particles. A brief description of the work which is either in progress or has been completed is given. Publications are listed

Predicting High School Outcomes in the Baltimore City Public Schools. The Senior Urban Education Research Fellowship Series. Volume VII

Science.gov (United States)

Mac Iver, Martha Abele; Messel, Matthew

2012-01-01

This study of high school outcomes in the Baltimore City Public Schools builds on substantial prior research on the early warning indicators of dropping out. It sought to investigate whether the same variables that predicted a non-graduation outcome in other urban districts--attendance, behavior problems, and course failure--were also significant…

Elementary particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prasad, R.

1984-01-01

Two previous monographs report on investigations into the extent to which a unified field theory can satisfactorily describe physical reality. The first, Unified field Theory, showed that the paths within a non-Riemannian space are governed by eigenvalue equations. The second, Fundamental Constants, show that the field tensors satisfy sets of differential equations with solutions which represent the evolution of the fields along the paths of the space. The results from the first two monographs are used in this one to make progress on the theory of elementary particles. The five chapters are as follows - Quantum mechanics, gravitation and electromagnetism are aspects of the Unified theory; the fields inside the particle; the quadratic and linear theories; the calculation of the eigenvalues and elementary particles as stable configurations of interacting fields. It is shown that it is possible to construct an internal structure theory for elementary particles. The theory lies within the framework of Einstein's programme-to identify physical reality with a specified geometrical structure. (U.K.)

Follow-up of an elementary school intervention for asthma management: do gains last into middle school?

Science.gov (United States)

Greenberg, Cindy; Luna, Pamela; Simmons, Gretchen; Huhman, Marian; Merkle, Sarah; Robin, Leah; Keener, Dana

2010-06-01

Albuquerque Public Schools (APS), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted an evaluation to examine whether students who were exposed to the APS asthma program in elementary school retained benefits into middle school. APS middle school students who participated in the APS asthma program in elementary school, including the Open Airways for Schools (OAS) education curriculum, responded to a follow-up questionnaire (N = 121) and participated in student focus groups (N = 40). Asthma management self-efficacy scores from the follow-up questionnaire were compared to scores obtained before and after the OAS education component. Additional items assessed students' asthma symptoms, management skills, avoidance of asthma triggers, and school impact. Although asthma management self-efficacy scores declined in middle school among students exposed to the asthma program in elementary school, they remained significantly higher than scores obtained during elementary school prior to the OAS intervention. The results indicate that although students benefited from the asthma program delivered in elementary school, they need booster sessions and continued school support in middle school.

Emission inventory: An urban public policy instrument and benchmark

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Avignon, Alexander; Azevedo Carloni, Flavia; Lebre La Rovere, Emilio; Burle Schmidt Dubeux, Carolina

2010-01-01

Global concern with climate change has led to the development of a variety of solutions to monitor and reduce emissions on both local and global scales. Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), both developed and emerging countries have assumed responsibility for developing and updating national inventories of greenhouse gas emissions from anthropic sources. This creates opportunities and incentives for cities to carry out their own local inventories and, thereby, develop air quality management plans including both essential key players and stakeholders at the local level. The aim of this paper is to discuss the role of local inventories as an urban public policy instrument and how this type of local instrument may bring advantages countrywide in enhancing the global position of a country. Local inventories have been carried out in many cities of the world and the main advantage of this is that it allows an overview of emissions produced by different municipal activities, thereby, helps decision makers in the elaboration of efficient air quality management plans. In that way, measures aimed at the reduction of fossil fuel consumption to lower local atmospheric pollution levels can also, in some ways, reduce GHG emissions.

Urban energy planning in Eskilstuna

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Groth, Niels Boje; Große, Juliane; Fertner, Christian

as a stakeholder of energy initiatives towards the general public. The efficiency of the first is very high, due to an omnipresence of ‘sustainability thinking’. The total effect of the latter is, however, much larger, due to the size of the arena. Principles of urban development are generally acknowledged...... in transport remains the key challenge. At municipal level the consumption of electricity is of special concern. Only about 25% of electricity it is possible to produce by local combined power and district heating plants. Some small additional power may be provided locally by e.g. solar cells...... as an important instrument for sustainability. Urban densification and urban connectivity to transport routes facilitated by public transport are the two main principles. Policies of sustainability are of ‘second-order’ as compared to the economic driven changes of the urban system. A prime ‘first...

Between Kohlberg and Gilligan: Levels of Moral Judgment among Elementary School Principals

Science.gov (United States)

Vitton, Charles J.; Wasonga, Teresa A.

2009-01-01

This research investigated levels of moral judgment among public elementary school principals as measured by the Defining Issues Test Version 2 for occupationally relevant and other moral dilemmas. The participants scored lower (38.7) than the predicted average P score (postconventional thinking) for individuals who have attained graduate level…

An Italian Urban “Fashion”: The Urban 1 Programme as a Catalyst for Institutional Planning Shift

OpenAIRE

Verones, S.; Tulumello, S.; Rubino, S.; Delponte, I.

2012-01-01

Since the 1990s Italy has been going through changes and experiments concerning modes and tools of urban government. New methods, based on public­private partnership, on a consensual basis, were progressively adopted, overcoming the traditional authoritative mechanisms and role of public actors. The contribution of Community policies such as initiatives on urban areas, has been crucial in creating new tools, influencing the existing ones and activating new approaches to planning. This paper b...

Austin's urban FIA: seamless rural to urban resource monitoring in Texas

Science.gov (United States)

Chris Edgar; Burl. Carraway

2015-01-01

In 2014 Urban Forest Inventory and Analysis (Urban-FIA) was implemented for the first time ever in Austin, Texas. Work was accelerated and a full complement of plots in the city was measured in six months. In 2015 results are to be released in an FIA report and data made available in a publicly accessible database. In this presentation we discuss the importance of...

7 CFR 15b.22 - Free appropriate public education.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Free appropriate public education. 15b.22 Section 15b... Extension Education § 15b.22 Free appropriate public education. (a) General. A recipient that operates a public elementary or secondary education program or activity shall provide a free appropriate public...

Urban Multisensory Laboratory, AN Approach to Model Urban Space Human Perception

Science.gov (United States)

González, T.; Sol, D.; Saenz, J.; Clavijo, D.; García, H.

2017-09-01

An urban sensory lab (USL or LUS an acronym in Spanish) is a new and avant-garde approach for studying and analyzing a city. The construction of this approach allows the development of new methodologies to identify the emotional response of public space users. The laboratory combines qualitative analysis proposed by urbanists and quantitative measures managed by data analysis applications. USL is a new approach to go beyond the borders of urban knowledge. The design thinking strategy allows us to implement methods to understand the results provided by our technique. In this first approach, the interpretation is made by hand. However, our goal is to combine design thinking and machine learning in order to analyze the qualitative and quantitative data automatically. Now, the results are being used by students from the Urbanism and Architecture courses in order to get a better understanding of public spaces in Puebla, Mexico and its interaction with people.

Urban sprawl, smart growth, and deliberative democracy.

Science.gov (United States)

Resnik, David B

2010-10-01

Urban sprawl is an increasingly common feature of the built environment in the United States and other industrialized nations. Although there is considerable evidence that urban sprawl has adverse affects on public health and the environment, policy frameworks designed to combat sprawl-such as smart growth-have proven to be controversial, making implementation difficult. Smart growth has generated considerable controversy because stakeholders affected by urban planning policies have conflicting interests and divergent moral and political viewpoints. In some of these situations, deliberative democracy-an approach to resolving controversial public-policy questions that emphasizes open, deliberative debate among the affected parties as an alternative to voting-would be a fair and effective way to resolve urban-planning issues.

Planning for Reform-Based Science: Case Studies of Two Urban Elementary Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Mangiante, Elaine Silva

2018-02-01

The intent of national efforts to frame science education standards is to promote students' development of scientific practices and conceptual understanding for their future role as scientifically literate citizens (NRC 2012). A guiding principle of science education reform is that all students receive equitable opportunities to engage in rigorous science learning. Yet, implementation of science education reform depends on teachers' instructional decisions. In urban schools serving students primarily from poor, diverse communities, teachers typically face obstacles in providing reform-based science due to limited resources and accountability pressures, as well as a culture of teacher-directed pedagogy, and deficit views of students. The purpose of this qualitative research was to study two white, fourth grade teachers from high-poverty urban schools, who were identified as transforming their science teaching and to investigate how their beliefs, knowledge bases, and resources shaped their planning for reform-based science. Using the Shavelson and Stern's decision model for teacher planning to analyze evidence gathered from interviews, documents, planning meetings, and lesson observations, the findings indicated their planning for scientific practices was influenced by the type and extent of professional development each received, each teacher's beliefs about their students and their background, and the mission and learning environment each teacher envisioned for the reform to serve their students. The results provided specific insights into factors that impacted their planning in high-poverty urban schools and indicated considerations for those in similar contexts to promote teachers' planning for equitable science learning opportunities by all students.

Predicting Social Responsibility and Belonging in Urban After-School Physical Activity Programs with Underserved Children

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Jeffrey J.; Byrd, Brigid; Garn, Alex; McCaughtry, Nate; Kulik, Noel; Centeio, Erin

2016-01-01

The purpose of this cross sectional study was to predict feelings of belonging and social responsibility based on the motivational climate perceptions and contingent self-worth of children participating in urban after-school physical activity programs. Three-hundred and four elementary school students from a major Midwestern city participated.…

Public acceptance of enforced speed adaptation in the urban area

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Katteler, H.A.; Heijden, R.E.C.M. van der; Brebbia, C.; Wadhwa, L.

2005-01-01

This paper discusses a way to drastically cope with speeding in the urban area. Pilots with Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) in Europe applied in passenger cars support the perspective of creating an urban environment with a guaranteed maximum speed level for car drivers. Therefore, the

Restoration and the City: The Role of Public Urban Squares

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

César San Juan

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Over recent decades, the study of psychological restoration has attracted a considerable amount of interest within and without the boundaries of environmental psychology, with most of the work focused on analyzing restoration in natural contexts. However, little attention has been paid to the (possible restorative potential of urban settings, as they have usually been expected not to be restorative and to present some elements that might imply negative health outcomes in the short and long term. In this field study, our aim was to evaluate restoration in urban squares. To this end, we measured participants' attentional and affective states both before and after spending half an hour in an urban square. A sample of 46 subjects contemplated and walked through one of the two selected squares that differed in restorative potential (PRS. Analyses revealed a statistically significant increase in cognitive performance and a decrease in negative affect in both squares. They also showed that participants reported greater stress recovery rates in one of the settings. These results support the idea that cities can be potentially restorative and justify the relevance of a research area focused on the urban designs, which may offer psychological benefits to urban citizens.

Definitions of urban areas feasible for examining urban health in the European Union.

Science.gov (United States)

Breckenkamp, Jürgen; Patterson, Lesley; Scharlach, Martina; Hellmeier, Wolfgang; Verma, Arpana

2017-05-01

As part of the EU-funded project, European Urban Health Indicator System (EURO-URHIS), a definition of urban areas (UAs) and of urban populations was needed to be able to identify comparable UAs in all member states. A literature review on existing definitions, as well as those used by other relevant projects, was performed. A survey of national experts in public health or land planning was also conducted. An algorithm was proposed to find UAs, which were feasible for the focus of EURO-URHIS. No unique general definition of UAs was found. Different fields of research define UAs differently. None of the definitions found were feasible for EURO-URHIS. All of them were found to have critical disadvantages when applied to an urban health project. An ideal definition for this type of project needs to provide a description of the situation without recourse to administrative boundaries yet inform the collection of routine data for urban health monitoring. These requirements were found to contradict each other and were not met in any existing definition. An algorithm was developed for the definition of UAs for the purpose of this study whereby national experts would select regions which are urban as an agglomeration or as a metropolitan area and which are potentially interesting in terms of public health; identify the natural boundaries, where countryside ends and residential or commercial areas of the region begin (e.g. by aerial photos); identify local government boundaries or other official boundaries used for routine data collection purposes which approximate the natural UA as closely as possible and list all administrative areas which are contained in the larger UA. The aggregation of all administrative areas within the original region formed the UA which was used in the project. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Public space, place and landscape: proximities and distances to urban anthropology / Espacio público, lugar y paisaje: proximidades y distancias para una antropología urbana

OpenAIRE

Alejandro José Peimbert Duarte

2014-01-01

The text presents some precisions about the concepts of space, place and landscape. When these concepts are given in urban planning, urban design, architecture or ethnography, it is possible to find significant distances from the city versus urban. Also, the tour of these notions, could evidence certain proximities that allude to which lens is observed one of the key objects for studying the territory: the public space. This, in turn, explains the different positions of social actors in it: t...

Comparison of asthma prevalence among African American teenage youth attending public high schools in rural Georgia and urban Detroit.

Science.gov (United States)

Ownby, Dennis R; Tingen, Martha S; Havstad, Suzanne; Waller, Jennifer L; Johnson, Christine C; Joseph, Christine L M

2015-09-01

The high prevalence of asthma among urban African American (AA) populations has attracted research attention, whereas the prevalence among rural AA populations is poorly documented. We sought to compare the prevalence of asthma among AA youth in rural Georgia and urban Detroit, Michigan. The prevalence of asthma was compared in population-based samples of 7297 youth attending Detroit public high schools and in 2523 youth attending public high schools in rural Georgia. Current asthma was defined as a physician diagnosis and symptoms in the previous 12 months. Undiagnosed asthma was defined as multiple respiratory symptoms in the previous 12 months without a physician diagnosis. In Detroit, 6994 (95.8%) youth were AA compared with 1514 (60.0%) in Georgia. Average population density in high school postal codes was 5628 people/mile(2) in Detroit and 45.1 people/mile(2) in Georgia. The percentages of poverty and of students qualifying for free or reduced lunches were similar in both areas. The prevalence of current diagnosed asthma among AA youth in Detroit and Georgia was similar: 15.0% (95% CI, 14.1-15.8) and 13.7% (95% CI, 12.0-17.1) (P = .22), respectively. The prevalence of undiagnosed asthma in AA youth was 8.0% in Detroit and 7.5% in Georgia (P = .56). Asthma symptoms were reported more frequently among those with diagnosed asthma in Detroit, whereas those with undiagnosed asthma in Georgia reported more symptoms. Among AA youth living in similar socioeconomic circumstances, asthma prevalence is as high in rural Georgia as it is in urban Detroit, suggesting that urban residence is not an asthma risk factor. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

City and Urbanity in the Social Discourse

Science.gov (United States)

Dymnicka, Małgorzata; Badach, Joanna

2017-10-01

The aim of our article is an attempt to present the concept of urbanity that has been shaped throughout centuries along with the development of European civilisation and now entered a new phase of social production of space based on cultural dimensions. The future of the majority of World’s population is connected currently with the urban life with the assumption that qualitative characteristics of life in the 21st century define the quality of civilisation itself. Contrary to many scientists’ predictions of the decline of the city and urbanity, new reviving urban projects, social local activities and everyday urbanism appear which are connected with redefinition of the city as a community. The rebirth of cities, currently referred to as “urban renaissance”, “urban resurgence” or “urban revival”, can be also defined in terms of new urbanity regarded as an insightful and creative attitude towards the city and its culture. The elementary order of things was determined in the last decades not by the space but by the time and its acceleration and simultaneously the role of architecture alters. The course of thinking about the city is changing from a single space-time city towards a personalised city, based on individual identities and corresponding places in the physical and virtual space. That can mean a new role of the city in the creation of urbanity. In the era of advanced communication technologies, a question arises about the ontological status of the city when the emphasis is placed on independence and individuality in interactions between people. Social life becomes detached from traditional spatial patterns and practices. We are interested in the urbanity understood in the wider context of cultural urban studies which are focused on new ways of organising the communication space and social relations. We will refer in this article to the values constitutive for the city and urbanity that guided the idea of the city since the dawn of time as well

Hierarchical analysis of urban space

OpenAIRE

Kataeva, Y.

2014-01-01

Multi-level structure of urban space, multitude of subjects of its transformation, which follow asymmetric interests, multilevel system of institutions which regulate interaction in the "population business government -public organizations" system, determine the use of hierarchic approach to the analysis of urban space. The article observes theoretical justification of using this approach to study correlations and peculiarities of interaction in urban space as in an intricately organized syst...

Elementary Teachers' Perceptions of Mathematics Instruction in Montessori and Traditional Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Kofa, Linda

2017-01-01

Students in grades 3 and 4 attending a traditional public elementary school in a northeastern state did not meet proficiency levels in mathematics as measured by the state's assessment system. Published reports indicated that students attending the Montessori programs were more proficient in solving math problems compared to students in…

The Foreign Language Learning Value Beliefs of Japanese Elementary School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Ron Reuel

2013-01-01

This study was an investigation of student beliefs about their EFL education, and it was based upon the subjective task value component of the expectancy-value theory, a prominent theory of achievement motivation. The participants were three cohorts of Japanese public elementary school students (Cohort 1 from 2008; Cohort 2 from 2009; and Cohort 3…

Public policies for managing urban growth and protecting open space: policy instruments and lessons learned in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

David N. Bengston; Jennifer O. Fletcher

2003-01-01

The public sector in the United States has responded to growing concern about the social and environmental costs of sprawling development patterns by creating a wide range of policy instruments designed to manage urban growth and protect open space. These techniques have been implemented at the local, regional, state and, to a limited extent, national levels. This...

Collecting standardized urban health indicator data at an individual level for school-aged children living in urban areas: methods from EURO-URHIS 2.

Science.gov (United States)

Pope, D; Katreniak, Z; Guha, J; Puzzolo, E; Higgerson, J; Steels, S; Woode-Owusu, M; Bruce, N; Birt, Christopher A; Ameijden, E van; Verma, A

2017-05-01

Measuring health and its determinants in urban populations is essential to effectively develop public health policies maximizing health gain within this context. Adolescents are important in this regard given the origins of leading causes of morbidity and mortality develop pre-adulthood. Comprehensive, accurate and comparable information on adolescent urban health indicators from heterogeneous urban contexts is an important challenge. EURO-URHIS 2 aimed to develop standardized tools and methodologies collecting data from adolescents across heterogenous European urban contexts. Questionnaires were developed including (i) comprehensive assessment of urban health indicators from 7 pre-defined domains, (ii) use of previously validated questions from a literature review and other European surveys, (iii) translation/back-translation into European languages and (iv) piloting. Urban area-specific data collection methodologies were established through literature review, consultation and piloting. School-based surveys of 14-16-year olds (400-800 per urban area) were conducted in 13 European countries (33 urban areas). Participation rates were high (80-100%) for students from schools taking part in the surveys from all urban areas, and data quality was generally good (low rates of missing/spoiled data). Overall, 13 850 questionnaires were collected, coded and entered for EURO-URHIS 2. Dissemination included production of urban area health profiles (allowing benchmarking for a number of important public health indicators in young people) and use of visualization tools as part of the EURO-URHIS 2 project. EURO-URHIS 2 has developed standardized survey tools and methodologies for assessing key measures of health and its determinants in adolescents from heterogenous urban contexts and demonstrated the utility of this data to public health practitioners and policy makers. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association

The Coupling Strategy Research of Urban Public Space and Traffic for Improving the Residents’ Low-Carbon Travel Accessibility: A Case Study of Hexi New City Central Area in Nanjing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caiyun Qian

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Under the current model of advocating urban intensive development and updating built-up areas, promoting the coupling optimization of space and public transport in built-up areas is an important way to realize sustainable urban development. Apart from researching the space and accessibility of the central area in Hexi new city of Nanjing and analyzing problems from various aspects, i.e., urban land use, road network planning, bus station distribution, non-motorized traffic, and space and environment design, combining with the OD (Origin & Destination survey, this paper further put forward the corresponding improvement strategy for the public space accessibility of different levels and optimized design of non-motorized traffic.

Space-time design of the public city

CERN Document Server

Thomaier, Susanne; Könecke, Benjamin; Zedda, Roberto; Stabilini, Stefano

2013-01-01

Time has become an increasingly important topic in urban studies and urban planning. The spatial-temporal interplay is not only of relevance for the theory of urban development and urban politics, but also for urban planning and governance. The space-time approach focuses on the human being with its various habits and routines in the city. Understanding and taking those habits into account in urban planning and public policies offers a new way to improve the quality of life in our cities. Adapting the supply and accessibility of public spaces and services to the inhabitants’ space-time needs calls for an integrated approach to the physical design of urban space and to the organization of cities. In the last two decades the body of practical and theoretical work on urban space-time topics has grown substantially. The book offers a state of the art overview of the theoretical reasoning, the development of new analytical tools, and practical experience of the space-time design of public cities in major Europea...

Smart City L’Aquila : An Application of the “Infostructure” Approach to Public Urban Mobility in a Post-Disaster Context

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Falco, E.; Malavolta, Ivano; Radzimski, Adam; Ruberto, Stefano; Iovino, Ludovico; Gallo, Francesco

2017-01-01

Ever since the earthquake of April 6, 2009 hit the city of L’Aquila, Italy, the city has been facing major challenges in terms of social, physical, and economic reconstruction. The system of public urban mobility, the bus network, is no exception with its old bus fleet, non-user-friendly

Smart City L’Aquila : An Application of the “Infostructure” Approach to Public Urban Mobility in a Post-Disaster Context

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Falco, Enzo; Malavolta, Ivano; Radzimski, Adam; Ruberto, Stefano; Iovino, Ludovico; Gallo, Francesco

2018-01-01

Ever since the earthquake of April 6, 2009 hit the city of L’Aquila, Italy, the city has been facing major challenges in terms of social, physical, and economic reconstruction. The system of public urban mobility, the bus network, is no exception with its old bus fleet, non-user-friendly

The framework of urban exposome: Application of the exposome concept in urban health studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrianou, Xanthi D; Makris, Konstantinos C

2018-05-02

Horizontal challenges, such as climate change or the growing populations, and their manifestations require the development of multidisciplinary research synergies in urban health that could benefit from concepts, such as the human exposome. Cities are composed of interconnected systems which are influenced, by global trends, national policies and local complexities. In this context, the exposome concept could be expanded having the city setting in its core, providing the conceptual framework for the new generation of urban studies. The objectives of this work were to define the urban exposome and outline its utility. The urban exposome can be defined as the continuous spatiotemporal surveillance/monitoring of quantitative and qualitative indicators associated with the urban external and internal domains that shape up the quality of life and the health of urban populations, using small city areas, i.e. neighborhoods, quarters, or smaller administrative districts, as the point of reference. Research should focus on the urban exposome's measurable units at different levels, i.e. the individuals, small, within-city areas and the populations. The urban exposome framework applied in the city of Limassol, Cyprus combines three elements: (i) a mixed-methods study on stakeholders' opinions about quality of life in the city; (ii) a systematic assessment of secondary data from the cancer and death registries, including city infrastructure data; and (iii) a population health and biomonitoring survey. Continuous assessment of environmental and health indicators that are routinely collected, and the incorporation of primary data from population studies, will allow for the timely identification of within-city health and environmental disparities to inform policy making and public health interventions. The urban exposome could facilitate evidence-based public health response, offering researchers, policy-makers, and citizens effective tools to address the societal needs of large

Transforming spaces into lively public open places

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cilliers, E.J.; Timmermans, W.

2016-01-01

Urban public open spaces are an important part of the urban environment, creating the framework for public life. The transformation of open space into successful public places is crucial in this regard. In the context of target-driven performance it is essential to identify the value of

Why Do They Stay? Elementary Teachers' Perceptions of Job Satisfaction and Retention

Science.gov (United States)

Perrachione, Beverly A.; Rosser, Vicki J.; Petersen, George J.

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify intrinsic and extrinsic variables that influence teacher job satisfaction and retention. A survey was sent to 300 randomly selected Missouri public elementary school teachers in grades K-5 having 5 or more years of teaching experience. The results from 201 respondents suggest that three intrinsic…

More than 500 million Chinese urban residents (14% of the global urban population) are imperiled by fine particulate hazard.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Chunyang; Han, Lijian; Zhang, Robin Q

2016-11-01

China's urbanization and the subsequent public vulnerability to degenerated environment is important to global public health. Among the environmental problems, fine particulate (PM 2.5 ) pollution has become a serious hazard in rapidly urbanizing China. However, quantitative information remains inadequate. We thus collected PM 2.5 concentrations and population census records, to illustrate the spatial patterns and changes in the PM 2.5 hazard levels in China, and to quantify public vulnerability to the hazard during 2000-2010, following the air quality standards of World Health Organization. We found that 28% (2.72 million km 2 ) of China's territory, including 78% of cities (154 cities) with a population of >1 million, was exposed to PM 2.5 hazard in 2010; a 15% increase (1.47 million km 2 ) from 2000 to 2010. The hazards potentially impacted the health of 72% of the total population (942 million) in 2010, including 70% of the young (206 million) and 76% of the old (71 million). This was a significant increase from the 42% of total the population (279 million) exposed in 2000. Of the total urban residents, 76% (501 million) were affected in 2010. Along with PM 2.5 concentration increase, massive number of rural to urban migration also contributed greatly to China's urban public health vulnerability. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rural and Urban Youth Programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Backman, Kenneth; And Others

This publication provides a variety of information on prevention and intervention programs for rural and urban children and adolescents. Drawing from a rural sociological perspective, the introductory paper defines "rural," discusses rural-urban economic and social differences, and lists indicators of risk for rural youth. It discusses the extent…

PERCEPTIONS OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNSELOR.

Science.gov (United States)

BRADEN, BILLY; AND OTHERS

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ROLE AND FUNCTION OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNSELOR AS THEY WERE PERCEIVED BY SELECTED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNSELORS, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS, COUNSELOR EDUCATORS, AND STATE SUPERVISORS IN THE SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION FOR COUNSELOR EDUCATION AND SUPERVISION (SACES) REGION WERE IDENTIFIED. THREE INSTRUMENTS WERE…

Designing using Lego and Uno-Stacko: A Playful Architecture for an Integrated Kindergarten and Elementary School

Science.gov (United States)

Muthmainnah, K.; Aryanti, T.; Ardiansyah, A.

2017-03-01

The integrated kindergarten and elementary school is a public educational facility used for early age and elementary education. Designated for children at 4-12 years of age, the design should meet the standards and requirements, while considering children’s needs in their development phase. This paper discusses the design of an integrated kindergarten and elementary school using the playful theme. Design was explored using LEGO and UNO-STACKO to create spaces that accommodate material exploration for children. The design takes the play concept as a medium of child’s learning in order to improve their ability and awareness of the surrounding environment. The design translates the playful theme into imaginary dimension, constructive-deconstructive shapes, and glide circulations concept. The spatial pattern is applied by considering children’s behavior in the designated ages to trigger their creativity improvement. The design is expected to serve as a model of an integrated kindergarten and elementary school architecture.

Urban structure and air pollution

Science.gov (United States)

Lyons, T. J.; Kenworthy, J. R.; Newman, P. W. G.

Representative driving cycles across the Perth, Western Australia, metropolitan region illustrate a direct relationship to urban land use. Movement away from the central business district results in fewer traffic events, higher speeds, longer cruise periods and shorter stops. The consequent reduction in root mean square acceleration leads to a corresponding reduction in vehicle emission factors. Urban planning implications are pursued and highlight the importance of public transport as an option in reducing urban air pollution.

The English in Public Elementary Schools Program of a Mexican State: A Critical, Exploratory Study

Science.gov (United States)

Perales Escudero, Moises Damian; Reyes Cruz, Maria del Rosario; Loyo, Griselda Murrieta

2012-01-01

The quality of English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) instruction in elementary schools worldwide is an issue of concern for language policy and planning (LPP) scholars, as are examinations of power and ideologies operating in policy creation and implementation. This critical, exploratory study blends these two strands of inquiry by examining…

Landscaping Considerations for Urban Stream Restoration Projects

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Bailey, Pam

2004-01-01

... after restoration and its functionality for public use. The landscaping component of such stream and riparian restoration projects must be emphasized given its importance of visual success and public perception. The purpose of this technical note is to address landscaping considerations associated with urban stream and riparian restoration projects, and provide ideas to managers for enhancing the visual appeal and aesthetic qualities of urban projects.

Public Speaking: Revisited.

Science.gov (United States)

Taufen, Phyllis M.

There is a simple but effective process for developing public speakers in elementary and junior high schools. After discussing the importance of effective speaking, the teacher puts a topic sentence, on favorite desserts for example, on the board or overhead projector and students think of their favorite desserts and some related words and…

The Prevalence and Correlates of Compassion Fatigue, Compassion Satisfaction, and Burnout among Teachers Working in High-Poverty Urban Public Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Abraham-Cook, Shannon

2012-01-01

Although public school educators employed in high-poverty urban districts are likely to encounter traumatized children on a regular basis, there is a scarcity of research exploring the psychological effects of secondary traumatic stress exposure in this population. As such, a primary goal of the study was to explore the prevalence and correlates…

Preservice Elementary Teachers' Adaptation of Science Curriculum Materials for Inquiry-Based Elementary Science

Science.gov (United States)

Forbes, Cory T.

2011-01-01

Curriculum materials are important resources with which teachers make pedagogical decisions about the design of science learning environments. To become well-started beginning elementary teachers capable of engaging their students in inquiry-based science, preservice elementary teachers need to learn to use science curriculum materials…

E – urban systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Franc J. Zakrajšek

2000-01-01

Full Text Available Information and tele-communication technology are increasingly affecting life and employment. According to predictions, more than 80% of all business operations will be carried out electronically through so called e-business. Recently even in Slovenia discussions have begun on “e-government”. Despite desired or undesired control, virtual networks are changing urban systems into e-urban systems. The extent of benefits to the public also depend on planners. The article presents concepts with the signature “e” to describe urban systems, day-to-day life, real-estate and simulation.

Elementary Atom Interaction with Matter

OpenAIRE

Mrowczynski, Stanislaw

1998-01-01

The calculations of the elementary atom (the Coulomb bound state of elementary particles) interaction with the atom of matter, which are performed in the Born approximation, are reviewed. We first discuss the nonrelativistic approach and then its relativistic generalization. The cross section of the elementary atom excitation and ionization as well as the total cross section are considered. A specific selection rule, which applies for the atom formed as positronium by particle-antiparticle pa...

The Scripted Spaces of Urban Ubiquitous Computing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pold, Søren; Andersen, Christian Ulrik

2011-01-01

computing in urban environments. Drawing on urban history, computer games, and a workshop study of the city of Lund the article discusses the experience of digitally scripted spaces, and their relation to the history of public spaces. In conclusion, the article discusses the potential for employing scripted...... spaces as a reinvigoration of urban public space....

Academic Success of Urban African American Elementary Students in Title I Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, James Sebastian

2017-01-01

The researcher investigated the achievement of third- and fifth-grade urban African American students who attended science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), Non-STEM, and Theme Title I schools in science and mathematics on the 2015 Georgia Milestones Assessment. The researcher used data from 29 Non-STEM, 14 STEM, and 10 Theme…

34 CFR 300.13 - Elementary school.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 34 Education 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Elementary school. 300.13 Section 300.13 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education (Continued) OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND... DISABILITIES General Definitions Used in This Part § 300.13 Elementary school. Elementary school means a...

Case Studies of Successful Assistance in Urban School Improvement Programs. I. The Teacher Growth Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Piety-Jacobs, Sharon R.

As part of a research project on "Patterns of Successful Assistance in Urban School Programs," this paper presents a case study of an assister's work in a Teacher Growth Program (TGP) at an elementary school in Staten Island, New York. The school has an experienced teaching staff, a supportive principal, a cross-sectional student…

Coliform Contamination of Peri-urban Grown Vegetables and Potential Public Health Risks: Evidence from Kumasi, Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Abass, Kabila; Ganle, John Kuumuori; Adaborna, Eric

2016-04-01

Peri-urban vegetable farming in Ghana is an important livelihood activity for an increasing number of people. However, increasing quality and public health concerns have been raised, partly because freshwater availability for irrigation purposes is a major constraint. This paper investigated on-farm vegetable contamination and potential health risks using samples of lettuce, spring onions and cabbage randomly selected from 18 vegetable farms in peri-urban Kumasi, Ghana. Vegetable samples were tested for total coliform, fecal coliform, Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. bacteria contamination using the Most Probable Number method. Results show high contamination levels of total and fecal coliforms, and Escherichia coli bacteria in all 18 vegetable samples. The mean total coliform/100 ml concentration for spring onions, lettuce and cabbage were 9.15 × 10(9), 4.7 × 10(7) and 8.3 × 10(7) respectively. The mean fecal coliform concentration for spring onions, lettuce and cabbage were also 1.5 × 10(8), 4.15 × 10(7) and 2.15 × 10(7) respectively, while the mean Escherichia coli bacteria contamination for spring onions, lettuce and cabbage were 1.4 × 10(8), 2.2 × 10(7) and 3.2 × 10(7) respectively. The level of total coliform, fecal coliform and Escherichia coli bacteria contamination in all the vegetable samples however declined as the distance between the main water source (Wiwi River) and farms increases. Nonetheless, all contamination levels were well above acceptable standards, and could therefore pose serious public health risks to consumers. Increased education and supervision of farmers, as well as public health and food hygiene education of consumers, are critical to reducing on-farm vegetable contamination and the health risks associated with consumption of such vegetables.

Rural vs urban hospital performance in a 'competitive' public health service.

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Lacalle, Javier; Martin, Emilio

2010-09-01

In some western countries, market-driven reforms to improve efficiency and quality have harmed the performance of some hospitals, occasionally leading to their closure, mostly in rural areas. This paper seeks to explore whether these reforms affect urban and rural hospitals differently in a European health service. Rural and urban hospital performance is compared taking into account their efficiency and perceived quality. The study is focused on the Andalusian Health Service (SAS) in Spain, which has implemented a freedom of hospital choice policy and a reimbursement system based on hospital performance. Data Envelopment Analysis, the Mann-Whitney U test and Multidimensional Scaling techniques are conducted for two years, 2003 and 2006. The results show that rural and urban hospitals perform similarly in the efficiency dimension, whereas rural hospitals perform significantly better than urban hospitals in the patient satisfaction dimension. When the two dimensions are considered jointly, some rural hospitals are found to be the best performers. As such, market-driven reforms do not necessary result in a difference in the performance of rural and urban hospitals. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social Aspects of “Absent Presence” in the Use of Mobile Phones in Public Urban Spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krešimir Katić

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This paper explores how, in the context of the increasing mediated permeability of the boundaries between the realms of home, privacy, in public, work and leisure, people use mobile phones to communicate with absent others whilst in public urban spaces, near others who are physically present, that is, how people negotiate place and presence when “on the phone”. Our ethnographic research of quotidian practices employed by mobile phone users in public spaces in Zagreb, Croatia, confirms that the critique put forward by some media scholars that media technologies create a homogenous, placeless world, is rather exaggerated. Place is reconstituted through a variety of ethnomethodological, and culturally specific practices which we refer to as manoeuvres of spatial juggling, practices which allow people to integrate their presence in the physical and in the virtual worlds. We identify a number of such practices, and also highlight which moral, cognitive and ritual components of micro interactions in public are challenged during mobile phone use. We conclude that, though significantly contingent and fluid, mobile phone interactions do not annihilate place but transform it into an “absent presence”.

Levels of use of an elementary school inquiry-based instructional innovation among a selected group of teacher participants in the Delaware Elementary Science Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Bouchelle, Henry Ellsworth Wirt, III

Science education in Delaware's public elementary and middle schools has experienced much change in recent years as a result of the adoption of state standards and, in particular, the adoption by school districts of the Smithsonian/National Science Resources Council-sponsored inquiry-based instruction modules as part of the "Elementary Science Initiative." As part of this adoption process, each participating elementary teacher and middle school science teacher receives extensive training in the use of several discrete science kits. The trainings include reinforcement and development of content knowledge, in addition to the modeling of and practice with complementary pedagogy. One measure of the effectiveness of the science kit training process (and perhaps the Initiative itself) is the teachers' levels of use of the Initiative. The purpose of this study was to determine the participating teachers' use of the science kit innovation through the use of the Concerns-based Adoption Model Levels of Use Questionnaire. Eight K--5 elementary classroom teachers who had completed at least three science kit trainings participated. The results of this study indicate that on the Overall Level of Use Rating Scale, teachers who had completed training in at least three science kits generally scored at the Routine (IVA) level. All of the teachers, regardless of the wide range in the number of years of experience, had achieved the Mechanical Use level in Overall (III) LoU, and 6 of the 8 participants (75%) were operating at no less than the Refinement (IVA) Overall LoU level.

Urban Green Infrastructure: German Experience

OpenAIRE

Diana Olegovna Dushkova; Sergey Nikolaevich Kirillov

2016-01-01

The paper presents a concept of urban green infrastructure and analyzes the features of its implementation in the urban development programmes of German cities. We analyzed the most shared articles devoted to the urban green infrastructure to see different approaches to definition of this term. It is based on materials of field research in the cities of Berlin and Leipzig in 2014-2015, international and national scientific publications. During the process of preparing the paper, consultations...