An Exploration of Elementary Teachers\u27 Views of Informal Reading Inventories in Dual Language Bilingual Programs

This study examines how elementary teachers (grades three through five) in dual-language, bilingual programs (Spanish/English) view informal reading inventories (IRIs) to support their students’ reading growth. The research, conducted in an urban district in the Northeastern United States, draws on interviews with 20 teachers in these programs. One significant finding is that although teachers in the sample collected IRIs in the two languages of instruction, they did not examine English and Spanish reading assessment data side by side in order to construct a unified portrait of their students as bilingual readers. This study highlights the finding that IRIs are currently viewed as monolingual assessments rather than as a lens into students’ biliteracy, thus bypassing a powerful way to assist teachers in making instructional decisions in support of students’ bilingual reading development

From Deficit to Diversity: How Teachers of Recently-Arrived Emergent Bilinguals Negotiate Ideological and Pedagogical Change

Although the number and diversity of emergent bilingual students is rising, this population is viewed as homogeneous rather than vibrant and eclectic. This case study explores how two secondary English as a New Language (ENL) teachers uncover the diversity of their recently-arrived emergent bilingual population through implementing translanguaging pedagogy, a strength-based vision of student language development. The findings indicate that teachers’ shifts in how they conceive of their students are intertwined with meaningful pedagogical changes

Bringing Bilingualism to the Center of Guided Reading Instruction

Educators consider guided reading one of the most powerful instructional tools in a reading teacher’s arsenal. Yet, when it comes to emergent bilinguals in both monolingual English and bilingual settings, guided reading is implemented monolingually, or in one language at a time. As the field of reading instruction has moved toward a more asset‐based take on students’ bilingualism, integrating a bilingual approach to guided reading is necessary. The authors offer educators a lens to understand how emergent bilinguals’ resources and bilingualism can be incorporated into guided reading, along with concrete examples that can assist teachers in enacting these practices in their classrooms

Skeletal muscle myopenia in mice model of bile duct ligation and carbon tetrachloride-induced liver cirrhosis

Skeletal muscle myopathy is universal in cirrhotic patients, however, little is known about the main mechanisms involved. The study aims to investigate skeletal muscle morphological, histological, and functional modifications in experimental models of cirrhosis and the principal molecular pathways responsible for skeletal muscle myopathy. Cirrhosis was induced by bile duct ligation (BDL) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) administration in mice. Control animals (CTR) underwent bile duct exposure or vehicle administration only. At sacrifice, peripheral muscles were dissected and weighed. Contractile properties of extensor digitorum longus (EDL) were studied in vitro. Muscle samples were used for histological and molecular analysis. Quadriceps muscle histology revealed a significant reduction in cross-sectional area of muscle and muscle fibers in cirrhotic mice with respect to CTR. Kinetic properties of EDL in both BDL and CCl4 were reduced with respect to CTR; BDL mice also showed a reduction in muscle force and a decrease in the resistance to fatigue. Increase in myostatin expression associated with a decrease in AKT-mTOR expressions was observed in BDL mice, together with an increase in LC3 protein levels. Upregulation of the proinflammatory citochines TNF-a and IL6 and an increased expression of NF-kB and MuRF-1 were observed in CCl4 mice. In conclusion, skeletal muscle myopenia was present in experimental models of BDL and CCl4-induced cirrhosis. Moreover, reduction in protein synthesis and activation of protein degradation were the main mechanisms responsible for myopenia in BDL mice, while activation of ubiquitin-pathway through inflammatory cytokines seems to be the main potential mechanism involved in CCl4 mice

An Expanded View of Translanguaging: Leveraging the Dynamic Interactions Between a Young Multilingual Writer and Machine Translation Software

Two central forces re-shaping education in the 21st century in the United States are the increasingly diverse and rich multilingual practices of students, as well as our growing use of digital technologies to communicate and make meaning (Deumert, 2014; García, Bartlett & Kleifgen, 2007; Jewitt, 2008; New London Group, 1996). Even if much scholarship has focused on the trends of multilingualism and multimodalities as separate entities, there are many intersections. Digital tools like machine translation software are being used in schools by multilingual students, and their often-monolingual teachers. Frameworks for multilingual teaching and learning involving intentional use of machine translation tools, however, are not yet fully incorporated into curriculum, school policies and practice. In this chapter, we analyse a case study of how an emergent bilingual who had arrived recently in the United States from China used machine translation software (Google Translate) in a sixth-grade general education classroom during writing activities

School leadership along the trajectory from monolingual to multilingual

This article explores the critical role of school leaders in language policy change, and specifically in shifting their language education policies and practices from monolingual to multilingual. We examine the process of language policy change in three schools that were involved in a project aimed at increasing the knowledge base of school leaders about bilingualism and language learning, and which required that participating schools use bilingualism as a resource in instruction and cultivate a school-wide ecology of multilingualism. The project encouraged translanguaging pedagogical strategies that engage the entire linguistic repertoire of emergent bilinguals flexibly. Our findings demonstrate that the school leaders made significant language policy changes that included structural changes in programming and pedagogy as well as ideological changes in adopting more favorable approaches towards emergent bilinguals and their languages. A significant finding to emerge is that shifts within schools were associated with changes in school leadership structures from hierarchical to collaborative, wherein principals widened school leadership to be shared among multiple official and unofficial leaders. This paper contributes to the field of language policy by providing a portrait of how school-wide policies favoring multilingualism influence leadership ideology and structures

Procesos de outsourcing de servicios informáticos en MiPyme de Córdoba

La tercerización o outsourcing de servicios informáticos se ha vuelto una tendencia por permitir a las empresas ahorrar costos y concentrar esfuerzos en sus actividades centrales. El presente trabajo, de carácter exploratorio-descriptivo, se propone indagar acerca de los factores que se asocian a la tercerización de servicios informáticos en MiPyME de Córdoba, Argentina, con el objetivo de aportar a la comprensión de los procesos de outsourcing de sistemas y tecnologías de información y comunicación (SI/TIC) de las empresas locales. Sobre una muestra de 101 empresas se realiza un análisis de clúster de k-medias, cuyos resultados permiten distinguir tres clusters en relación a sus procesos de outsourcing de SI/TIC: un 37% terceriza gran parte de las tareas SI/TIC a excepción del Webmaster; un 35% de empresas las resuelven mayormente de forma interna o in house y un 28% muestra un comportamiento mixto. Se observa que la presencia de un área o responsable de SI/TIC interno y la ubicación del Área de Sistemas están significativamente vinculadas al tamaño organizacional. Asimismo, se aprecian ciertos patrones de comportamiento respecto al tipo de tareas SI/TIC tercerizadas, asociados significativamente al tamaño organizacional y no al sector de actividad.Fil: Jones, Carola. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; Argentina.Fil: Ascenzi, Laura. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; Argentina.Fil: Ortega, Fernando. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; Argentina.Fil: Nuncira, Gloria. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; Argentina.Negocios y Administració

IS/IT Outsourcing policies and value co-creation in SME from Argentina

El objetivo del trabajo es identificar factores que explican la vinculación entre las políticas de provisión de servicios de SI/TI y la generación de valor en MiPyME. Dichos servicios pueden proveerse internamente o por contratación externa (outsourcing). El método de investigación combina un análisis de clúster de k-medias con un modelo de regresión logística, sobre una muestra de 113 empresas. Se detectan patrones de creación de valor asociados a los servicios SI/TI para luego explicar la probabilidad de pertenecer al clúster de empresas que asocia mayor valor a SI/TI y que a la vez mayormente tercerizan estos servicios. Los resultados indican que las variables predictoras se asocian a competencias organizacionales, capacitación del personal y la vinculación de la empresa; el hallazgo corresponde en particular a empresas medianas y de servicios. Su originalidad radica en aportar datos que no han sido publicados sobre las MiPyMEs de Córdoba, desde un enfoque que permite asociar los beneficios del outsourcing con factores internos y de contexto. Entre las limitaciones se encuentra el tamaño de la muestra y que no se construyó estratificada por sector de actividad.The objective of this paper is to identify the explanatory factors of the relationship between information technology and systems (IS/IT) diffusion policies and value creation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). IS/IT are considered services provided internally or by external contracting (outsourcing). Besides, the analysis approach allows associating the benefits of outsourcing with certain internal factors and context. Based on a sample of 113 firms, we conduct a cluster analysis k-means to detect patterns of value creation associated with IS/IT services. Then, a logistic regression model is estimated to explain the likelihood of being part of the outsourcing cluster as a function of independent variables such as employees’ education, percentage of employees using IS/IT, membership in a network and economic sector. Results indicate that outsourcing is associated with organizational competences, education and training of employees and membership in a network, especially in medium firms and services firms. The originality of the paper consists in showing the growing tendency to apply a strategy of IS/IT outsourcing in the city of Córdoba, Argentine where there is still no published papers on the subject. Among the limitations is the size of the sample and that it was not constructed stratified by activity sector.Fil: Jones, Carola. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; ArgentinaFil: Alderete, Maria Veronica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economía. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Ascenzi, Laura Daiana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; Argentin

Estudio exploratorio-descriptivo de la conducta tecnológica de empresas de Córdoba

El presente trabajo tiene por objeto realizar un estudio exploratorio-descriptivo de los procesos de adopción de tecnologías de información y comunicación (TIC) en empresas con actividad en la Provincia de Córdoba, y observar si existen patrones diferenciales asociados al sector de actividad y/o el tamaño organizacional. Para ello, se analizan los datos resultantes de una encuesta realizada entre setiembre y octubre de 2015 a través de la cátedra Tecnologías de Información I de la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas de la UNC, a 116 empresas de diferentes sectores (34% servicios, 40% comercio y 26% industria), de las cuales el 27% tienen menos de 10 empleados (microempresas), el 32% tiene entre 11 y 50 empleados (pequeñas empresas), el 26% restante tiene entre 51 y 250 empleados (medianas) y el 15% tiene más de 250 empleados (grandes). La encuesta recaba datos sobre características organizacionales, los tipos de TIC implementadas; la participación del Profesional en Ciencias Económicas en los procesos y decisiones de adopción de TIC y sobre la planificación y gestión de TIC. Se realiza un análisis de las estadísticas descriptivas. Los resultados preliminares indican que el comportamiento tecnológico de las empresas de la muestra es diferente para las variables analizadas, según sean el sector de actividad y el tamaño organizacional. Se proponen ajustes al instrumento de la encuesta en vista a trabajos futuros.publishedVersionFil: Jones, Carola. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; Argentina.Negocios y Administració