Under the gaze of the state: policing literature and the case of Taslima Nasrin

Abstract

This article situates Taslima Nasrin, the controversial writer from Bangladesh, in a particular political and religious moment in the history of Bangladesh, to analyse the difficult relationship the postcolonial state shares with a writer whose work deliberately unsettles the issues of minority and of women and/in religion. The complex mosaic of Nasrin’s work, comprising as varied genres as newspaper columns, poetry and popular novels, has engendered, in the last ten years, unprecedented responses both for and against her writing. This has brought the issue of literature and its uneasy negotiation with state politics to the forefront of national debate. Despised by Islamists and fundamentalists, equally loved and loathed by the reading public, considered with caution by secular intelligentsia and fellow feminists, and ultimately banned by the state, Nasrin is a unique case in point. Her work, written under the gaze of the state defying the fundamentalist fatwa demanding her death, hence invites discussions on state censorship invoked using religious sensibility as a marker of literary judgement and the associated perils of women writing on women in a postcolony like Bangladesh.     

What is an objective structured practical examination in anatomy?

Assessing teaching‐learning outcomes in anatomical knowledge is a complex task that requires the evaluation of multiple domains: theoretical, practical, and clinical knowledge. In general, theoretical knowledge is tested by a written examination system constituted by multiple choice questions (MCQs) and/or short answer questions (SAQ). The assessment of practical knowledge (three‐dimensional anatomical concepts) involves oral, spot, or objective structured practical examinations (OSPE). Finally, the application of anatomical knowledge to patients is tested mainly through objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE). The major focus of this study is the OSPE. Although many schools challenge students using this tool in practical examinations in the early phase of the curriculum, the true meaning of OSPE is frequently forgotten and it becomes, in reality, a spot examination. This article, for the first time, describes how the concept of the OSPE has evolved and is currently being used to assess the practical domain of anatomical knowledge in a problem‐based curriculum at Alfaisal University College of Medicine. In addition, it describes the main differences from the spot examination, which is normally used in traditional medical curricula. The authors believe that the OSPE remains the most efficient tool to assess the practical aspects of anatomical knowledge in a system where basic knowledge is integrated with the clinical or functional part of anatomy. However, this contention only holds true if the OSPE process revolves around structured objectives. Anat Sci Educ 6: 125–133. © 2012 American Association of Anatomists.     

Tensions in Teacher Training for School Effectiveness: The Case of Pakistan∗

While research on school effectiveness is growing internationally, its impact on the training of teachers is not clear. Taking Pakistan as a case study, this paper reports an investigation of how far trainees, tutors and practising teachers felt that training matched the researched ‘factors’ linked to successful schools. Fewer than half the practising teachers felt well prepared; but there was not always agreement within or between the three groups about what elements of ‘effectiveness’ should be included, except that the training should be more ‘practical’. The hidden curriculum of the training institution was found to be based on authoritarian transmission methods and on rote learning of traditional syllabi, so that trainees were neither exposed to newer ideas about effective teaching, nor experienced for themselves the self‐direction and critical analysis essential for future organisational development. The culture and conditions surrounding teaching also militated against the notion of ‘the reflective practitioner’.     

Non-occupational lead exposure and hypertension in Pakistani adults

INTRODUCTION Blood-Pb levels are taken as representative of dose/exposure, as all clinical symptoms resulting from the toxic effects of Pb are manifested mainly in blood. Lead exposure of children correlates with de- creased IQ, symptoms of hyper kinesis or minima brain dysfunction, poor learning, or defects in specific neuromotor tasks (Landgrin et al., 1980). Large number of observations over the years has associated lead exposure with human diseases (McMichael and Johnson, 1982). Ca…     

Somatic embryogenesis in wild relatives of cotton （Gossypium Spp.）

Wild cotton species can contribute a valuable gene pool for agronomically desirable cultivated tetraploid cultivars. In order to exploit diploid cotton a regeneration system is required to achieve transformation based goals. The present studies aimed at optimizing the conditions for regeneration of local varieties as well as wild species of cotton. Different callus induction media were tested with varying concentrations of hormones in which sucrose was used as nutritional source. Different explants （hypocotyls, cotyledon, root） were used to check the regeneration of both local cotton plants and wild relatives using T ＆ G medium, BAP medium, CIM medium, EMMS medium, and cell suspension medium. Different stages of embryogenicity such as early torpedo stage, late torpedo stage, heart stage, globular stage and cotyledonary stage were observed in wild relatives of cotton. The results of this study pave the way for establishing future transformation methods.     

Overexpression of the phytochrome B gene from Arabidopsis thaliana increases plant growth and yield of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)

The phytochrome B (PHYB) gene of Arabidopsis thaliana was introduced into cotton through Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Integration and expression of PHYB gene in cotton plants were confirmed by molecular evidence. Messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in one of the transgenic lines, QCC11, was much higher than those of control and other transgenic lines. Transgenic cotton plants showed more than a two-fold increase in photosynthetic rate and more than a four-fold increase in transpiration rate and stomatal conductance. The increase in photosynthetic rate led to a 46% increase in relative growth rate and an 18% increase in net assimilation rate. Data recorded up to two generations, both in the greenhouse and in the field, revealed that overexpression of Arabidopsis thaliana PHYB gene in transgenic cotton plants resulted in an increase in the production of cotton by improving the cotton plant growth, with 35% more yield. Moreover, the presence of the Arabidopsis thaliana PHYB gene caused pleiotropic effects like semi-dwarfism, decrease in apical dominance, and increase in boll size.     

The influence of socio-economic status and ethnicity on speech and language development

A number of factors influence the speech and language development of young children. Delays in the development of speech and language can have repercussions for school attainment and life chances. This paper is based on a survey of 3- to 4-year-old children in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in the UK. It analyses the data collected from 255 children in 26 schools, and discusses the effects of socio-economic status and ethnicity on delayed or advanced language development in young children. Language development in the project was measured using the New Reynell Developmental Language Scales. The study shows mean standard scores for language Production and Comprehension within the low average range, thus demonstrating a challenge confronting nurseries/preschools in the area in preparing children for compulsory schooling. The research has implications for early years education policy and practice.     

Evaluation of polymerase chain reaction for rapid diagnosis of clinically suspected tuberculous pleurisy

Pleural effusion is one of the commonest presentations of tuberculosis, the clinical manifestations being typically abrupt resembling bacterial pneumonia. Since delayed hypersensitivity is the underlying immune response, bacterial load is very low. Owing to these facts, tuberculous pleurisy as an extra-pulmonary disease poses a diagnostic dilemma. The conventional bacteriological methods rarely detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis in pleural fluid and are of limited use in diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy. We evaluated the efficacy of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy by targeting the gene segment coding for MPB64 protein specific forMycobacterium tuberculosis. Based on the clinical criteria, 82 patients with lymphocytic exudative pleural effusion were included in the study. Patients were analyzed in two groups; one group consisting of 48 patients of tubercular pleural effusion confimed by various diagnostic procedures and another group of 34 patients comprising of non-tubercular pleural effusion. There were no false positive results by PCR and the specificity worked out to be 100%. Twenty two patients tested positive for Mantoux with a sensitivity of 45%. ZN-staining for AFB was found in samples from 15 patients (20% sensitivity). ADA was positive for 28 patients with a sensitivity of 53%. PCR was positive for 32/48 patients (67% sensitivity). Thus, PCR was found to be more sensitive than any other conventional method in diagnosis of clinically suspected tubercular pleurisy.