Language choices in the teaching of human reproduction

The choice of which language strategies to use in schools in Africa is the subject of much debate. In the Life Sciences, cultural issues associated with the use of biological terminology add to this debate. In our study, we examined the language choices made by Grade 7 Natural Sciences teachers in South Africa during their teaching of human reproduction. A mixed method approach was employed, involving firstly a survey questionnaire amongst 40 teachers in urban schools followed by a multiple case study of 10 of these teachers. Data were collected during classroom observations by means of field notes and audio-recordings followed by interviews which were transcribed and coded. We found that teachers used a variety of language strategies including use of home languages, English or code switching. The teacher’s and/or learners’ fluency in English and the teacher’s perception of the need for learners to feel at ease when discussing human reproduction influenced their choices. In addition, teachers’ belief in the importance of using biological terminology rather than traditional metaphors in order to create a more formal and thus respectful discourse, led them to use the English version of the biological terms. We argue that different language choices are appropriate for different urban contexts, and that teachers should use the language/s in which learners are most comfortable in order to enable deep and rich discussions on the sensitive subject of human reproduction.     

Faith in Art

Individual creativity is ubiquitous. New technologies both enable and urge fresh approaches to creativity in the context of education. University-level education offers a natural place to adjust pedagogical structures in favor of a more individual approach to learning that organizes the intellectual community into new patters of interaction and time allocation. This direction is made possible by the vast improvements in access to information, data, knowledge, and opinion. College students live in this world of access, in an ever-expanding sea of material. Networking second-by-second is central to their zeitgeist. The result is far more than social. Interaction and collaboration are now important in most workplaces, and are expected to be even more important in the future. Higher education needs to use its natural resources in ways that develop content knowledge and skills in a culture infused at new levels by investigation, cooperation, connection, integration, and synthesis. Creativity is necessary to accomplish this goal. When central and culturally pervasive, creativity becomes exemplified and enhanced for every student. Problem solving becomes the driving pedagogy. Problem solving is a technique that can be advanced through practice, but practice takes time. Universities must meet the challenge of reapportioning time if suggested changes are to occur. These matters are important to P–12 arts education, because colleges prepare teachers and citizens who then provide leadership. Possibilities abound for changing paradigms that now hold arts education back in many policy situations. It is important to take advantage of opportunities inherent in the coincidence of present conditions, youthful energy, technological capabilities, and interest in creativity.     

Finding A Seat at the Table Together: Recommendations for Improving Collaboration between Social Work and Bioethics

Social work and bioethics are fields deeply committed to cross‐disciplinary collaboration to do their respective work. While scholars and practitioners from both fields share a commitment to social justice and to respecting the dignity, integrity and the worth of all persons, the overlap between the fields, including shared values, has received little attention. The purpose of this article is to describe the ways in which greater collaboration between the two fields can broaden their scope, enrich their scholarship, and better ground their practice. We describe the potential for realizing such benefits in two areas – health care ethics consultation and social inequalities in health – arguing that the fields both complement and challenge one another, making them ideal partners for the interdisciplinary inquiry and problem‐solving so often called for today in health and health care.     

浅谈普通高校医学院本科生血管外科临床思维的培养方法

血管外科为近年来逐步发展起来的新兴学科,在本科生血管外科思维培养方面需要积极的探索和思考。为克服传统教学模式的缺陷,我们通过联合多种理论教学模式,强化学生对基础知识的吸收,并应用多媒体动画和实物演示,使其深化理解,而在临床实习时,通过系统练习,锻炼其临床思维和能力,最终培养本科生血管外科思维。     

The ecology of juvenile flat periwinkles

Juvenile Littorina live lower on the shore than adults of the same species, and they occupy distinct ecological niches. On Fucus serratus the juveniles live on the abaxial surface of submerged fronds, where the smaller ones resemble the surface protuberances. On F. vesiculosus they live in damaged air bladders on emersed fronds.     

Core values and cultural identity

This article examines racial classifications on United States population census schedules between 1890 and 1990 to provide insights on the changing meanings of race in US society. The analysis uses a sociology of knowledge perspective which assumes that race is an ideological concept that can be interpreted most productively by relating its definition and measurement to the larger social and political context. Four themes are identified and discussed: (i) the historical and continuing importance of skin colour, usually dichotomized into white and non‐white, in defining race and counting racial groups; (ii) a belief in ‘pure’ races that is reflected in a preoccupation with categorizing people into a single or ‘pure’ race; (iii) the role of census categories in creating pan‐ethnic racial groups; and, (iv) the confusing of race and ethnicity in census racial classifications. Each theme demonstrates the potential or actual role of official statistics, exemplified by census racial data, in reflecting and guiding changes to the meaning and social perceptions of race. A detailed examination of racial classifications from the 1980 and 1990 Censuses shows that the influence of political interests on racial statistics is particularly important. The article concludes with a discussion of whether official statistical recorders such as population censuses should categorize and measure race, given the political motivations and non‐scientific character of the classifications used.     

A study of inhomogeneity of bilayer lipid membranes by measuring the higher harmonics of the transmembrane current

The higher harmonics of the alternating current in bilayer lipid membranes induced by a sinusoidal voltage applied to the membrane were measured. The bilayer lipid membranes were prepared from diphytanoylphosphatidylcholine in decane and tetradecane; a 16-bit analog-to-digital converter was used for the measurements. A sinusoidal voltage was formed with a 16-bit digital-to-analog converter. The dynamic measurement range reached 90 dB. The coefficients α and β of the expansion of capacitance C in terms of the membrane voltage U—C = C ₀(1 + αU ² + βU ⁴)—were determined from the measurement results. It was shown within the framework of the electrostriction model that a certain ratio of the coefficients α and β characterizes the inhomogeneity of the membrane with respect to its thickness and Young’s modulus of elasticity.     

糖尿病健康教育在糖尿病治疗中的效果分析

目的:为了提高糖尿病患者的糖尿病知识水平,从而增加患者对治疗的依从性。方法:对住院患者进行糖尿病教育,用同一份试卷分别于教育前后做出评估,并比较患者教育6个月前后的空腹血糖(FPG)、餐后2h血糖(2hPBs)、糖化血红蛋白(HbA1c)、胆固醇(TC)和甘油三酯(TG),并记录体重指数(BMI)、腰臀比。结果:(1)教育6个月后,患者参加教育后的自觉运动、控制饮食和糖尿病知识水平较教育前明显提高,差异有显著性(P<0.05)。(2)教育6个月后,体重指数(BMI)、腰臀比,空腹血糖(FPG)、餐后2h血糖(2hPBs)、糖化血红蛋白(HbA1c)、胆固醇(TC)和甘油三酯(TG)降低,差异有显著性(P<0.05)。结论:糖尿病教育对于预防和治疗糖尿病有非常重要的意义,患者参加教育后对治疗的依从性较教育前明显提高。