Challenges, feelings, and attitudes towards writing in ERPP in semi-periphery countries

This paper addresses writing in ERPP for graduate students matriculated in a Mexican Public University where the medium of instruction is Spanish. The students who were involved in our study registered for an academic writing course in ERPP, and submitted a draft research article in English as part of the admission requirements. Following a mixed-method approach, through a survey and a semi-structured interview, we aimed to explore the various ways in which students use English for research and publication purposes, the discursive and non-discursive challenges they perceived while drafting the article, and their feelings and attitudes towards writing in ERPP. The findings suggest that the discursive and non-discursive challenges perceived were aggravated by the lack of critical-pragmatic approaches, the poor English writing skills developed for academic purposes, and the lack of support for editing their papers in English, particularly from thesis supervisors. This led them to experience feelings of anxiety, frustration and discomfort about writing in English. We would argue that this additional burden and pressure for graduate students to publish in English in semi-periphery countries translates into a lack of confidence and feeling of disadvantage in comparison with their counterparts located in anglophone research communities in centre countries.

Multilingual Content in Teaching the Kazakh Language Courses

According to the second state program on the development and functioning of languages until 2020, Kazakhstan concentrates on consolidating the Kazakh language as the state language, where Russian, English or others are foreign languages. New educational programs of the country assume a step-by-step implementation of communicative language skills. Students receive a possibility of relaying certain knowledge in the field of natural, human and technical sciences. The mission of Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University as the educational center of transforming the results of advanced research in the field of pedagogy, teaching methods are implemented to prepare teachers in order to support multilingual content approaches in education. It is expected that in high schools four natural subjects like chemistry, biology, computer science, and physics will be taught in English, Kazakh, and Russian, while history, language, literature and other art sciences will be the subjects of the Kazakh or Russian languages. The school programs with general educational standards are aimed at creating a base of modernly demanded and replenished knowledge. It explains the creation of the International Nazarbayev University which is unique in Kazakhstan. High admission requirements characterize selection quality, and targets in mastering foreign languages. Keywords: multi-academic content, multilingualism, cross-cultural expertises, educational methods and strategies, educational approaches

COORDINATING THE INSTRUCTION OF FOUR ONLINE COURSES

The University of British Columbia Vantage College offers a pathway for academically qualified international students who do not yet meet the English language admission requirements fordirect entry into UBC. In the summer of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we taught four courses to a cohort of 64 students scattered across the globe. The courses were taught online and asynchronously, raising coordination challenges in terms of class schedule and delivery, assessment, and student support. To address those challenges, we developed a highly structured weekly schedule, specifying lecture and assessment days, as well as regular, synchronous office hours. We met weekly to keep each other updated about the progress of students. Students falling behind in multiple courses were reported in an “early alert” system: a university-specific resource through which students are contacted by health and wellness staff. A midterm survey was conducted and the feedback was generally positive. Final results in the courses were varied, with some comparable

Do Admission Requirements Matter? A Comparison of the Requirements for Admission to the ELT programs in the Netherlands and Turkey

Qualifications of language teachers affect their students' language development and proficiency. Turkish learners' low performance in international English proficiency indices requires an investigation of the qualifications of language teachers from a critical point of view. Without doubt, one of the crucial qualifications that language teachers need to possess is a high proficiency and competency in the target language. However, graduating from different programs in high schools, students are placed in English language teaching (ELT) programs with limited English proficiency. Considering the success of the Netherlands as the top country in international English proficiency indices, this study aims to find the admission requirements of the ELT programs in the Netherlands, to compare them with the ones in Turkey, and to suggest comprehensive admission requirements for ELT programs in Turkey. In this regard, a document analysis merging a detailed analysis of information regarding the admission requirements of the ELT programs in both countries and national and international statistics was conducted. Consequently, some recommendations regarding the likely changes to be made in the admission requirements to the ELT programs in Turkey are made.

“Extraordinary Administration” for Business Rescue in Italy: Admission Requirements and Value Creation

Large Italian firms in financial distress are admitted to the business rescue procedure called “Extraordinary Administration” with a view to preserving the business as a going concern when two objective requirements are met: at least two hundred employees and debts not less than two-thirds both of total assets and revenues. This study examines whether these selection criteria are adequate to identify large firms in terms of value creation. The analysis is motivated by the idea that social utility in the rescue of large firms should not be justified only by the number of employees, but also by the worth of the goods and services created by the firms. The sample is made up of 1,581 Italian manufacturing firms and four subsamples were analyzed for the three year period 2015-2017 using a set of logistic regression models. Research findings show that highly leveraged firms eligible to go into “Extraordinary Administration” do not select large firms as measured by proxy variables that take into account value creation, such as total assets and/or revenues. On the other hand, hypothetical alternative selection criteria based on total assets and revenues identify large firms in terms of value creation but no statistical evidence was found to show how these firms are leveraged.

Challenges of Teaching Literature-in-English in Secondary Schools in Borno and Yobe, Nigeria

This paper investigates challenges of teaching Literature-in-English in secondary schools within Yobe and Borno states in north-eastern Nigeria, and the impact this has on university admission requirements. A core requisite for admissions into B.A English and LL.B. in all Nigerian universities is an O’ level credit pass in SSCE or its equivalent in Literature-in-English. This poses a major challenge to many candidates from Yobe and Borno States due to either the non-teaching or the inability of the students to pass with the required credit in the end of secondary school examinations. Adopting a mixed-method approach, the paper investigates reasons that bring about these problems within the period 2009 – 2019. Quantitative and qualitative approaches, through questionnaires and interviews, and Consensus Workshop, through Focus Group Discussion (FGD), were adopted to gather the data. The paper finds and concludes that socio-cultural factors, unavailability of effective and specialist teachers and gender issues were the major reasons for the non-teaching of the subject and the failure of students in public secondary schools to pass with credit in the two states. The paper recommends amenable measures to be taken to address these problems and challenges.

Pushed out of the education system: using a natural experiment to evaluate consequences for boys

Objectives To examine the short-term effects of admission requirements for upper secondary vocational education and training (VET) on enrollment and criminal offending among academically low-achieving boys. Methods We apply multi-group difference-in-differences models to full population data and analyze an educational policy reform in Denmark (N = 60,759). Results The reform caused a 16 percentage points lower enrollment in VET among academically low-achieving boys, and their risk of being charged with a crime increased by up to two percentage points 9 months after the end of compulsory school. However, after 12 months, the effect on criminal charges disappeared. Conclusion In the education-crime nexus, educational enrollment in upper secondary education is an understudied margin, which has important implications for both scholars and policy-makers. Limitations include the short follow-up period and that the analyses examine effects for boys only.

Common Pediatric Dermatologic Conditions

Rash and skin complaints comprise a common pediatric chief complaint and among the top 20 reasons patients present to the emergency department. For this reason, it is important for emergency physicians to be able to distinguish life-threatening rashes from those that are benign. This chapter reviews common dermatologic conditions seen in pediatrics, such as eczema, erythema multiforme, Henoch–Schonlein purpura, scabies, tinea infections, urticaria, impetigo, and ecthyma. For each presentation, the incidence, epidemiology, typical and atypical presentations, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment, disposition, complications, and clinical algorithms are reviewed. The chapter focuses on topics that are clinically relevant to patients seen in the emergency department, including admission requirements, discharge instructions, return precautions, and subspecialist follow-up.