Beyond the school setting: language teachers and tensions of everyday life

As an emergent theme in educational research, examination of the lives and careers of teachers reveals a wide range of educational factors occurring in many different contexts. Despite the relationship between teaching and life outside school, research studies have been inclined towards the working aspects of teachers’ lives. Rather than following the predominant model in the research literature, this study focused on teachers’ lives in the broader sense exploring the life tensions faced by teachers of English language in Vietnamese primary schools. Drawing on narrative inquiry as a research approach, data were collected from interviews conducted with six participating teachers. The findings indicated that the participants, similar to the majority of Vietnamese teachers, were involved in struggles over living conditions. As a result of the low pay they received for their teaching jobs, they engaged in private tutoring to bolster their income to adequately support themselves and their family. As language teachers, the participants used the English language for access to other cultures but they lived under pressures caused by cultural differences. Along with depicting the lives of Vietnamese teachers, the study offers suggestions to education leaders and educational researchers on how the situation might be alleviated.     

The contrasting discourses in the professional lives of educators in Vancouver, Canada

This study investigated the relationship between education policy changes and the working conditions of teachers and school leaders in Vancouver, Canada. We found that policy does shape educators’ discourse about their work conditions. This shaping manifested itself in the emotions teachers experience as they attempt to construct their identity as professional educators. Apparent contradictions emerged in educators’ discussions of their work conditions, particularly their contrasting reports of feeling satisfied with their working environment, yet concerned about issues related to workload and recognition. Two different discourses, the political and the professional, emerged at a deep level of practice. These discourses express conflicting emotions about teaching and teachers’ identity struggles in a context of rapid policy changes. The political discourse is framed around a partisan response to policy changes. The professional discourse focuses on engagement in satisfying educational activities. This study proffers a different conclusion to other studies implying a lack of understanding of practice by policy reformers. It suggests that, while teachers are very aware of policy changes, frequently engaging in a partisan critique thereof, they nevertheless temper that critique with a professional discourse shaped by pedagogical concerns in the local context. This concern with the classroom context enables them to focus their energies on constructing their sense of professional identity that frequently leads them to reinterpret policy initiatives from a local educator’s perspective. While the political discourse has trappings of despair, the professional–pedagogical contains glimpses of hope. We wish to express our appreciation of the work of Barbara Waldern in the analysis that supports the findings about the professional lives of educators.     

小儿霉菌性肠炎12例临床分析

[目的]探讨霉菌性肠炎的病因、发病机制和治疗原则.[方法]对我院2年间收治的12例霉菌性肠炎患儿的一般资料、临床表现、实验室检查及疗效进行临床分析.[结果] 91.6％患儿有应用抗菌素或激素等药物的病史.采用三药联合治疗(制霉菌素、思密达和促菌生即蜡样芽孢杆菌活菌片),75％显效、25％有效,总有效率100％.[结论]多数小儿霉菌性肠炎是由于应用抗生素、激素等药物不当,造成了肠道内菌群失调.提示临床医生警惕此病,防止误诊、漏诊及抗生素的滥用.     

Perceived vulnerabilities of female athletes to the development of disordered eating behaviours

Abstract

Disordered eating in athletes is an issue of concern given its prevalence and links with negative health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine female athletes’ perceived vulnerabilities to the development of disordered eating. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 female, competitive athletes from a variety of sports who self-reported disordered eating behaviours. The results confirm previous research that sport's emphasis on the body and appearance is a factor of vulnerability. Personal qualities of perfectionism, achievement-motivation, self-absorption, competitiveness and self-control, were also described as vulnerabilities to disordered eating behaviours. The participants’ abilities to tolerate pain and to enjoy hunger pains also reportedly increased their vulnerability to disordered eating. It is suggested that the qualities valued by competitive sport may also be potential factors of vulnerability to disordered eating. The findings are discussed in terms of recommendations for future research and practice.     

Challenges faced by Chinese academics in the academic heartland

In an attempt to raise China’s international competitiveness, the Chinese government has instituted a series of sweeping reforms in recent years, all with the aim of rapidly expanding the number of higher education places within tertiary institutions. However, this rapid rate of expansion has led to a new set of problems, most notably a scarcity of resources, a drop in educational quality, and a weak international academic standing. In recent years, the Ministry of Education has attempted to alleviate these problems by initiating a series of employment reforms. However, the new reforms have posed a new set of challenges for university academics. Based on the data reported in this study, we can see an increased implementation of managerial measures into the university employment system. The new employment system was viewed by university academics with a great deal of scepticism and disagreement. Ultimately, after serious consideration, the academics we interviewed chose to sacrifice their standards of living in order to maintain a focus on producing serious academic work. However, they also urged the state and university to offer a more agreeable environment in which professors could concentrate on authentic academic endeavors without having to sacrifice work stability.     

Food attitudes in female athletes: Association with menstrualcycle length

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between indicators of risk of disordered eating, body image and varied menstrual cycle lengths. Altogether, 151 female athletes were invited from 16 sports and 70 female non-athletic controls were recruited from a university lecture class. The participants completed several surveys, including demographics, menstrual cycle history, physical activity, Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) and the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ). Selected EDI subscales were summed to reflect eating disorder risk and body image. Menstrual cyclicity was based on self-reported cycle length for the last 6 months (normal cycles = 26–32 days, irregular cycles = <26 or >32 days). Athletes overall had more irregular cycles (29.1%) than the non-athletes (15.7%) (P < 0.05). There were significant differences in scores for eating disorder risk, body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, cognitive restraint (TFEQ) and disinhibition (TFEQ), only when athletes were divided based on menstrual cyclicity (i.e. irregularly cycling athletes had higher scores than athletes with normal menstrual cycle lengths). No differences in these scores were found between non-athletes with normal or irregular menstrual cycle lengths. In conclusion, irregularly short or long menstrual cycle length is associated with subtle indications of higher risk of disordered eating in female athletes.     

现代性困境的突围——从审美现代性到日常生活审美化

现代社会带给了人类高度发达的物质文明,同时人的主体性却受到极大的挑战,人日益与自身分离,进入了＂牢笼＂状态,现代性的困境已经是毋庸置疑的事实。审美现代性试图以艺术的自律为前提来完成对人类的＂救赎＂,日常生活审美化与大众文化结合,以感性的张扬来抑制工具理性的膨胀。但是二者能否达到感性和理性的和谐,能否完成现代性困境的突围都是值得我们深入思考的问题。     

Both Mom and Dad Genomes Actively Reform Themselves:New Scenario Revealed in DNA Demethylation of Mammalian Early Embryos

<正>DNA demethylation in mammalian zygotes,a biochemical process through which the parental genomes let go the epigenetic marks from theirpast livesto obtain totipotency,has long fascinated biologists:how does it happen?A joint team at the CAS Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences tells a surprising story.     

The separation of economy and sentiment: a comparison of how individuals perceive hostile worlds

ABSTRACT

Analyses of the relationship between economy and sentiment tend to focus on connection rather than separation. Scholars recognize that individuals sometimes identify moral conflicts between economy and sentiment, but primarily focus their research on the boundary or relational work performed to mitigate or disappear the conflict. Instead, I analyze how individuals talk about the relationship between economy and sentiment as separate or hostile, comparing two theoretically distinct groups: non-religious individuals and practicing evangelicals. The comparison allows me to analyze patterns of discourse and boundary-making based on access to institutionalized culture. I find that both groups articulate perceptions of hostile worlds by: (1) maintaining the taboo against talking about money, (2) recommending neutral separation, and (3) demarcating areas of life as too sacred for money. Through comparison, I find that non-religious respondents describe a less permeable vertical boundary line, whereby economy and sentiment are separated into separate spheres, as if side-by-side, while evangelicals describe a more permeable horizontal boundary line, where separation is maintained through the use of consistent hierarchical discourses that assert the moral importance of sentiment over economy. My findings underscore how unequal access to cultural schema differentially shape how individuals connect economy and sentiment, if at all.     

My Good Friend

I have a good friend.His name is Zheng Hewen.He is a lovely boy.He lives in Suqian.We are in the same class.He has small eyes,a big mouth,a small nose and a round face.He is tall and fat.He likes watching TV and playing computer games.He is a good student.