Diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases in Zhejiang Province: a cross-sectional survey

Background: The specialty of allergy developed quickly in western countries because of the rapid increase of allergic diseases, whereas it developed relatively slowly in China. The prevalence of allergen sensitization and allergic diseases in Zhejiang Province of China is high and improving the medical services for these diseases is critically needed. Objective: To investigate the working status of the diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases, including doctor resources, diagnostic methods, and allergen-specific immunotherapy in patients of Zhejiang Province, and to provide instructions for the strategic development of subspecialties of allergic diseases. Methods: First we defined the doctors who treat allergic diseases, and designed a comprehensive questionnaire to collect personal and hospital information for these doctors. The questionnaires were distributed to hospitals with different ranks and from different areas in the province. The general condition of doctor’s resources, carryout of diagnostic methods, and allergen-specific immunotherapy were described and variations in the different specialties, hospitals, and areas were further analyzed. Results: Doctors in their thirties with bachelor’s degrees were the mainstream for diagnosing and treating allergic diseases. The main specialties of the doctor resources were the specialties of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), Respirology, Pediatrics, and Dermatology. The Pediatrics specialty had a more reasonable infrastructure of doctor resources with more young doctors working in this subspecialty. The development of allergy subspecialty varied within hospitals at different levels or from different areas. The carryout of the skin prick test (SPT), serum specific IgE (ssIgE), and subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) was best performed in provincial hospitals, while sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) was prescribed most commonly in municipal hospitals. The performance of SPT and ssIgE in Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Wenzhou areas was much better than that in other places. The performance of SCIT and SLIT was best in Wenzhou. Conclusions: Our survey revealed a very initial and unbalanced development for the allergy subspecialty in Zhejiang Province. Doctor resources for allergic diseases were mainly from the specialties of ENT, Respirology, and Pediatrics, and the performance of diagnosis and treatment was mainly focused on provincial and municipal hospitals. Continuous education of allergies could be extended to primary healthcare centers and more efforts should be directed to those areas with poor medical resources.     

‘Role stretch’: assessing the blurring of teaching and non‐teaching in the classroom assistant role in Scotland

With the increasing number of teaching and classroom assistants across the UK there is now much debate about what their role should be. In particular concerns have arisen about the extent to which they overstep the boundary from supporting teaching and learning into teaching pupils. This study assesses this issue within Scotland. It draws on a national survey of 2000 head teachers, teachers and classroom assistants and interviews with directors of education in nearly half of all Scottish local authorities. Findings from the research suggest a small number of classroom assistants in Scotland are overstepping the boundary into teaching. The paper concludes with an explanation as to why this is happening taking into account aspects such as local authority policy, school size and the individual characteristics of the classroom assistants.     

A Continuing Role For Academics: The Governance of UK Universities in the Post–Dearing Era

The governance of higher education has become a recognised cause for concern. Many academics lament the demise of an easy collegiality in the face of the rise of a harder managerialism that robs them of control. But outsiders to the system, concerned about the efficiency and effectiveness of higher education management, are critical of the extent to which academics seem all too eager and able to block changes that might lead to universities better addressing the needs of society.
This paper rejects the simple nostrums of both those who hark back to a collegial golden age and those who make the case for a brave managerial future. It argues that universities that are capable of real strategic change in response to challenge are capable of transcending the dichotomy between collegiality and managerialism as modes of organisation. In these successful universities, academics must be involved and prepared to lead, but they must also work in partnership with administrators, in institutions that will be strong to the extent that there is a shared vision that makes the institution rather more than just the sum of warring departments.     

Young people on the margins: In need of more choices and more chances in twenty‐first century Scotland

The aim of this study was to find out more about the lives of young people in the category ‘not in education, employment or training’ (NEET). We worked intensively with 26 young people in four smaller groups, spending three days with each group. During our time with them we engaged in a variety of creative and artistic activities designed to help them to construct accounts of their lives for us with the purpose of gaining an understanding of what it was like to be NEET. Three significant issues that emerged from these life stories are discussed in this paper. These are the problematic nature of the discourse of NEET sub‐groups; the challenges of school‐exclusion policies and practices; and the myth of low aspirations.     

The Influence of Social Background on Application and Entry to Higher Education in Scotland: a Multi‐Level Analysis

This paper assesses the influence of social background on application and entry to higher education among Scottish school leavers using multi‐level modelling. The context for the study is long‐standing policy interest in widening access to higher education for under‐represented groups. The analysis indicates that those from less advantaged backgrounds are disadvantaged at three stages in the process of entry to higher education: qualification, application and entry. The results support the need for explanations and interventions encompassing both individual and structural levels. Government initiatives aimed at widening access are discussed in light of the findings.     

“We Feel Connected… and Like We Belong”: A Parent-Led,Staff-Supported Model of Family Engagement in Early Childhood

Early Childhood Education Journal - Although researchers and practitioners have acknowledged that family engagement in children’s schooling occurs in many forms, most studies and program...     

The impact of a unified curriculum and qualifications system: the Higher Still reform of post‐16 education in Scotland

There is a cross‐national trend towards unified curriculum and qualifications frameworks in upper secondary education, but such reforms face epistemological, political and institutional barriers and ‘unification’ remains a contested issue in many countries, including England. This article examines the experience of the Scottish Higher Still reform, one of the most systematic examples of this trend. It presents data from an Economic and Social Research Council‐funded study which included case studies of schools and colleges, surveys of all secondary schools and colleges in Scotland, analyses of Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) data and interviews with key informants. Higher Still's climbing frame model of provision provided better learning opportunities for different types and levels of students, but its impact on attainment and parity of esteem were more limited. The article concludes that institutional barriers formed the biggest obstacles in the implementation phase, reflected in the contrasting ‘institutional logics’ of schools and colleges.     

“They’re Going to Forget About Their Mother Tongue”: Influence of Chinese Beliefs in Child Home Language and Literacy Development

Early Childhood Education Journal - The primary aim of this study was to explore and understand Chinese American parents’ language and literacy beliefs, perceptions, and practices with regard...     

学制改革与地方纷争:1920年代安徽实施“新学制”研究

1923年,安徽教育厅长江暐召开实施新学制讨论会,在安徽推行新学制.然而,根深蒂固的地方主义让安徽的新学制改革大打折扣.在安徽的新学制改革中,由于经费短缺,高级中学发展明显滞后,这直接导致三年后初中生升学的困难.而此时,筹办安徽大学,将高中改办预科的动议,又引发了中学“三三制”与“四二制”的争议.新学制改革的困难与阻力,以及自由与弹性,在安徽均得到了淋漓尽致的体现.     

A Training Performance Indicator Model For Monitoring the Effectiveness of High–Risk Training: Report of a Study in Progress

High–risk operations, including the nation's commercial nuclear power industry, are devoting extensive resources and leadership to improve human performance through training. The evaluation of the effectiveness of this training is the focus of on–going research. This report summarizes the methodology of a research study in progress at one nuclear utility and de scribes a training performance indicator model that was developed during the study. The model organizes the types of performance indicators currently thought to be worthwhile in monitoring training effectiveness. The model contains twelve categories of indicators. Each category is described and illustrated in this report.     

The Scottish Assisted Places Scheme: a comparative study of the origins,nature and practice of the APSs in Scotland,England & Wales

In 1981 two separate Assisted Places Schemes were launched. One was introduced for England & Wales, and another for Scotland. This paper examines the differences between the two schemes. It shows that they can be seen to be related to the differing educational systems of the countries, and to differences between the grant‐aided and direct grant schools which the schemes were designed, in part, to replace. It is shown that the Assisted Places Scheme is more important to the independent sector of Scotland than to that of England & Wales, for the scheme established in Scotland has been structured in such a way that it gives greater flexibility and greater funding to individual schools in that country.     

积极视域下高校朋辈辅导员“执业”现状分析——以安徽农业大学为例

朋辈辅导员作为高校学生干部队伍的重要组成部分,在大学思想政治教育工作中发挥着重要的作用.以安徽农业大学为例,通过问卷调查的形式对高校朋辈辅导员的工作现状进行分析,并引入积极心理学的理念,为高校心理健康教育学生工作队伍的培养提供新的视角.     

Correction to: A Three-Dimensional Jigsaw Made of Pliable Bits: Analysing Adolescent Identity as an Intertextual Construct in Aidan Chambers’ Postcards from No Man’s Land (1999)

Children's Literature in Education - This article was initially published with the incorrect title: “A Three Dimensional Jigsaw Made of Pliable Bits: Aidan Chambers’ Postcards from...