Communication Between Early Educators and Parents who Speak English as a Second Language A Semantic and Pragmatic Perspective

In this article, we discuss communication between early educators speaking their native language and parents who speak English as a second language. Parents who may have a limited proficiency in the second language face challenges to understanding semantic and pragmatic aspects of English. Actual early childhood conference talk in which parents were speaking English as a second language will illustrate potential difficulties to listening comprehension and communication. Additionally, semantics and pragmatics will be used as a framework for recommending strategies to facilitate these parents?? ability to comprehend and communicate during discussions with early educators.     

IMPROVING OUTCOMES IN MATHEMATICS IN NEW ZEALAND: A DYNAMIC APPROACH TO THE POLICY PROCESS

Intervention at scale with the aim of improving student participation, engagement and outcomes in mathematics education is a challenge for educational policy makers and reformers. This article argues that an iterative annual cycle of policy formulation, implementation and evaluation enabled ongoing adjustments to the strategic focus, the professional development model and the system infrastructure as the New Zealand Numeracy Development Project was taken to scale. The analysis draws on the project’s evaluation data over a 6-year period to demonstrate how adjustments were made over time to the pedagogical tools and to the professional development processes. The ongoing development of knowledge supported the management of strategic risks in taking the project to scale: the ongoing appropriation of adequate levels of resourcing to support the school-based professional development model and the availability of system-wide expertise for effective implementation. The analysis suggests that conceptualising implementation as an interdependent and interrelated component of an iterative policy process and as an opportunity for knowledge building ensured a continuing focus on student outcomes. The dynamic approach to the policy process appeared central to building this intervention’s effectiveness and feasibility at scale.     

International orientierte höhere Schulen in Deutschland – Zwei Varianten von Internationalität im Wechselspiel von Institution und Schülerbiografie

During the last decades, the education system has been marked by distinct processes of internationalisation. In the field of higher education, there are numerous and varied schools with different international profiles. This paper focuses on processes of internationalisation in the German sector of higher education. We contrast two higher secondary schools with international profiles: one international school in a West German metropolitan region with a long tradition and a younger internationally-profiled school located in the periphery of an East German urban centre. This institutional analysis presents school cultural similarities and differences with regard to different claims and concepts of internationality. This analysis is complemented by a reconstruction of three patterns of biographical meaning examining the internationality of pupils and their respective habitual fit to these internationally-profiled schools. We draw on qualitative data, consisting mainly of interviews with head teachers and pupils of these two schools. We argue that these differing regional forms of internationalisation indicate a stratification and hierarchisation in the field of higher education in Germany.     

The impact of participation in sports on educational attainment—New evidence from Germany

We analyze the impact of exercising sports during childhood and adolescence on educational attainment. The theoretical framework is based on models of allocation of time and educational productivity. Using the rich information from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), we apply generalized ordered probit models to estimate the effect of participation in sport activities on secondary school degrees and professional degrees. Even after controlling for important variables and selection into sport, we find strong evidence that the effect of sport on educational attainment is statistically significant and positive.     

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.