Energy Systems Division of Logos Technologies is a Single Solution to National and Global Energy Demands

Posted by admin | Posted on 12-06-2011

Category : Region II

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Energy Systems Division of Logos Technologies is a Single Solution to National and Global Energy Demands

Logos Technologies delivers innovative technology and program solutions enabling critical mission operations for government (Defense, Intelligence Community (IC), and civilian agencies) and commercial clients. No single solution to national and global energy demands exists today—nor will it in the future. Instead, Logos’ Energy Systems Division advocates for advanced, environmentally responsible solutions that are appropriate to particular needs—from nuclear to “green” solutions—for a broad range of issues.

Logos’ Energy Systems Division performs energy analysis and systems studies and serves as a resource for the Department of Energy (DOE) and its Nuclear Energy Division, Department of Defense (DOD), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Sandia National Laboratories, National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA), and commercial clients. Logos Technologies is also developing capabilities in nuclear energy (advanced fission reactors, fission-fusion hybrids, fusion), biofuels, and other renewables. The projects include examining fuel cycle solutions for generation-4 nuclear reactors to close the fuel cycle and reduce waste, researching how to maximize fusion with non-pulse power drivers, and developing cellulosic biofuels.

As the Director of Energy Systems,E. Michael Campbell is responsible for management, revenue creation, strategic vision and execution of all energy R&D. In addition,E. Michael Campbell is also responsible for programs including Generation IV Nuclear fission reactors with a focus on closing the fuel cycle, fusion strategy including the development of fusion-fission hybrids, and advanced biofuels directed towards the economic production of high energy density liquid hydrocarbon fuels produced form cellulosic feedstock.

E. Michael Campbell recently received a major M program in biofuels to convert cellulosic biomass into high energy density hydrocarbon fuel (JP8) and became a major participant in the M “Deep Burn” program, which is developing high temperature gas reactors to destroy spent nuclear fuel and this make so, called Generation IV reactors a component of closing the nuclear fission fuel cycle. This program was developed by Logos employees who are part of the Energy Division of Logos Technologies.

Logos Technologies develops partnerships with other energy-focused researchers, large-scale industrial partners, small businesses, and universities to provide the right solutions to its clients at the right time.

Henry Wilson is a professional author who has written many articles on various topics & this time writing article on E. Michael Campbell. For more information, visit http://emichaelcampbell.com


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Ansel Adams and the Yosemite National Park

Posted by admin | Posted on 22-03-2011

Category : Region V

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Ansel Adams and the Yosemite National Park

Ansel Adams was a California native and resident who was born in San Francisco. He was a photographer and concert pianist although he was more renowned for his photography. His photography was used as inspirations for saving wilderness by turning it into national parks and also has recorded America’s past.
Ansel was born in San Francisco on February 20, 1902, he was born into an upper class family. He was injured at four years old from an aftershock of the 1906 earthquake, during the aftershock he was thrown into a garden wall and broke his nose. His nose never corrected and he would go on to live his whole life with a crooked nose. At the age of 12 Ansel was pulled out of school by his father to be taught by private tutors, to take piano lessons and to learn Greek. Ansel first visited Yosemite in 1916 where he had frequent contact with the Best family who owned the Best studio. He would also join the Sierra club at the age of 17 and would later become a director. Later in 1928 he would marry Virginia Best who after her father’s death inherited the studio.

Ansel was originally interested in become a concert pianist but he became interested in photography after seeing some of Paul Strand’s negatives. Ansel was very interested in nature and took many photographs in many areas before they were trafficked by large groups of visitors. He was also an avid mountain climber in his youth and but it was during a climb of Half Dome in 1927 that he first realized he could make photographs that were in his own words, “… an austere and blazing poetry of the real”. He became very interested in saving the wilderness and used some of his photography books and testimony to congress to help secure Sequoia and KingsCanyon as National Parks.

Ansel Adams was very knowledgeable about photography and co-created with , Fred Archer, the zone system. This is a system for photographers to translate the light they see into specific densities on negatives and paper, which gives more control over the finished photograph. He also pioneered the idea of visualization which is trying to determine how the finished photograph will look before it is exposed. Ansel’s received many awards for his work including three Guggenheim fellowships, election as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Science, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded by Jimmy Carter in 1980, and 2007 he was posthumously inducted to the California Museum for History, Women and the Arts by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Ansel died on April 22, 1984, but his photography lives on and still inspires people today. A full archive of his work resides at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. His work was so respected for capturing nature that one of his photographs was included in the 116 images recorded on the Voyager Golden Record which resides aboard the Voyager Space Craft.

Mark Adams is a specialized writer in Travel & Tourism related topics. He wrote many articles regarding San Francisco Tours and many more articles can be found at Alexander Valley wine tours and San Francisco private tour


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Iowa’s Goodwill Moon Rock: The Magnificent National Treasure

Posted by admin | Posted on 11-01-2011

Category : Region III

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Iowa’s Goodwill Moon Rock: The Magnificent National Treasure

As a young girl, I was always fascinated by the sky and what was in outer space. I never dreamed about being an astronaut, but I did like the idea of flying and exploring outer space. Now that I am older, I am still fascinated with outer space and with our solar system and I still wonder when will I be able to fly to the moon.

As a Criminal Justice graduate student at the University of Phoenix, I was assigned to an investigation. An investigation that I thought would take months for me to do. I was to investigate Iowa’s Apollo 17 Goodwill Moon Rock that was given to the state in 1973 or 1974. Many of the Goodwill Moon Rocks went missing: What happened to the Goodwill Moon Rocks? Where could Iowa’s Goodwill Moon Rock be? Well, that’s something I had to figure out.

The first manned mission to the moon was Apollo 11 in 1969. The first men on the moon were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin; their prime mission of Apollo 11 was to “perform a manned lunar landing and return.” The mission was a success and they were the first to return samples from another planetary body. They brought back 47.84 pounds of Moon Rocks. Neil Armstrong once declared that, “One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind.”

Apollo 17 was the last manned mission to the moon in 1972. The objective of this mission was to explore and sample the materials and surface of the moon by using the Lunar Roving Vehicle. The astronauts traversed the greatest distance by using the Lunar Roving Vehicle, that they were able to return the greatest amount of rock and soil from the moon to earth. When Apollo 17 returned to earth, they brought back a grand total of 309 pounds of rock and soil. President Nixon awarded Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 Goodwill moon rocks to 50 states, Puerto Rico, and 135 other nations. President Nixon’s plan for the Goodwill Moon Rock’s called for each rock to be placed on a plaque. Each of the plaques contained a plate honoring the gift, a Lucite ball containing the rock and a flag of the country, state, or territory receiving the gift. Many of the plaques containing the moon rocks have been stolen, lost or have become part of private collections.

As I started my search for Iowa’s Goodwill moon rock, I had to brainstorm whom I was going to contact for instance, the governor and museums. I first researched all the museums in Iowa, then I wrote an email to the governor of Iowa, Mr. Chet Culver. I doubted I would hear back from the governor, and I was anxious thinking that I was going to be stuck with dead end emails, I wanted to succeed in my investigation. A few days went by and I received an email from Molly Clause, the governor’s receptionist. She then redirected me to Bill Johnson the Curator with the Iowa Historical Museum. Mr. Johnson had great news for me; he confirmed that the State of Iowa had two samples of moon rocks, representing Apollo 11 and Apollo 17.

November was the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 12, the second manned mission to the moon. The Apollo 12 was launched on November 14, 1969 and returned to Earth on November 24, 1969. This historic event makes Iowa’s moon rock even that more important. Discovering the whereabouts of Iowa’s moon rock was extremely exciting. I am proud I found the state of Iowa’s Apollo 17 Goodwill Moon Rock and also Apollo 11 Goodwill Moon Rock and are located in a safe location where the people can look at the magnificent national treasure.

Joseph Richard Gutheinz, the professor at the University of Phoenix who gave this assignment to my class, is a retired Senior Special Agent for NASA’s Office of Inspector General. As a Special Agent he went undercover in Operation Lunar Eclipse in 1998 to recover the Honduras Goodwill Moon Rock. He has assigned University of Phoenix graduate students, such as myself, the task of hunting down Goodwill Moon Rocks around the world. He had been offered million when he recovered the Honduras Goodwill Moon rock.

Julie Elizabeth Sahagun is a Criminal Justice Graduate student at the University of Phoenix. She received her Bachelors Degree in Sociology at the University of California-Riverside.


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the New England Journal of Medicine quotes Dr. Stephen Straus of the National Institute of Allergy

Posted by admin | Posted on 26-11-2010

Category : Region I

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the New England Journal of Medicine quotes Dr. Stephen Straus of the National Institute of Allergy

CFS Chronic fatigue syndrome is solitary of those ambiguous medical mystery upon which People who study this and doctors seem unable to reach agreement. A few say it is caused by a virus, others say it is allergy-related or a symptom of depression, and others, not knowing what to consider or say, insinuate it is all in the head. One detail is for sure; it brutally debilitates its victims.

On occasion, as medical information progresses, the understanding of a cycle of signs alterations. Infectious mononucleosis, termed the ?kissing sickness,? was the main sickness accepted as causing chronic fatigue. The signs were flu-like: Low-grade fever, muscular aches and pains, headache and fatigue. The most discouraging part of the sickness was that even if the person felt good for a while, the signs came back. It was not strange to have returning episodes of the sickness for two to three years.

In the mid 1980s as the AIDS plague spurred extensive inquiries into viruses, more became acknowledged about the mononucleosis syndrome. Mononucleosis became Chronic Epstein-Barr virus. A march 1988 article by a Center for Disease Control (CDC) working collection renamed it Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The CDC group furthermore outlined strict criteria for its diagnosis. To assemble their definition, a patient should suffer incapacitating fatigue for more than six months and ought to exhibit at least eight of eleven signs, counting sore throat, mild fever and muscle pains.

Why various lived through chronic fatigue and others do not, seems to be associated to their immune systems. It has been regular lived through that chronic fatigue syndrome occurs all through time as soon as the lymphocytes including the B cells and T cells, and antibodiesis out of action by other illnesses, whether diagnosed or not.

The motive no one is able to fully explain how people get chronic fatigue syndrome is since so many things result chronic fatigue. Many, more situations, inadequacy and illnesses wear down and impair the immune system.
The symptoms of CFS are the signals of a poorly functioning lymphocytes including the B cells and T cells, and antibodies. That is why, of none of the suggestions I render at this time work, your most excellent bet is to consult a nutritionally-oriented medical doctor or alternative medicine physician for the proper tests to detect, to decide by what exactly is causing your lymphocytes including the B cells and T cells, and antibodies to break down, and contract on a personal program to fill in your nutritional blanks.

A repot in the New England Journal of Medicine quotes Dr. Stephen Straus of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says that chronic fatigue could characterize an abnormal response to infection. Scientists think a number of patients by no means completely recover from the flu, but as a substitute develop long-standing signs of chronic fatigue.

A research of 15 teenagers ages 13 to 17 diagnosed of having chronic fatigue syndrome found 11 reported their symptoms as following an acute sickness, according to physicians from the University of Washington School of Medicine and Children?s sickbay and Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. Seven had clear tests for mononucleosis. A third of the teenagers, all of whom were female, moreover were fond to be clinically depressed.

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Geography and your Children’s Health: a Worthy National Topic of Debate

Posted by admin | Posted on 22-09-2010

Category : Region V

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Geography and your Children’s Health: a Worthy National Topic of Debate

It may seem odd at first; to phantom that the very natural resources that we need to live, work and play, are also associated with an array of health problems. The truth is a hard one to swallow. So, don’t be surprised that you haven’t heard the following information blasted on local news! However, this crucial information affects our children’s health at epidemic rates.

Amazingly there are 25 million children who live in areas that violate national air quality standards for ozone, particulate matter from coal fired plants and sulfur dioxide. Another 35 million children live very close to power plants and 2 million kids are asthmatic…which is linked to airborne pollutants. A recent health study from the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that air pollution levels in major U.S. cities pose a health risk comparable to second hand smoke. Does this mean that it is just as bad to go outside in the fresh air, as it is to eat in the “non-smoking” side of your local restaurant? Well, you be the judge, however, in some States or Countries… it is better to be in a smoke filled restaurant.

There are so many health hazards, (fossil fuels, VOC’s, smog, etc.) it‘s difficult to begin a discussion without sounding overly negative and pessimistic. So, I would like to leave this “personal disclaimer” before, stating the following information. “The U.S. Government, along with other countries, is making valiant efforts to minimize our ongoing threat of potentially devastating health and life consequences, emitting from our current energy sources.”

But…Clinical trials prove air pollution; including SMOG has devastating effects on our children’s health! The best research we have at the time was researched by USC in 2004, called “A Children’s Health Study”. The study showed that long term exposure to air pollution has long term effects on children’s lungs. This “should be” a National platform for Environmental Change. Yes, Global Warming is factually warming the earth…which has been occurring for 100’s of years. The long term effects of global warming may include, health issues, derived from Extreme Weather Conditions. But, again, our children’s health is currently deteriorating, due to current ozone related issues.

Research has shown that kids who live in certain geographic areas of California, experience a 10%-15% decrease in lung functionality, than kids who were raised in other parts of the country. Further research shows that kids are far more likely to experience Lung damage as an adult from living and growing up in areas where high levels of smog have been measured.

In 2004, The Journal of the American Medical Association linked higher death rates caused by smog or often called ‘ground ozone”.

Smog has the following effect on our children:

• Damaged cells in the lung’s airways, causing inflation and swelling of the lungs.

• Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Sneezing, wheezing and other neurological problems.

• Decreased breathing capacity (cough and chest pain)

• Decrements of lung functioning (reduced ability to take a breath)

• Changes in lung structure with possible increases in lung disease.

Further evidence shown by the University of Southern California, show for the first time that ozone may actually cause asthma. In 12 California communities 3500 children were studied with no history of asthma. The results showed that children who played in areas where there were high ozone levels were 3 times more likely to develop asthma. There was no increased risk for asthma development in areas of low ozone concentration.

• California reports approximately 9,000 deaths annually from complications from air pollution.

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recent National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment reported that one in every 15,000 Californians — about 66 per million — is at risk of contracting cancer from breathing chemicals in the air over his or her lifetime.

• In New York, researchers estimated that the annual death toll is approximately 319 annually in New York City.

• 23 European cities, found that death from respiratory disease was more strongly associated with ozone exposure that was with cardiovascular rates.

• India (57K), Indonesia (15K), China (16K) Russian Federation(19K) people die of asthma annually.

• The health impact of air pollution in Italian cities is large: 8220 deaths a year.

• When Hong Kong made regulations to reduce sulphur emissions, each Hong Kong resident gained extra weeks of living for every year of breathing dirty air.

Interesting Fact: The Great London Fog In 1952, was responsible for killing over 12,000 people. According to London papers, London was known for Fog, so know one really noticed that they were running out of caskets and flowers until it had been nearly a week. Note: the fog lasted only 5 days!

Geography does dictate and has always dictated healthy outside air quality issues. If you live in certain areas of our country or outside the U.S. your children are more likely to have health issues derived from air pollutants. California is at the head of the list, and has made progress in reducing ozone pollution in half, since 1980, but continue to have the worst air quality in the nation.

If air quality is reducing the future of our young; is it not worth a national debate? Never before have we seen corporate America change their corporate vision to a Green future, as we do now. Are we trading in one current geographical and ozone related disaster for the newest disaster discovery? If you want to get support from the masses of the people, tell them the truth about our current health challenges. Tell them that the one thing they value the most, their children, are being harmed by the current ozone related pollution and particular matter. Tell them that Nine cities, home to 57 million people, are considered “severely” polluted, experiencing peak ozone levels that exceed the standards… by 50% or more. Most importantly, tell them that this is not new-news and why being “Green” means so much now? If money and power were not what drives our national debates, do you think that our children’s health would be the premise for environmental corporate change? What happened to putting our children first?

Georgia Bulldogs – Coaches Who Helped The Bulldogs To Win National Championships

Posted by admin | Posted on 18-09-2010

Category : Region II

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Georgia Bulldogs – Coaches Who Helped The Bulldogs To Win National Championships

There will always be one champion in every final match of a game. Some claim this title consistently while other win it intermittently or sometimes it takes years before they do so. Great teams are able to do it consistently because of the coaches they have. It is amazing how they see the potentials of the several kids aspiring to become a school athlete. They should be credited for molding and training the athlete to put them on their best form when the real competition happens.

In college teams, many great coaches prepare their students for the world of professional sports. However, before getting into the world of pro, coaches help them win college competitions and help them win in their short stint on college days.

University of Georgia is one of the most competitive college teams. They have managed to dominate both conference titles and championship games. They have great players and coaches that contributed to their 35 National Championships titles since 1892. Of course not to mention that, they are one of the best on their conference with an accumulated title of 130 wins. They have 19 different teams and among their most wins, they have come from football, gymnastics, golf, swimming, equestrian and tennis. Their varsity teams are named the Georgia Bulldogs.

As mentioned a while ago, we are here to know the coaches who have contributed to the 35 National Championship titles their varsity team has accumulated. Below are some of them:

1. Steve Webber – He was the head coach of the baseball team since 1981-1996. He helped the varsity baseball team to win National Championships in 1990.

2. Suzanne Paige Yoculan- She is the head coach of the gymnastics team since 1983. According to the updated stats, she helped the team win 9 national championships with a grand slam win from 2005 until the present. She is definitely one of the best coaches in the history of gymnastics.

3. Jack Bauerle- He is the head coach for the swimming varsity team for both men and women. He helped the women’s team to win 4 National Championship titles since 1979. This was a grand slam win from 1999 to 2005.

4. Dan Mcgill and Manuel Diaz- These 2 are the former and the present head coaches of the tennis varsity team for men. Mcgill being a coach from 1954-1988 help the team win two championship titles. On the other hand, Diaz, the present coach, help the team win five Championship titles.

5. Jeff Wallace- He is the present head coach of the tennis varsity team for women. He led the team to win four national championships.

6. Meghan Boenig- She is the head coach of the equestrian team. This is one of the youngest teams for the university yet she has managed to help the team win 3 National titles.

The Georgia Bulldogs are surely blessed with coaches of great talent. You can see it on their track record that they have managed to be one of the most accomplished varsity team. Those mentioned are just the National Titles. Most of the 19 varsity teams have won SEC or Divisional titles.

Freddie Brister is a huge fan of the SEC and the Georgia Bulldogs Check out his Georgia Bulldogs Merchandise.

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National, State, District, and Local Plans Using the Six Realms of Meaning as it Relates to Strategic Planning in Educaitonal Leadership

Posted by admin | Posted on 11-09-2010

Category : Region III

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National, State, District, and Local Plans Using the Six Realms of Meaning as it Relates to Strategic Planning in Educaitonal Leadership

 

Introduction

The role of the school administrative team is most often associated with educational leadership.  Leadership roles can be enacted by all stakeholders within the school community, including the student population (Levin, 1998; Wallin, 2003).  The six realms of meaning (Kritsonis, 2007) cover the range of possible meanings and comprise the basic competencies that general education should develop in every person.  A philosophical theory of the curriculum for general education based on the idea of logical patterns in disciplined understanding is presented in Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning (Kritsonis, 2007).  There are patterns or structures in knowledge and an understanding of these typical forms is essential for the guidance of teaching, learning, and constructing the curriculum. The various patterns of knowledge are varieties of meaning, and the learning of these patterns is the clue to the effective realization of essential humanness through the curriculum of general education (Kritsonis, 2007).

 

Purpose of the Article

 

The purpose of this article is to discuss significant aspects of the six realms of meaning as it relates to strategic planning in educational leadership. 

 

 

Planning Initiatives

 

The six realms of meaning are viewed as six fundamental patterns of meaning (Kritsonis, 2007).  These patterns are sequential and provide the foundation for all meanings that enter the human experience and emerge from an analysis of possible distinctive modes of human understanding.  The patterns are symbolics, empirics, esthetics, synnoetics, ethics, and synoptics (Kritsonis, 2007). 

The entire school or organization’s future is at stake in strategic planning (Center for Organizational Development and Leadership, 2007).  Strategic planning in educational leadership determines where a school is going over the next year or more and how it’s going to get there (McNamara, 2008).  A postmodern approach for academic and administrative departments would be to implement plans and strategies that are narrowly focused and vital to their future.  A plan too broad would allow for planning initiatives to go amiss from the correct course of focus or persons could get stuck and not be able to move forward (Center for School or Organizational Development and Leadership, 2007).  A framework for strategic planning of higher education centered on leadership, communication, and assessment is predictive of making national, state, district and local plans work (Center for School or Organizational Development and Leadership, 2007).  Steps in the framework according to McNamara (2008) would include the following:

 

mission, vision and value statements, collaborators and beneficiaries, environmental review, goals, strategies and action plans, plan creation, and

 

outcomes and achievements.

 

The modernist divorces the knower (English, 2003).

In the fourth realm of synnoetics, the student could gain personal insight through working with skilled guidance counselors or thorough a social activity.  The student is endowed with a rich and disciplined life in relation to self and others.  Synnoetics requires active participation and engagement.  To know and to be are one and the same in personal existence.  Ethics or moral knowledge is the fifth realm where a student is able to make wise decisions and to judge between right and wrong.  His moral conduct is a universal responsibility.  It is what ought to be done and it is right action.  In the sixth realm of synoptics, the student would possess an integral outlook of which epistemology – the theory of knowledge, and metaphysics – what is real, are the primary basis for its function (Kritsonis, 2007). 

 

 

The First Realm:  Symbolics

 

Systems of mathematics are designed to achieve complete precision in meaning and rigor in reasoning (Kritsonis, 2007).  Discursive language refers to language used in customary speech for communicating ideas.

           

The scope of curriculum in general education allows each person’s participation in the meaning of the social whole of the educational community (Kritsonis, 2007).  Integrity and the need to be learned in certain essentials would allow for leadership that defines roles and responsibilities essential to the effectiveness of the strategic plan.  Board members, community leaders, teachers, parents and students actively participate in creating and organizing guiding principles for continuous effective leadership, communication, and assessment. 

Communication skills will be displayed through speaking, writing, and class experience. This broader-based ownership in which participants feel valued and involved makes it easier to commit to change (Lindsey, Robins and Terrell, 2003).

Lindsey, Robins and Terrell stated in their book, Cultural Proficiency, A Handbook for School Professionals, that what is required in a strategic plan is informed and dedicated staff that are committed and involved in leadership.  They take time to think, reflect, assess, decide, and change, and actively participate in work sessions where the educational community is contributing distinctive ideas, beliefs, feelings, and perceptions (2003).  To monitor a plan’s progress and assess it outcomes, ongoing attention to assessment is necessary.  These appraisals for assessment provide guidance for developing pre-planning strategies.  They allow for monitoring the planning process and judging whether a plan’s activities and strategies are successful in fulfilling the school or organization’s goals. Strategic planning, according to Center for School or Organizational Development and Leadership (2007), can include conducting a review of the school or organization’s political, social, economic and technical environment.  In an initial review, an analysis of

the school or organization can be completed.  The planning phase can look at factors that are driving forces in the environment, strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats regarding the school or organization.  The mission, vision and value statements are updated as  needed.  The Center for School or  Organizational  Development  and Leadership (2007) suggests that an environment that has a diverse leadership team fostering readiness and receptivity and has an understanding of decision making processes and boundaries would aid creating successful plans for schools and organizations.  Sizing up previous plan’s successes on current efforts helps to keep a historical perspective on efforts of change.

Mission statements are brief written descriptions of the purpose of the school (McNamara, 2008).  The mission statement is a specific purpose statement that is part of the overall mission statement.  The value and vision statements are part of the mission statement. Vision statements are usually a compelling description of how the school or organization will or should operate at some point in the future and of how

 

The basic strategic planning process according to McNamara (2006) would include the following steps:  (1) Identify the purpose of the school or organization, which is also called the mission statement.  The statement should describe what student or employee needs are intended to be met and with what services.  The mission statement can change through the years as the school or organization changes to society’s needs.  (2) Select goals that must be reached in order to accomplish the mission.  These goals would address major issues facing the school or organization.  (3) Identify the specific approaches or strategies to implement to reach the goals.  In this step, the external and internal environments of the school or organization are examined closely.  Steps to strengthen financial management can also be addressed.  (4) Identify specific action plans or functions of each department to on how each strategy would be implemented.  At this stage committees can be organized to monitor if objectives are met.  (5) Monitoring and updating the plan is the final step in this plan.  Reflection by planners is conducted to see to what extent the goals and objectives are being met and if the action plans are being implemented.  At this stage feedback is important.  A school or organization may generate a survey addressing school or organization satisfaction (McNamara, 2006).

 

 

The Second Realm:  Empirics

 

 

The Third Realm:  Esthetics

 

Among the four disciplines in the third realm of esthetics to be studied by the student are music, art, literature and the arts of movement in physical education. 

 

The beautification process can be applied to organizations as well.

 

 

The Fourth Realm:  Synnoetics

 

The knower and the known are inseparable (English, 2003).  

Team building, decision making, goal setting, conflict resolution and diversity awareness reveal relationships to other people and should be addressed in a strategic plan.  Identifying critical stakeholders, skill of members, pros and cons of making a choice and having a process to deal with different opinions are key skill sets.  Clarifying issues, seeing the other person’s perspective, identifying common ground, identifying what can be changed and what cannot be changed are essential in plan creating and school or organization.  Highly controlled social mechanisms give way to threatening intimate personal relations and being true to self.  A growing need and emphasis is needed on the personal dimensions of understanding.

 

 

The Fifth Realm:  Ethics

 

The postmodern approach preserves one’s  ability  to  exercise  choice  over  one’s   personhood,  outlook  on  life,   sexual  

 

orientation, continued existence, thought processes and basic integrity as a unique human being.  Empirical knowledge is needed to understand that factual knowledge is an important resource in the improvement of understanding in personal relations and morals.  This knowledge is necessary in making wise decisions.  These decisions are based on consideration of alternatives and the prediction of consequences.  “Moral decision presupposes a free and integral self-in-relation, and becoming a person depends upon making moral choices” (Kritsonis, 2007, p. 592).

 

 

The Sixth Realm:  Synoptics

 

The sixth realm of synoptics is where the student would possess an integral outlook of which epistemology – the theory of knowledge, and metaphysics – what is real, are the primary basis for its function.  Meanings in the sixth realms are comprehensively integrative and include history, religion, and philosophy.  Empirical truths, esthetic (beauty), and synnoetic (personal knowledge) meanings are coherent wholes in this realm.  Man is revealed by the choices he has made in the context of his given circumstance.  The postmodern approach considers that human diversity and difference are beneficial to the pursuit of modern truths and are a threat to governance, authority or rule.  Any threat to diversity would be to veer toward antidemocratic persuasion.  Feyerabend (1999) and his view on epistemological anarchism believed that there was no view too absurd or immoral that he refused to consider or act on and no method was indispensable.  As people are faced with change, the  requirement for the perspectives  of history, a larger vision of faith, and the critical comprehension afforded by philosophical reflection are needed more than ever (Kritsonis, 2007).

 

Concluding Remarks

 

In conclusion, there are patterns or structures in knowledge and an understanding of these typical forms is essential for the guidance of teaching, learning, and constructing the curriculum.  The purpose of this article is to discuss significant aspects of the six realms of meaning as it relates to strategic planning in educational leadership.  According to Kritsonis, the six realms of meaning are viewed as six fundamental patterns of meaning. These patterns are sequential and provide the foundation for all meanings that enter the human experience and emerge from an analysis of possible distinctive modes of human understanding.  The patterns are symbolics, empirics, esthetics, synnoetics, ethics, and synoptics.  The various patterns of knowledge are varieties of meaning, and the learning of these patterns is the clue to the effective realization of essential humanness through the curriculum of general education of the complete person ( 2007).

 The entire school or organization’s future is at stake in strategic planning (Center for Organizational Development and Leadership, 2007).  A postmodern approach for academic and administrative departments would be to implement plans and strategies that are narrowly focused and vital to their future.  Strategic planning in educational leadership determines where a school is going over the next year or more and how it’s going to get there (McNamara, 2008).  A plan too broad would allow for planning initiatives to go amiss from the correct course of focus or persons could get stuck and not be able to move forward Development and Leadership, 2007). 

 

Kritsonis said,

 

A human being is in essence a creature who creates, discovers, enjoys, perceives, and acts on meaning.  These meanings are of six general kinds:  symbolic, empirical, esthetic, synnoetic, ethical, and synoptic.  The educator can seize the opportunity to battle such areas as fragmentation, surfeit, and transience of knowledge, by showing what kinds of knowledge are required for full understanding and how the essential elements may be distinguished from the unessential ones in the selection of instruction materials. (2007, p.74)

 

The six realms of meaning as it relates to strategic planning in educational leadership are indicative of making national, state, district and local plans work for the success of all students to achieve goals in scholarly disciplines.

 

 

REFERENCES

 

Center for School or Organizational Development and Leadership (2007).  Strategic planning in higher education:  A guide for leaders.  [Brochure].  New Brunswick, NJ:  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

English, F. W. (2003).  The postmodern challenge to the theory and practice of

educational administration.  Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.

Feyerabend, P. (1999).  Theses on anarchism.  In M. Motterlini (ed.) For and against

method (pp.113-118). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Kritsonis, W.  (2007). Ways of knowing through the realms of meaning.  Houston, TX:  National FORUM Journals.           

Levin, B. (1998).  The educational requirement for democracy.  Curriculum Inquiry, 28, 57-79.

Lindsey, R. B., Robins, K. N., & Terrell, R. D. (2003).  Cultural proficiency:  A manual for school leaders (2nd ed.).  Thousand Oaks, CA:  Corwin Press.

McNamara, C. (2006).  Basic overview of various strategic planning models.  In

Free Management Library.  Retrieved July 10, 2009 from http://www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/models.htm

McNamara, C. (2008).  Basic description of strategic planning.  In Free

Management Library.  Retrieved July 10, 2009 from http://www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/models.htm

Wallin, D. (2003).  Student leadership and democratic schools:  A case study.  National Association of Secondary School Principals NASSP Bulletin, 87,

            55-78.

 

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Barbara Ann Thompson and William Allan Kritsonis – Article: Making National, State, District, and Local Plans Work Through Strategic Planning

Posted by admin | Posted on 07-09-2010

Category : Region III

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Barbara Ann Thompson and William Allan Kritsonis – Article: Making National, State, District, and Local Plans Work Through Strategic Planning

Barbara Ann Thompson and William Allan Kritsonis, PhD 

 

Introduction

The role of the school administrative team is most often associated with educational leadership.  Leadership roles can be enacted by all stakeholders within the school community, including the student population (Levin, 1998; Wallin, 2003).  The six realms of meaning (Kritsonis, 2007) cover the range of possible meanings and comprise the basic competencies that general education should develop in every person.  A philosophical theory of the curriculum for general education based on the idea of logical patterns in disciplined understanding is presented in Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning (Kritsonis, 2007).  There are patterns or structures in knowledge and an understanding of these typical forms is essential for the guidance of teaching, learning, and constructing the curriculum. The various patterns of knowledge are varieties of meaning, and the learning of these patterns is the clue to the effective realization of essential humanness through the curriculum of general education (Kritsonis, 2007).

 

Purpose of the Article

 The purpose of this article is to discuss significant aspects of the six realms of meaning as it relates to strategic planning in educational leadership. 

 

Planning Initiatives

The six realms of meaning are viewed as six fundamental patterns of meaning (Kritsonis, 2007).  These patterns are sequential and provide the foundation for all meanings that enter the human experience and emerge from an analysis of possible distinctive modes of human understanding.  The patterns are symbolics, empirics, esthetics, synnoetics, ethics, and synoptics (Kritsonis, 2007). 

The entire school or organization’s future is at stake in strategic planning (Center for Organizational Development and Leadership, 2007).  Strategic planning in educational leadership determines where a school is going over the next year or more and how it’s going to get there (McNamara, 2008).  A postmodern approach for academic and administrative departments would be to implement plans and strategies that are narrowly focused and vital to their future.  A plan too broad would allow for planning initiatives to go amiss from the correct course of focus or persons could get stuck and not be able to move forward (Center for School or Organizational Development and Leadership, 2007).  A framework for strategic planning of higher education centered on leadership, communication, and assessment is predictive of making national, state, district and local plans work (Center for School or Organizational Development and Leadership, 2007).  Steps in the framework according to McNamara (2008) would include the following:

 Mission, vision and value statements,

collaborators and beneficiaries, environmental review, goals, strategies and action plans, plan creation, and

 

outcomes and achievements.

 

    2. The modernist divorces the knower (English, 2003).

In the fourth realm of synnoetics, the student could gain personal insight through working with skilled guidance counselors or thorough a social activity.  The student is endowed with a rich and disciplined life in relation to self and others.  Synnoetics requires active participation and engagement.  To know and to be are one and the same in personal existence.  Ethics or moral knowledge is the fifth realm where a student is able to make wise decisions and to judge between right and wrong.  His moral conduct is a universal responsibility.  It is what ought to be done and it is right action.  In the sixth realm of synoptics, the student would possess an integral outlook of which epistemology – the theory of knowledge, and metaphysics – what is real, are the primary basis for its function (Kritsonis, 2007). 

 

The First Realm:  Symbolics

 Systems of mathematics are designed to achieve complete precision in meaning and rigor in reasoning (Kritsonis, 2007).  Discursive language refers to language used in customary speech for communicating ideas.

        The scope of curriculum in general education allows each person’s participation in the meaning of the social whole of the educational community (Kritsonis, 2007).  Integrity and the need to be learned in certain essentials would allow for leadership that defines roles and responsibilities essential to the effectiveness of the strategic plan.  Board members, community leaders, teachers, parents and students actively participate in creating and organizing guiding principles for continuous effective leadership, communication, and assessment. 

Communication skills will be displayed through speaking, writing, and class experience. This broader-based ownership in which participants feel valued and involved makes it easier to commit to change (Lindsey, Robins and Terrell, 2003).

Lindsey, Robins and Terrell stated in their book, Cultural Proficiency, A Handbook for School Professionals, that what is required in a strategic plan is informed and dedicated staff that are committed and involved in leadership.  They take time to think, reflect, assess, decide, and change, and actively participate in work sessions where the educational community is contributing distinctive ideas, beliefs, feelings, and perceptions (2003).  To monitor a plan’s progress and assess it outcomes, ongoing attention to assessment is necessary.  These appraisals for assessment provide guidance for developing pre-planning strategies.  They allow for monitoring the planning process and judging whether a plan’s activities and strategies are successful in fulfilling the school or organization’s goals. Strategic planning, according to Center for School or Organizational Development and Leadership (2007), can include conducting a review of the school or organization’s political, social, economic and technical environment.  In an initial review, an analysis of the school or organization can be completed.  The planning phase can look at factors that are driving forces in the environment, strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats regarding the school or organization.  The mission, vision and value statements are updated as  needed.  The Center for School or  Organizational  Development  and Leadership (2007) suggests that an environment that has a diverse leadership team fostering readiness and receptivity and has an understanding of decision making processes and boundaries would aid creating successful plans for schools and organizations.  Sizing up previous plan’s successes on current efforts helps to keep a historical perspective on efforts of change.

Mission statements are brief written descriptions of the purpose of the school (McNamara, 2008).  The mission statement is a specific purpose statement that is part of the overall mission statement.  The value and vision statements are part of the mission statement. Vision statements are usually a compelling description of how the school or organization will or should operate at some point in the future and of how. The basic strategic planning process according to McNamara (2006) would include the following steps:  (1) Identify the purpose of the school or organization, which is also called the mission statement.  The statement should describe what student or employee needs are intended to be met and with what services.  The mission statement can change through the years as the school or organization changes to society’s needs.  (2) Select goals that must be reached in order to accomplish the mission.  These goals would address major issues facing the school or organization.  (3) Identify the specific approaches or strategies to implement to reach the goals.  In this step, the external and internal environments of the school or organization are examined closely.  Steps to strengthen financial management can also be addressed.  (4) Identify specific action plans or functions of each department to on how each strategy would be implemented.  At this stage committees can be organized to monitor if objectives are met.  (5) Monitoring and updating the plan is the final step in this plan.  Reflection by planners is conducted to see to what extent the goals and objectives are being met and if the action plans are being implemented.  At this stage feedback is important.  A school or organization may generate a survey addressing school or organization satisfaction (McNamara, 2006).

 

The Second Realm:  Empirics

The empirics realms deals with facutal and measureable components.

 

The Third Realm:  Esthetics

Among the four disciplines in the third realm of esthetics to be studied by the student are music, art, literature and the arts of movement in physical education. 

 The beautification process can be applied to organizations as well.

 

 The Fourth Realm:  Synnoetics

The knower and the known are inseparable (English, 2003).  

Team building, decision making, goal setting, conflict resolution and diversity awareness reveal relationships to other people and should be addressed in a strategic plan.  Identifying critical stakeholders, skill of members, pros and cons of making a choice and having a process to deal with different opinions are key skill sets.  Clarifying issues, seeing the other person’s perspective, identifying common ground, identifying what can be changed and what cannot be changed are essential in plan creating and school or organization.  Highly controlled social mechanisms give way to threatening intimate personal relations and being true to self.  A growing need and emphasis is needed on the personal dimensions of understanding.

 The Fifth Realm:  Ethics

The postmodern approach preserves one’s  ability  to  exercise  choice  over  one’s   personhood,  outlook  on  life,   sexual  orientation, contined existence, thought processes and basic integrity as a unique human being.  Empirical knowledge is needed to understand that factual knowledge is an important resource in the improvement of understanding in personal relations and morals.  This knowledge is necessary in making wise decisions.  These decisions are based on consideration of alternatives and the prediction of consequences.  “Moral decision presupposes a free and integral self-in-relation, and becoming a person depends upon making moral choices” (Kritsonis, 2007, p. 592).

The Sixth Realm:  Synoptics

The sixth realm of synoptics is where the student would possess an integral outlook of which epistemology – the theory of knowledge, and metaphysics – what is real, are the primary basis for its function.  Meanings in the sixth realms are comprehensively integrative and include history, religion, and philosophy.  Empirical truths, esthetic (beauty), and synnoetic (personal knowledge) meanings are coherent wholes in this realm.  Man is revealed by the choices he has made in the context of his given circumstance.  The postmodern approach considers that human diversity and difference are beneficial to the pursuit of modern truths and are a threat to governance, authority or rule.  Any threat to diversity would be to veer toward antidemocratic persuasion.  Feyerabend (1999) and his view on epistemological anarchism believed that there was no view too absurd or immoral that he refused to consider or act on and no method was indispensable.  As people are faced with change, the  requirement for the perspectives  of history, a larger vision of faith, and the critical comprehension afforded by philosophical reflection are needed more than ever (Kritsonis, 2007).

 Concluding Remarks

 In conclusion, there are patterns or structures in knowledge and an understanding of these typical forms is essential for the guidance of teaching, learning, and constructing the curriculum.  The purpose of this article is to discuss significant aspects of the six realms of meaning as it relates to strategic planning in educational leadership.  According to Kritsonis, the six realms of meaning are viewed as six fundamental patterns of meaning. These patterns are sequential and provide the foundation for all meanings that enter the human experience and emerge from an analysis of possible distinctive modes of human understanding.  The patterns are symbolics, empirics, esthetics, synnoetics, ethics, and synoptics.  The various patterns of knowledge are varieties of meaning, and the learning of these patterns is the clue to the effective realization of essential humanness through the curriculum of general education of the complete person ( 2007).

 The entire school or organization’s future is at stake in strategic planning (Center for Organizational Development and Leadership, 2007).  A postmodern approach for academic and administrative departments would be to implement plans and strategies that are narrowly focused and vital to their future.  Strategic planning in educational leadership determines where a school is going over the next year or more and how it’s going to get there (McNamara, 2008).  A plan too broad would allow for planning initiatives to go amiss from the correct course of focus or persons could get stuck and not be able to move forward Development and Leadership, 2007). 

 Kritsonis said,

 A human being is in essence a creature who creates, discovers, enjoys, perceives, and acts on meaning.  These meanings are of six general kinds:  symbolic, empirical, esthetic, synnoetic, ethical, and synoptic.  The educator can seize the opportunity to battle such areas as fragmentation, surfeit, and transience of knowledge, by showing what kinds of knowledge are required for full understanding and how the essential elements may be distinguished from the unessential ones in the selection of instruction materials. (2007, p.74)

 The six realms of meaning as it relates to strategic planning in educational leadership are indicative of making national, state, district and local plans work for the success of all students to achieve goals in scholarly disciplines.

 

 REFERENCES

 Center for School or Organizational Development and Leadership (2007).  Strategic planning in higher education:  A guide for leaders.  [Brochure].  New Brunswick, NJ:  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

English, F. W. (2003).  The postmodern challenge to the theory and practice of

educational administration.  Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.

Feyerabend, P. (1999).  Theses on anarchism.  In M. Motterlini (ed.) For and against

method (pp.113-118). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Kritsonis, W.  (2007). Ways of knowing through the realms of meaning.  Houston, TX:  National FORUM Journals.           

Levin, B. (1998).  The educational requirement for democracy.  Curriculum Inquiry, 28, 57-79.

Lindsey, R. B., Robins, K. N., & Terrell, R. D. (2003).  Cultural proficiency:  A manual for school leaders (2nd ed.).  Thousand Oaks, CA:  Corwin Press.

McNamara, C. (2006).  Basic overview of various strategic planning models.  In

Free Management Library.  Retrieved July 10, 2009 from http://www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/models.htm

McNamara, C. (2008).  Basic description of strategic planning.  In Free

Management Library.  Retrieved July 10, 2009 from http://www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/models.htm

Wallin, D. (2003).  Student leadership and democratic schools:  A case study.  National Association of Secondary School Principals NASSP Bulletin, 87, 55-78.

 

Dr. William Allan Kritsonis teaches in the PhD Program in Educational Leadership at PVAMU/Member of the Texas A&M University System.

 

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Iowa City Homes in Longfellow Gain National Notoriety

Posted by admin | Posted on 28-07-2010

Category : Region III

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Iowa City Homes in Longfellow Gain National Notoriety

The Longfellow historic district is located just east of Coralville and downtown Iowa City homes, surrounded by peaceful communities like West Branch, Downey, Breckenridge Estates, Oasis and Elmira.  This month, Longfellow Iowa City homes have been named as one of “51 Best Old House Neighborhoods 2010″ by This Old House Magazine. This year, editors scoured North America, looking for masterfully crafted homes in historic communities that fight to preserve these relics of yesteryears. They looked for the most unique, tight-knit neighborhoods in this third annual search. They wanted places with architectural diversity, expert craftsmanship, strong preservation societies, walkable communities, safe areas and friendly neighbors. The National Association of Realtors and www.preservationdirectory.com aided in this extensive search that included places like: The Villages in Detroit, Michigan (Best Place for Bargains), Old Town Historic District in Brunswick, Georgia (Best Place for Coastal Living), Junius Heights in Dallas, Texas (Best Place for Families), North Mayfair in Chicago, Illinois (Best Place for Bungalows & First-Time Buyers), West Adams in Los Angeles, California (Best Place for Movie Fans) and Stuyvesant Heights in Brooklyn, New York (Best Place for Brownstone Buffs).  The story is set to appear in the March 2010 print edition of the publication.

According to the editors, the Longfellow neighborhood of Iowa City homes went from being rundown and on the brink of apartment conversion twenty years ago to being a fiercely protected historic district as of 2002. “Today, it’s collection of about 900 unique homes near the University of Iowa attracts families and professionals alike,” editors write. “The house prices are reasonable, the schools superb, and the emphasis on local art and culture refreshing.” They commend residents of these Iowa City homes for their “massive public art project” that involves erecting sculptures and historical markers throughout the community. Longfellow Iowa City homes are rated in the following Midwest categories: Best Bargains, Best City Life, Best College Towns, Best Cottages and Bungalows and Best for Families.

Shoppers of historic Iowa City homes will find Queen Anne Victorians, Craftsman Bungalows, Prairie-Style Four Squares, turn-of-the-century mansions, and Howard Moffit-designed, stone-clad cottages. While frame houses predominate, purveyors of these Iowa City homes will also note a number of brick, stone and stucco structures. The Longfellow neighborhood is the ideal setting for history buffs, with architecture spanning 100 years and prices starting in the mid-0,000s. This Old House Magazine recommends buying in this area now. They add: “If the charming homes and friendly folks aren’t enough to draw you to Longfellow, there are always the state tax credits on historically appropriate exterior, interior and site renovations.”  

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