Trialing project-based learning in a new EAP ESP course: A collaborative reflective practice of three college English teachers

Currently in many Chinese universities, the traditional College English course is facing the risk of being ‘marginalized’, replaced or even removed, and many hours previously allocated to the course are now being taken by EAP or ESP. At X University in northern China, a curriculum reform as such is taking place, as a result of which a new course has been created called ‘xue ke’ English. Despite the fact that ‘xue ke’ means subject literally, the course designer has made it clear that subject content is not the target, nor is the course the same as EAP or ESP. This curriculum initiative, while possibly having been justified with a rationale of some kind (e.g. to meet with changing social and/or academic needs of students and/or institutions), this is posing a great challenge for, as well as considerable pressure on, a number of College English teachers who have taught this single course for almost their entire teaching career. In such a context, three teachers formed a peer support group in Semester One this year, to work collaboratively co-tackling the challenge, and they chose Project-Based Learning (PBL) for the new course. This presentation will report on the implementation of this project, including the overall designing, operational procedure, and the teachers’ reflections. Based on discussion, pre-agreement was reached on the purpose and manner of collaboration as offering peer support for more effective teaching and learning and fulfilling and pleasant professional development. A WeChat group was set up as the chief platform for messaging, idea-sharing, and resource-exchanging. Physical meetings were supplementary, with sound agenda but flexible time, and venues. Mosoteach cloud class (lan mo yun ban ke) was established as a tool for virtual learning, employed both in and after class. Discussions were held at the beginning of the semester which determined only brief outlines for PBL implementation and allowed space for everyone to autonomously explore in their own way. Constant further discussions followed, which generated a great deal of opportunities for peer learning and lesson plan modifications. A reflective journal, in a greater or lesser detailed manner, was also kept by each teacher to record the journey of the collaboration. At the end of the semester, it was commonly recognized that, although challenges existed, the collaboration was overall a success and they were all willing to continue with it and endeavor to refine it to be a more professional and productive approach

Desk study on homeopathy in organic livestock farming: Principles, obstacles and recommendations for practice and research

Organic livestock farming has its own concept of health and welfare. The approach to health can be characterised by the key words human, preventive, self-regulating and holistic (Chapter 1). This has consequences for the way we deal with diseases and problems, the nature of the solutions and the use of medication, among other things. In terms of therapeutic and regulatory measures this health concept is based primarily on natural food supplements and homeopathic remedies, which in view of their origin fit in well with the natural character of organic agriculture (Verhoog et al., 2002). Apart from various forms of potentised remedies (classic, clinical, anthroposophic, isopathic; Chapter 2) and all manner of applications within phytotherapy (Bach flower, aromatherapy), there is interest in organic livestock farming in complementary health treatments other than acupuncture. We also need more detailed research into the practical implications of possible self-medication by animals (Engel, 2001). Complementary medicine demands a new type of knowledge in relation to its working mechanism, testing for authenticity and the way it is used (Chapter 3). The thinking behind the use of homeopathic remedies often based on a preventive approach to health. With the aid of these remedies the doctor seeks to create a more balanced environment in and around the animal and to improve the animal’s resistance to infections (Baars en Ellinger, 1997). Striezel (2001) calls homeopathy a regulatory therapy, which heals the body by stimulating the individual immune system and regulating the metabolism. The use of homeopathic remedies is still limited in practice, partly due to a lack of suitably trained veterinary practitioners (Chapter 4). In the elaboration of the research questions the authors discovered that the use of homeopathic remedies meets with particular resistance which can be traced back to philosophical assumptions (sections 4.1-4.3). As the research is fleshed out it is therefore important that it is not simply carried out in conformity with currently valid scientific standards. The research design must also be in line with the philosophy of homeopathy in terms of both quantity and quality (Chapter 5). This is particularly important for homeopathy because its therapeutic methods are based on principles which do not fit in with conventional notions about life. The similia principle (law of similars) is an important feature of homeopathy and homeopathy shares the second key concept of potentisation with anthroposophy (Chapter 2). There is limited acceptance of homeopathic remedies in particular, despite the fact that there is some empirical evidence for the efficacy of homeopathic treatments. Both outcome research into homeopathic treatments of humans and animals and fundamental empirical research into the validity of the similia law and the efficacy of high dilutions produce results which tend to bear this out. However, it is rejected out of hand on ontological grounds and because of the assumed working mechanism. Follow-up research into homeopathic remedies is desirable, but must be in line with the underlying complementary health and welfare concept of organic agriculture, which includes treatment with veterinary medicines. Randomised Clinical Trials are thus only of limited use, since they disregard the individually tailored nature of the treatment. In practice however, sufficient alternative therapies have been developed which can be used in outcome research. The researchers propose a graduated structure for the outcome research (Chapter 6). The first step is to join in with the monitoring of experience in practice, and follow this with casuistic outcome research

Teaching Money Literacy in a Positive Youth Development Program: The Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong

In view of the high impact of materialistic orientation among children and adolescents, financial educational programs are provided as preventive measures. Without a clear framework, it is impossible to evaluate these programs. The goals of this paper are threefold. Firstly, the phenomena related to adolescent materialistic orientation and its associated problems in Hong Kong are examined. Secondly, the concept of financial education as a preventive measure is reviewed. Both board and narrow definitions of money literacy are examined. A framework on money literacy for children and adolescents as a founding stone for financial education is proposed. The framework finds its support from a typology proposed by the authors and results from an integration of research findings on dimensions of the concepts of money and success. Finally, curriculum units for Grades 7 to 9 students in a positive youth development program (the Project P.A.T.H.S.) are developed using the framework

Cultural Values and Advertising Appeals in International Advertising - A Comparison of Finland and Vietnam Advertising

This thesis focuses on the cultural values reflecting on advertising appeals in the print advertisements with the comparison between two countries: Finland and Vietnam. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship of cultural values and advertising appeals along with the role of product category in selecting advertising appeals. By this way, it explores the similarities and differences of cultural characteristics between Finland and Vietnam. The primary theory of this thesis is based on Pollay’s concept of values applying to Hofstede’s cultural framework, which has been a theoretical premise of previous studies. A sample of 36 Vietnamese print ads and 36 Finnish print ads from eight product categories is collected and analysed in terms of advertising appeals that appear in the advertisements. The results show value paradox on both Finnish and Vietnamese cases, especially Finnish results provide value paradox on four cultural dimensions: masculinity – femininity, power distance, and long – short-term orientation. Vietnam, on the other hand, only has one value paradox phenomenon on uncertainty avoidance dimension. Therefore, it implies that there is a possibility for further comparative research on value paradox to investigate the relationship between the culture and its advertising contents in a society, or perhaps across cultures.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Investigation into the Influence of Physician for Treatment Based on Syndrome Differentiation

Background. The characteristics of treatment based on syndrome differentiation (TBSD) cause great challenges to evaluate the effectiveness of the clinical methods. Objectives. This paper aims to evaluate the influence of physician to personalized medicine in the process of TBSD. Methods. We performed a randomized, triple-blind trial involving patients of primary insomnia treated by 3 physicians individually and independently. The patients (n=30) were randomly assigned to receive treatments by the 3 physicians for every visit. However, they always received the treatment, respectively, prescribed by the physician at the first visit. The primary outcome was evaluated, respectively, by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the TCM symptoms measuring scale. The clinical practices of the physicians were recorded at every visit including diagnostic information, syndrome differentiation, treating principles, and prescriptions. Results. All patients in the 3 groups (30 patients) showed significant improvements (>66%) according to the PSQI and TCM symptoms measuring scale. Conclusion. The results indicate that although with comparable effectiveness, there exist significant differences in syndrome differentiation, the treating principles, and the prescriptions of the approaches used by the 3 physicians. This means that the physician should be considered as an important factor for individualized medicine and the related TCM clinical research

Include 2011 : The role of inclusive design in making social innovation happen.

Include is the biennial conference held at the RCA and hosted by the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design. The event is directed by Jo-Anne Bichard and attracts an international delegation

Wang Chong\u27s Thoughts on Argumentation

As an outstanding thinker in the Eastern Han Dynasty of China, Wang Chong wrote many books during his lifetime, but all of them were lost except Lunheng. The purport of Lunheng is to reveal and criticize all kinds of Xuwang（an ancient Chinese word, with the similar meaning of falsehood, fallacy, etc.） in the society at that time. In our opinion, the ideological support behind Lunheng is Wang Chong\u27s thoughts on argumentation

Chinese herbal medicine for insomnia : evidence and experience

Insomnia, a condition with significant medical consequences, is becoming more and more prevalent worldwide. Hypnotic drugs are associated with dependence, adverse reactions and long-term risks. Psychotherapy is time- and resource-consuming and largely unavailable. As such, many people who present with insomnia also look for alternative treatments. Recent studies show that Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), a traditional herbal medicine based on holistic theories, could be a potential alternative. The aims of this doctoral research were to explore the potential benefits of CHM for the treatment of insomnia and provide guidance in the treatment of insomnia with CHM. For practical reasons, the empirical aspect of the investigation focuses on one specific CHM product, which is Zao Ren An Shen (ZRAS). The research questions include: (1) Is ZRAS a safe and effective treatment for insomnia disorder? (2) How do Chinese medicine clinicians diagnose and treat insomnia with CHM? This doctoral research consists of a narrative review and three major studies: one systematic review, one randomised, placebo-controlled trial and one clinical experience synthesis. In the systematic review, clinical trial that assessed the efficacy and/or safety of ZRAS for insomnia were systematically searched and screened. In the clinical trial, after one week of placebo run-in, 85 participants with insomnia disorder were randomly allocated to either take ZRAS capsule or placebo for four weeks. Insomnia severity, psychological status, fatigue levels, quality of life, subjective sleep parameters, objective sleep parameters, and adverse events were assessed through the intervention period and at a four-weeks follow-up. Both the investigator and the participants were blind to the treatment allocation. In the clinical experience synthesis (CES), clinical experience reports published in the literature, which described treatment of insomnia with CHM, were systematically reviewed and screened. The systematic review shows that ZRAS is safe and effective for insomnia. The randomised trial support ZRAS capsule as a safe and acceptable treatment, yet failed to improve significantly insomnia severity in insomnia patients. These differences may be explained by the poor quality of the studies included in the systematic review. The studies included in the systematic review and the randomised trial both used a standardised intervention approach. However, Chinese medicine clinician recommend an individualised approach, which may contribute to improved outcomes across a broader range of measures