The work of women teachers in primary literacy education: knowing and doing

This paper provides a retrospective account of three decades of my work as a literacy educator and researcher. Taking key insights from feminist sociologist, Dorothy Smith, including women's standpoint, the everyday world as problematic, institutional capture, a sociology for the people, I revisit my research on literacy, poverty and schooling. I argue that understanding better the effects of what we do in educational institutions, through collaborative research with teachers, can lead us to generate positive alternative equity‐driven practices.     

Meaning of life as a protective factor of positive affect in acculturation: A resilience framework and a cross-cultural comparison

Although research has demonstrated a strong linkage between meaning of life and positive emotion, few studies have examined this association in the context of acculturation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive effects of meaning of life and acculturative stressor on positive affect in a sample of Chinese international students in Australia and Hong Kong, and to compare these effects between the two groups. Four hundred mainland Chinese postgraduate students at six universities in Hong Kong and 227 Chinese international students at the University of Melbourne in Australia completed a questionnaire that included measures of acculturative stressor, meaning of life, positive affect, and demographic information. The analyses revealed that (1) meaning of life had a strong positive contribution to predict positive affect in acculturation, and acculturative stress had a negative impact on positive affect within both samples; (2) social interaction had a significant negative predictive effect on positive affect in both samples, and academic work served as a significant negative predictor of positive affect in the Hong Kong sample; and (3) meaning of life was found to mediate the relationship between acculturative stress and positive affect in both samples. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.     

高职计算机基础课程项目驱动教学方法的探索与研究

高职教育培养以服务为宗旨,以就业为导向,具有一定理论知识和较强实践能力,面向基层、面向生产、面向服务和管理第一线职业岗位的实用型、技能型专门人才。目前的职业岗位要求中,计算机基础能力是其中必不可少的一项。本文从目前高职学生的实际出发,对项目驱动教学方法在计算机基础课程中的应用进行探索和研究,提出教学设计的方法,以进一步促进高职教学改革。     

‘Muscles for Motherhood’: A Genealogical Analysis of Medicalized Ways of Knowing Female Footballers in New Zealand, 1921 and 1973–1975

ABSTRACT

Michel Foucault argued that females gradually became integrated into the sphere of medical practices through a process which he termed as a ‘hysterization of women’s bodies’ (Foucault, The History of Sexuality, Volume One: An Introduction, New York: Pantheon Books, 1978, 104). In this article, we draw on Foucault to examine how women’s bodies, exercise and motherhood impacted on the historical development of female football in New Zealand within two time periods (1921 and 1973–1975). Employing his genealogical framework, we analyze newspaper reports, historical documents and conducted in-depth interviews to demonstrate how medical/scientific discourses both constrained and enabled the participation of women in football. We conclude that while medical knowledge was used to publicly disqualify the legitimacy of the female footballer in 1921, and hence her abrupt disappearance from the sporting realm, the absence of such medical knowledge in the early 1970s, combined with societal changes associated with second wave feminism, paved the way for the eventual ‘normalization’ of female football in New Zealand.     

中职旅游服务与管理专业工学结合精品课程开发研究

随着我国工学结合课程改革的不断深入,在旅游教学活动中,必须真正的关注学生,以促进学生的发展为本。对教学内容,教师要进行反复研究和筛选,使教学内容更适合学生,让学生学得会,用得上。精品课的开发旨在使学生在专业学习和实际工作中不光"知道",而且"会做"。     

CRP,but not TNF-α or IL-6, decreases after weight loss in patients with morbid obesity exposed to intensive weight reduction and balneological treatment

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and the degree of homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in patients with morbid obesity exposed to a three-week low-calorie diet and balneotherapy.

Methods

The study included 33 patients (25 females and 8 males; mean age 46 years) with body mass index (BMI) values of >40 kg/m². Evaluations of CRP, IL-6, TNF-α, lipid profile, HOMA-IR, and fasting glucose were carried out before (baseline data) and three weeks after the treatment. The control group consisted of 20 healthy volunteers (15 females and 5 males) with a mean age of 39 years and BMI values of ≤24.9 kg/m².

Results

In the blood of patients with morbid obesity we found significantly elevated levels of CRP, TNF-α, triglycerides, HOMA-IR and fasting glucose, but a decreased level of high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, compared with the healthy individuals. The treatment resulted in about a 9.4% reduction in body weight from 122.5 to 111.0 kg and a significant decrease in the concentration of CRP, but no change in TNF-α or IL-6. HOMA-IR was significantly reduced.

Conclusion

The decrease in CRP level without changes in TNF-α or IL-6 concentrations after the low-calorie diet and balneological treatment, suggests that an essential amount of adipose tissue must be removed before proper adipocyte function is restored. The decrease in HOMA-IR indicates an improvement in insulin sensitivity, which is beneficial in obese patients.

     

Risk of venous thromboembolic disease in postmenopausal women taking oral or transdermal hormone replacement therapy

Objective  

The influence of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on hemostasis processes depends on the type of hormone, the combination of doses, the time of taking HRT, and the route of administration (oral, transdermal, implanted). The aim of the current study was to assess some parameters of coagulation, especially tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) and tissue factor (TF) in postmenopausal women using oral or transdermal HRT.     

Meeting the Dual Goals of Content Knowledge and English language learning: A study of the CCUEI curriculum materials

This article reports a study on the China-Canada-United States English Immersion (CCUEI) Moral Education and Social Studies (MESS) curriculum materials for elementary classes (Grades 3–6) with the aim of learning how the curriculum addressed the dual goals of MESS content and English language learning. An analysis comparing the CCUEI third grade MESS textbook with an equivalent level Chinese textbook demonstrates how China’s national standards in MESS and English education can be met, and drawbacks encountered in the process. The CCUEI textbook was found to embrace grade level MESS content standards, but showed a varied degree of depth of content across standards. The textbook addressed all of the general goals of Level One English language learning (Grades 3–4) and most of the language skills indicators (16 out of 20). An additional in-depth teacher survey provided a user’s perspective on MESS materials. The teachers rated the textbook highly for its activity-centered format and knowledge-rich content. They emphasized the importance of teaching English language as preparation for the MESS content teaching, and asked for more systematic support in language teaching from curriculum materials.