scholarly journals Virtue Education Programme e-TAP: Innovativeness and Thematic Fit in the Context of Preschool and Primary Education in Latvia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Joaquín Fernández González ◽  
◽  
Beāte Balandīna ◽  
Linda Kovaļevska

This study addresses the appropriateness (‘fit’) of the moral education programme e-TAP to the Latvian educational context from preschool till grade 3. Document analysis and a questionnaire were used for exploring two research questions: How do the topics of e-TAP fit the topics of the new competence-based curriculum Skola 2030? and what was the e-TAP fit the needs, expectations, and values of the educational context? The document base contained 20 Skola 2030 “Subject matter model programmes” (63 content-units in preschool and 174 topics in grades 1–3) and 64 e-TAP lesson plans (24 in preschool and 40 in grades 1–3). 138 teachers (78 form preschool and 60 from grades 1–3) piloted the e-TAP programme between February and April 2021 and filled 169 feedback questionnaires containing information about their interest in the programme, their motivations and satisfaction with the programme, and their suggestions for improving it. NVivo and MS Excel software were used for qualitative and quantitative data analysis. The results show the high thematic fit of e-TAP with Skola 2030: nearly half of the Skola 2030 topics had at least a thematic match with the e-TAP lesson plans, and 83% of e-TAP lesson plans match with at least one of the Skola 2030 topics. Almost all teachers agreed or rather agreed that the e-TAP programme fits to their needs, expectations, and values. The programme innovativeness, fit to teachers’ needs and relation to Latvian traditions are discussed, and directions for programme development and future research are suggested.

Fachsprache ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 31-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claus Gnutzmann ◽  
Frank Rabe

The predominant use of English in scientific publications is a well-documented fact. As a consequence, anglophony is the communicative norm in almost all scientific disciplines. Sincejournal publications in English have become the essential indicator for research performance and assessment internationally, it seems obvious that non-native researchers have to cope with an additional problem, namely the linguistic-communicative challenge, a fact which very often puts them at a communicative and a concomitant research disadvantage. The main research questions dealt with in this article focus on the problems, problem-solving strategies and attitudes of German-speaking scientists publishing in English. The empirical part of the research is presently based on 24 interviews conducted with researchers from four disciplines (biology, mechanical engineering, German linguistics, history) at different universities in Germany, and eight interviews with journal editors of the same subjects (two of each discipline). The paper starts out by marizing the current state of research, the aims, design and methodology used in the study and further elaborates on the main research questions. This is followed by an exemplary case study analyzing a natural scientist’s attitudes and reactions to the use of English as an international language of science. The analysis is enriched by observations on non-native speakers’ use of resources when writing in English and by the different perceptions of the functions of language in the natural sciences as opposed to the humanities. The article concludes with a summary and some perspectives for future research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 22-33
Author(s):  
Thooptong Kwangsawad

Beginning teacher induction is a transition from pre-service teacher preparation to teaching professional which brings a shift in a role orientation and an epistemological move from knowing about teaching through formal study to knowing how to teach by facing daily teaching challenges. This paper deals with the implementation and evaluation of beginning teacher induction programs for technology integration in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) for 24 beginning teachers from the northeastern region in Thailand. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Quantitative data were collected from the assessment of the lesson plans and implementation of the lesson plans then analyzed using mean and standard deviation. Qualitative data were collected from three sources: (1) written logs by the participants, (2) data from video observation by the researcher, and (3) field notes by the researcher. Findings from the assessment of the lesson plans and implementation of the lesson plans were at a low level. Almost all participants reported having difficulties in technology integration in CLIL.


2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 117-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krista Fiolleau ◽  
Theresa Libby ◽  
Linda Thorne

SUMMARY As the scope of the audit continues to broaden (Cohen, Krishnamoorthy, and Wright 2017), research questions in management control and internal control are beginning to overlap. Even so, there is little overlap between these fields in terms of published research to date. The purpose of this paper is to take a step in bridging the gap between the management control and the internal control literatures. We survey relevant findings from the extant management control literature published between 2003 and 2016 on dysfunctional behavior and the ways in which it might be mitigated. We then use the fraud triangle as an organizing framework to consider how the management control literature might help to address audit risk factors identified in SAS 99/AU SEC 316 (AICPA 2002). The outcome of our analysis is meant to identify and classify the extant management control literature of relevance to research on internal control in a manner that researchers new to the management control literature will find accessible. We conclude with a set of future research opportunities that can help to broaden the scope of current research in internal control.


2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roelof Baard ◽  
George Nel

Background: Although research shows that almost all listed companies have corporate websites with dedicated investor relations (IR) sections that enable companies to ‘push’ information to investors, it was argued that such an asymmetrical approach to communication is insufficient for companies wishing to exercise good IR. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of the Internet to act as a mechanism to achieve more interactive communication between companies and investors.Objectives: The objectives of the study were to measure the responsiveness, timeliness and relevance of companies’ responses to e-mail requests, and to test for the determinants (size, market-to-book ratio, profitability, leverage and liquidity) thereof.Method: The mystery investor approach and a content analysis were used to study the e-mail handling performance of companies. The associations between company-specific characteristics were statistically tested.Results: It was found that the e-mail handling performance of companies in this study was poor compared with previous studies. Significant relationships between company size and responsiveness and relevance, and between market-to-book ratio and relevance were reported, as well as between the contact method used to request information and relevance and the use of social media and timeliness.Conclusion: Specific areas where companies could improve their investor communications were identified. The need for further research was discussed to explain some of the relationships found, as well as those not found, in contrast to what was expected. Future research is warranted to examine the relationship between the e-mail handling performance of companies and information asymmetry and the cost of equity of companies.


2021 ◽  
pp. jclinpath-2020-206927
Author(s):  
Maryam Ahmed Al Barashdi ◽  
Ahlam Ali ◽  
Mary Frances McMullin ◽  
Ken Mills

The leucocyte common antigen, protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type C (PTPRC), also known as CD45, is a transmembrane glycoprotein, expressed on almost all haematopoietic cells except for mature erythrocytes, and is an essential regulator of T and B cell antigen receptor-mediated activation. Disruption of the equilibrium between protein tyrosine kinase and phosphatase activity (from CD45 and others) can result in immunodeficiency, autoimmunity, or malignancy. CD45 is normally present on the cell surface, therefore it works upstream of a large signalling network which differs between cell types, and thus the effects of CD45 on these cells are also different. However, it is becoming clear that CD45 plays an essential role in the innate immune system and this is likely to be a key area for future research. In this review of PTPRC (CD45), its structure and biological activities as well as abnormal expression of CD45 in leukaemia and lymphoma will be discussed.


2021 ◽  
pp. bmjspcare-2020-002741
Author(s):  
Paola Brunori ◽  
Maria Grazia Celani ◽  
Angelo Alberto Bignamini ◽  
Marzia Carlini ◽  
Rossella Papetti ◽  
...  

ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to collect the perspectives and values of people affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and their carers to offer clinicians, researchers and policymakers aspects which are precious in prioritising future research questions and reshaping care service organisations in a participatory approach.Design and settingCohort study using ALS Umbria, the electronic database in Italy.ParticipantsEleven patients and 33 carers who agreed to participate in the study were divided into six focus groups by ‘status’ (patient or carer) and by four severity levels of ‘burden of disease’.MethodsA semiquantitative analysis was undertaken. Each recorded group discussion was transcribed into text file and independently read by two psychologists and two ALS specialists to blindly identify needs, emotions and medical issues, which are the key semantic meanings expressed. Any disagreement in interpretation was resolved through consultation among authors.ResultsCarers pronounced significantly more words related to patient’s disease burden they cared. 40% of subjects expressed the need for ‘assistance’, regardless of the disease burden. ‘Anger’ alone represented more than 1/4 of all expressed emotions and was more common in patients than in carers (73% vs 36%, p=0.077). The most frequent medical issue expressed by 1/3 of participants was ‘difficulty in communication’.ConclusionThis study has given voice to the expectations of those affected by the burden of ALS. ‘Welfare assistance’, ‘anger management’ and resolution of ‘difficulties in communication’ represent issues that need to be analysed in a common prioritised research agenda with sensible and shared outcome measures to implement patient-centred medicine.


AI & Society ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milad Mirbabaie ◽  
Lennart Hofeditz ◽  
Nicholas R. J. Frick ◽  
Stefan Stieglitz

AbstractThe application of artificial intelligence (AI) in hospitals yields many advantages but also confronts healthcare with ethical questions and challenges. While various disciplines have conducted specific research on the ethical considerations of AI in hospitals, the literature still requires a holistic overview. By conducting a systematic discourse approach highlighted by expert interviews with healthcare specialists, we identified the status quo of interdisciplinary research in academia on ethical considerations and dimensions of AI in hospitals. We found 15 fundamental manuscripts by constructing a citation network for the ethical discourse, and we extracted actionable principles and their relationships. We provide an agenda to guide academia, framed under the principles of biomedical ethics. We provide an understanding of the current ethical discourse of AI in clinical environments, identify where further research is pressingly needed, and discuss additional research questions that should be addressed. We also guide practitioners to acknowledge AI-related benefits in hospitals and to understand the related ethical concerns.


2020 ◽  
pp. 237337992096241
Author(s):  
Jessica Sloan Kruger ◽  
Christopher Hollister

This study examines students’ perceptions of an open pedagogy experiment in which they created their own textbook for an undergraduate public health course. The lead author’s primary motivation for developing this assignment was the high cost associated with the traditional textbooks that were otherwise needed to cover the breadth of subject matter in the course. The resulting open textbook included 19 chapters, covering all the required components of the course, and the final version was published in a statewide open educational resource repository. Students provided feedback about this undertaking by way of an end-of-term survey. The results showed high percentages of students who associated the textbook creation project with greater engagement and satisfaction than the passive use of traditional textbooks. Students also reported their perception of a learning benefit related to the creation of course content. Pedagogical implications of this study are discussed, and future research questions are proposed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Warren Young ◽  
Russell Rayner ◽  
Scott Talpey

AbstractAgility is an important skill for both attackers and defenders in invasion sports such as codes of football. On the sporting field, agility requires reacting to a stimulus, often presented by an opponent’s movement, before a change of direction or speed. There is a plethora of research that examines the movement component of agility in isolation, which is described as change-of-direction (COD) ability, and this is thought to underpin agility performance. This opinion article proposes that COD ability should not be researched as the only or primary outcome measure when the objective is to inform agility performance in invasion sports. It is argued that pre-planned COD movements and tests lack ecological validity because they lack perception-action coupling and involve movement out of context from the game. The movement techniques and strength qualities required for the performance of COD tests can be quite different to those required for agility. It is suggested that COD tests can be applied to sports that involve pre-planned COD movements, but researchers should endeavour to use agility tests when studying invasion sports. Some new methods for assessing one-on-one agility contests are reported as potentially valuable for future research, and examples of research questions are provided.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6646
Author(s):  
Frederick Ahen ◽  
Joseph Amankwah-Amoah

The need for green business practices and green innovations underscores a growing recognition that climate change is now an existential threat not just to population health but also to the survival of businesses that are unable to embrace green practices with a sense of urgency. This paper contributes to the literature on market violence as an inhibitor of green innovations for sustainable waste management to curb the unneeded health effects of wastes in Africa. Our purpose is to problematize received wisdom, unquestioned assumptions, and incorrect diagnosis of the sources and health consequences of various forms of wastes in Africa. Much of the discourse on this issue remains ahistorical, and that risks leaving aside a vital question of exploitative extraction. By including this ‘out-of-the-box’ explanation through major case references, we are able to shed light on the critical issues that have hitherto received limited attention, thus enabling us to propose useful research questions for future enquiries. We propose a framework that delineates the structural composition of costs imposed by market violence that ranges from extraction to e-waste disposal. We advocate for the engineering of policies that create conditions for doing more with less resources, eliminating waste, and recycling as crucial steps in creating sustainable waste management innovations. Additionally, we highlight a set of fundamental issues regarding enablers and inhibitors of sustainable innovations and policies for waste management worth considering for future research. These include programmed obsolescence, irresponsible extraction, production, and consumption, all seen through the theoretical lens of market violence.


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