Is season of birth related to developmental dyslexia?

Different moderators/mediators of risk are involved in developmental dyslexia (DD), but data are inconsistent. We explored the prevalence of season of birth and its association with gender and age of school entry in an Italian sample of dyslexic children compared to an Italian normal control group. The clinical sample included 498 children (345 boys, mean age 10.3 ± 2.1 years) with DD, the control sample 1,276 children (658 boys, mean age 10.8 ± 2.2 years) from four elementary schools from the same urban area, and with the same socio-economic status level. A prevalence of birth in autumn was found among children with DD compared to controls (34% versus 24%, p < 0.0001). Children with DD were more frequently males (p < 0.0001) and had a lower mean age of school entry (p < 0.0001). Regarding the distribution of ages, 11.4% of children with DD, but none of the subjects in the control group, started school before 5.7 years. Therefore, greater risk of DD was related to age of school entry (OR = 2.72), gender (OR = 2.16), and season of birth (OR = 1.21). Significant interactions between boys with DD born in autumn, and correct school of entry (OR = 2.56) were joint predictors of higher risk of DD. The association between birth in autumn and DD may be explained by the earlier age of school entry, which may be a critical element in the youngest children with DD or at risk to DD. Whether Italian school policy is oriented to anticipate the school entry, a closer detection of early learning disorders and associated risk factors (familial load, specific language disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) should be warranted.     

American beauty: trade flows and export costs of US movies

This paper estimates a hedonic model of revenues for 1431 American movies in 45 non-American countries over the period 2002–2013. Such an extensive analysis is proven to be useful to estimate the effect of indicators of geographical and cultural distance on total revenue and the number of American films exported to non-American countries once the model specification also controls for relevant film features. It is found that indicators of cultural and geographical distance, in addition to the Human Development Index, have a significant effect on both the number of American films shown and the revenue obtained. Estimation results have been also used to appraise the importance of film features in different groups of countries from the perspective of their degree of development and distance from the USA.     

Archives in motion: Concrete steps towards the digital disclosure of audiovisual content

Various authors have stressed the need for an adequate archiving and preservation policy of audiovisual material, given its cultural, historical, juridical, social and economic value. In view of the sustainable preservation of audiovisual material, the opening up of the archive is seen as a real challenge. Various aspects, such as requirements concerning formats, metadata standards and legal implications, need to be taken into account. Furthermore, different types of users should be able to consult the archive in a user-friendly way, a factor which should not be neglected. This article studies and discusses the current situation in Flanders regarding the digitisation and disclosure of the Flemish audiovisual cultural heritage, comprising the audiovisual material in the archives of different Flemish institutions, including broadcasters, (post-) production companies, government institutions and cultural organizations. Based on 45 qualitative interviews, a SWOT analysis is created to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats concerning the digitisation and disclosure of the audiovisual archive. Moreover, this environmental analysis includes some recommendations concerning the future preservation of this audiovisual cultural heritage.     

Between epistemology and hermeneutics

In this paper I discuss the hermeneutic and epistemological dimensions of science, and investigate the role which this discussion might play in science education. After a brief review of two main variants of hermeneutic conceptions of science, a general outline is given of the existential-ontological notion of science. Regarding the degree of objectification, the theoretical ways of projecting the world as a scientific theme lie on a continuum between the poles of pure hermeneutics and pure epistemology. Finally, some conclusions for a new pedagogy are drawn.     

Hermeneutics of science and multi-gendered science education

In this paper, I consider the relevance of the view of cognitive existentialism to a multi-gendered picture of science education. I am opposing both the search for a particular feminist standpoint epistemology and the reduction of philosophy of science to cultural studies of scientific practices as championed by supporters of postmodern political feminism. In drawing on the theory of gender plurality and the conception of dynamic objectivity, the paper suggests a way of treating the nexus between the construction of gender within the interrelatedness of scientific practices and the constitution of particular objects of inquiry. At stake is the notion of characteristic hermeneutic situation which proves to be helpful in designing a multi-gendered pedagogy as well.

Science Teaching as Educational Interrogation of Scientific Research

The main argument of this article is that science teaching based on a pedagogy of questions is to be modeled on a hermeneutic conception of scientific research as a process of the constitution of texts. This process is spelled out in terms of hermeneutic phenomenology. A text constituted by scientific practices is at once united by a hermeneutic fore-structure and scattered in a diversity of spaces of representation. The educational questioning that should reveal the interpretative aspects of the textualization of scientific research consists of four groups of issues. The ultimate aim of this kind of science teaching is the education of ‘internal critics of science' who are able to make explicit hidden possibilities of doing research.     

FROM REGIONAL CONVENTIONS TO A UNIVERSAL INSTRUMENT: STEPS FORWARD AND PITFALLS

The set of regional conventions on the recognition of studies, diplomas, and degrees is part of a UNESCO effort to promote academic mobility that is almost as old as the organization itself. Normally, the working of the six regional conventions should lead, eventually, to the adoption of a single universal convention on academic recognition; however, in spite of the Recommendation voted at the General Conference of the Organization in 1993, certain countries of the Europe Region, the region receiving the largest number of international students, is not too keen on the idea. This region, nevertheless, is in the process of unifying its own regional conventions through the adoption of a joint Council of Europe/UNESCO Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications Concerning Higher Education in the European Region. Possibly this action will serve as inspiration for a change of attitude toward development of a universal convention.