British Parliamentary Debate and the Twenty-First-Century Student

British Parliamentary Debate (BP) has grown in popularity in recent years and may be an appropriate debate for contemporary college students or Millennials. We argue that BP debate offers Millennials two distinct advantages: (a) BP is an accessible format, amenable to the demands of busy students; and (b) BP confers global argumentation skills required to be competitive in a globalized society.     

Phospholipid—polymer amphiphile hybrid assemblies and their interaction with macrophages

Recently, the combination of lipids and block copolymers has become an alternative to liposomes and polymersomes as nano-sized drug carriers. We synthesize novel block copolymers consisting of poly(cholesteryl acrylate) as the hydrophobic core and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) as the hydrophilic extensions. Their successful phospholipid-assisted assembly into vesicles is demonstrated using the evaporation-hydration method. The preserved thermo-responsive property of the lipid-polymer hybrids is shown by a temperature dependent adsorption behaviour of the vesicles to poly(l lysine) coated surfaces. As expected, the vesicle adsorption is found to be higher at elevated temperatures. The cellular uptake efficiency of hybrids is assessed using macrophages with applied shear stress. The amount of adhering macrophages is affected by the time and level of applied shear stress. Further, it is found that shorter PNIPAAm extensions lead to higher uptake of the assemblies by the macrophages with applied shear stress. No inherent cytotoxicity is observed at the tested conditions. Taken together, this first example of responsive lipid-polymer hybrids, and their positive biological evaluation makes them promising nano-sized drug carrier candidates.     

The use of migration-related competencies in continuing education: individual strategies,social and institutional conditions

Focusing especially on biographical competencies that are gained through the experience of migration and socialisation in a certain country or cultural context, this article analyses how professionals define and deploy these ‘migration-related competencies’ when it comes to employment in the field of adult education in Austria. By means of selected example cases individual strategies are discussed vis-à-vis institutional frameworks of adult education and processes of exclusion towards migrants in general. Considering questions of representation and othering, the circumstances under which the utilisation of migration-related competencies is experienced as beneficial or problematic are examined. Furthermore, educational institutions of the majority society display different modes of recognising and acknowledging migration-related competencies. In a context, in which the official acknowledgement of these practices by institutions and transparent policies towards diversity orientation are lacking, the possession and demonstration of migration-related competencies has shown to be a highly ambivalent and individualised process.     

静静的夕阳

脾气暴躁的国内著名歌星C.先生患了恶性肿瘤,手术将会使他的声线受到影响,从此也许不能继续叱咤歌坛。在戒备森严的病房里,他遇见了一位与他年龄相仿的女子,而她究竟是谁呢?又是怎样躲过保安的视线进入这位歌星的病房中呢?他们之间又发生了什么故事呢?请关注本期悬疑故事《静静的夕阳》。     

The Role of Family Characteristics for Students’ Academic Outcomes: A Person‐Centered Approach

Using data from 1,571 ninth‐grade students (M_age = 14.62) from 82 academic track schools in Germany and their predominantly Caucasian middle‐class parents, configurations of different family characteristics reported by parents were investigated. Latent profile analyses considering academic involvement, family interest, parents’ self‐concept, child's need for support, and parents’ time and energy identified average, indifferent, motivated and engaged, motivated and disengaged, and involved families. Cross‐sectional and longitudinal associations with students’ motivational (self‐concept, effort, and interest) and achievement outcomes (achievement test and grades) in math were analyzed. Students from families classified as motivated and disengaged showed higher initial levels motivation and achievement. Over 5 months, these students also showed an increase in self‐concept and higher achievement than students from other family types.