The design and development of a dyscalculia checklist based on a focus group interview

This article aims to explore the symptoms and characteristics of dyscalculia. This is a qualitative study. Five experts in the field of special education took part in a focus group interview. Each expert had more than ten years of experience in their area of expertise. To determine the content validity of the protocol, three experts in special education, language and qualitative research evaluated each of the eight items. Cohen's kappa analysis was used to assess inter-rater reliability. The findings of this study indicate that 59 items have been developed, based on six constructs in the dyscalculia checklist. The six constructs were subitising, estimating, Arabic numerals, verbal numbers, arithmetic facts and calculating processes. Following the focus group interview, a new construct emerged: math anxiety. The study implies that teachers might utilise this checklist to carry out early detection of students with dyscalculia in primary schools. This will enable appropriate intervention, resulting in significant benefits for the Ministry of Education, for educators and teachers, and for the students themselves. Although this study was based in Malaysia, the results have wider implications because dyscalculia is present everywhere.     

Vielseitigkeit als Ausbildungsstrategie im leistungssportlichen Nachwuchstraining

This paper presents an excerpt from a comprehensive study on the concepts of long-term athlete development. Following a qualitative research methodology and using a hermeneutic-reconstructive procedure the purpose of this paper was to gain insight into expert youth sports coaches’ understanding of the two main trajectories leading to elite performance: early specialization and early sampling. Analysis of the transcribed interviews suggests that the training strategy is primarily the result of a complex decision making process. Additionally, coaches perceived a trend towards early specialization which conflicts with existing considerations of long-term athlete development. The results of this study provide an opportunity to understand the subject of diversification in youth sports and to raise awareness for the problems of practitioners.     

Hb Hope: A Rare Variant of Haemoglobin-Forged a Rise in HbA1c on Immunoturbidimetric Assay

Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) determination is a powerful means for assessing the evaluation and management of patients with diabetes mellitus. Hemoglobin (Hb) variants and chemically modified derivatives of Hb can affect the accuracy of measurement of HbA1c done by various analytical methods. We report a patient with a rare variant of Hb (Hb Hope) that caused an abnormally high value of HBA1c when assayed using immunoturbidimetric assay (“Tina-quant” 2nd generation assay) and also elucidate the nature of the variant.     

Lactobacillus acidophilus Protected Organs in Experimental Arthritis by Regulating the Pro-inflammatory Cytokines

Arthritis is an inflammatory disease of joints. Exact etiology of the disease is not understood yet; but histopathological examination of vital organs like liver, kidney, ovary and knee joint can anticipate immune mediated damage. In this study, Lactobacillus acidophilus was administered orally by both prophylactic and curative protocol in freund’s complete adjuvant induced arthritic rats. Indomethacin was used as standard anti-arthritic drug. Histopathology of liver, kidney, ovary and right hind knee joint were done. Cytokine concentrations were determined by using ELISA. Effects shown by L. acidophilus were comparable with indomethacin. Histopathological analysis of liver, kidney, ovaries and knee joints of L. acidophilus fed groups revealed significantly less damage as compared with other counterparts. Lactobacillus treatment has down-regulated pro-inflammatory level and up-regulated anti-inflammatory cytokines level in serum samples. L. acidophilus managed organs damage associated with arthritis. It has significantly down regulated the pro-inflammatory cytokines.     

Effect of Pre-Analytical Errors on Quality of Laboratory Medicine at a Neuropsychiatry Institute in North India

Advances in instrument technology and automation have simplified tasks in laboratory diagnostics reducing errors during analysis thereby improving the quality of test results. However studies show that most laboratory errors occur in the pre-analytical phase. In view of the paucity of studies examining pre-analytical errors, we examined a total of 1513 request forms received at our laboratory during a 3 month period. The forms were scrutinized for the presence of specific parameters to assess the pre-analytical errors affecting the laboratory results. No diagnosis was provided on 61.20% of forms. Type of specimen was not mentioned in 61.60% of the forms and 89.25% of all forms were illegible. Critical results were encountered in 17.30% of patients, and of these 76.60% were not communicated due to incomplete forms. Thus, by following standard operating procedures vigorously from patient preparation to sample processing the laboratory results can be significantly improved without any extra cost.     

Efficacy of a Fish Protein Hydrolysate in Malnourished Children

Protein hydrolysates are good nutritional supplements as their bioactive ingredients can be easily absorbed and utilized for various metabolic activities. A fish protein hydrolysate (Amizate), prepared by a unique process of hydrolysis has the advantage of high di/tri peptide content (<10 kDa) along with essential and non essential amino acids, micronutrients and vitamins. The effect of Amizate on malnourished children (6–8 years, a total of 438) of Grade I and II (Gomez’s classification) with respect to immunoglobulins, CD4/CD8 ratios and hemoglobin was examined. Measurement of these parameters during the user trial study (at the beginning and the end after 4 months) indicated that the levels of the immunological parameters were not significantly altered by the Amizate treatment. The values of immunoglobulins and CD4/CD8 ratios of malnourished children (India) are in the normal range and are in accordance with the reported values of various ethnic groups.     

One World,Two Languages: Cross‐Language Semantic Priming in Bilingual Toddlers

The interconnectedness of bilingual memory remains a topic of great debate. Semantic priming provides a powerful methodological tool with which to investigate this issue in early bilingual toddlers. Semantic priming effects were investigated in 21 bilingual toddlers (2.5 years) within and across each of their languages. Results revealed the first evidence of cross‐language and within‐language semantic priming in bilingual toddlers. However, priming effects were only observed when the prime was presented in the dominant language and were comparable in magnitude within and across languages. Findings point to high interconnectivity across languages; however, there appear to be strong influences of language dominance on semantic facilitation. Findings serve to inform and refine developmental models of bilingual memory.     

The logic of equity practice in Queensland state education—2010

This paper reports on an interview‐based study which explored the implementation of a major policy initiative in Queensland, Australia, with particular attention to social justice issues. Interviews were conducted with key policy actors in three sections of the bureaucracy: strategic directions, performance and measurement; curriculum and assessment; workforce and professional development. We were interested in the ways in which the tensions between redistributive and recognitive approaches to social justice were being managed in the bureaucracy. We drew on Bourdieu’s concepts of field, logic of practice, political discourse, habitus, capital, and symbolic power struggles to theorize the politics of discourse associated with such policy implementation processes within bureaucracies. The interview data revealed differences in approach to equity issues and in the language used in the three sections of the bureaucracy. We argue that these differences, associated with the different priorities of the three sections and their differing roles in the implementation processes, reflect the different logics of practice operating within the different sections. The final section of the paper discusses the implications of the analysis for theorizing equity and difference in education policy in new times and considers the value of Bourdieu’s concepts for theorizing policy implementation processes.