Digital natives? : new and old media and children’s language acquisition

The current generation of young children has been described as &ldquo;digital natives&rdquo;, having been born into a ubiquitous digital media environment. They are envisaged as educationally independent of the guided interaction provided by &ldquo;digital immigrants&rdquo;: parents and teachers. This paper uses data from the multiples waves of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) to study the effect of various media on children&rsquo;s development of vocabulary and traditional literacy. Previous research has suggested that time spent watching television is associated with less time spent reading, and ultimately, with inferior educational outcomes. The early studies of the &ldquo;new&rdquo; digital media (computers, games consoles, mobile phones, the Internet, etc.) assumed these devices would have similar effects on literacy outcomes to those associated with television. Moreover, these earlier studies relied on poorer measures of time spent in media use and usually did not control for the context of the child&rsquo;s media use. Fortunately, LSAC contains measures of access to digital devices; parental mediation practices; the child&rsquo;s use of digital devices as recorded in time use diaries; direct measures of the child&rsquo;s passive vocabulary; and teachers&rsquo; ratings of the child&rsquo;s literacy. The analysis presented shows the importance of the parental context framing the child&rsquo;s media use in promoting the acquisition of vocabulary, and suggests that computer (but not games) use is associated with more developed language skills. Independently of these factors, raw exposure to television is not harmful to learning, as previously thought.<br /

Domestic migration and mobile phones: a qualitative case study focused on recent migrants to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Migration has long been used as a strategy for livelihood diversification in rural, subsistence communities. Yet in order for migration to effectively serve as a livelihood diversification strategy, it should meet certain conditions: migration should ease financial burdens, should confer access to economically valuable resources and information, and should broaden social networks. Using qualitative data gathered in 25 interviews with rural migrants to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, we examine how mobile phone technology has impacted migration as a livelihood diversification strategy. Our results show that while mobile phones facilitate migration, the advantages conferred may benefit migrants at the expense of the home communities. Mobile phones alleviate financial constraints, enable access to broader networks, and facilitate informational and resource support among migrants. Our results show limited evidence of migrants using mobile phone technology to provide resources or information to the home community. Our results highlight the need to reconsider the ways in which migration can be used as a livelihood diversification strategy in light of changing communication technologies to promote the economic success of both migrants and their home communities

Progress towards identification of a pheromone of the asparagus beetle, Crioceris asparagi (Coleoptera; Chrysomelidae)

The asparagus beetle, Crioceris asparagi L. (Coleoptera; Chrysomelidae) has become a widespread pest of asparagus, Asparagus officinalis (asparagus). There are no known attractants for C. asparagi and much of its biology is unknown. Volatiles were collected from individual beetles and a candidate pheromone component was detected in collections from some individuals of the first generation but not the second. This compound elicited an electroantennographic response from C. asparagi and the mass spectrum indicated it is a 19-carbon hydrocarbon with four double bonds. Complete structural elucidation and synthesis are in progress

A Case of Herpes Zoster with Abducens Palsy

Only a few reports have focused on ocular motor paralysis in herpes zoster ophthalmicus. We report a case of ocular motor paralysis resulting from herpes zoster. The patient, an 80-yr-old woman, presented with grouped vesicles, papules, and crusting in the left temporal area and scalp, with diplopia, impaired gaze, and severe pain. Her cerebrospinal fluid analysis was positive for varicellar zoster virus IgM. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed to rule out other diseases causing diplopia; there were no specific findings other than old infarctions in the pons and basal ganglia. Therefore, she was diagnosed of abducens nerve palsy caused by herpes zoster ophthalmicus. After 5 days of systemic antiviral therapy, the skin lesions improved markedly, and the paralysis was cleared 7 weeks later without extra treatment

Immune cells fold and damage fungal hyphae

Acknowledgements We thank Ben Rutter and Alex Brand for providing Mycelia sterilia hyphae, and Gillian Griffiths for insightful advice. We are grateful to the Microscopy and Histology Core Facility at the University of Aberdeen for their help, advice and support. This work was funded by grants from the UK Medical Research Council [www.mrc.ac.uk], to AJPB, NARG, LPE, MN (MR/M026663/1, MR/M026663/2), and from the University of Aberdeen to AP, DL. The work was also supported by Wellcome [www.wellcome.ac.uk]: NARG, GDB, AJPB (097377); NARG (101873, 200208); and GDB (102705). Further support for this work was also provided by the Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology (MR/N006364/1). MGN was supported by an ERC Advanced Grant (#833247) and a Spinoza grant of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Political Economy of Poverty and Social Transformations of the Global South

This book contributes to the debates on the production and eradication of poverty in the global South. It collects a set of innovative articles concentrating on the way in which poverty, as a social process, has been addressed by popular movements and the governments of various states across the globe. Providing new insights into the limitations of traditional strategies to confront poverty, it highlights how social organizations are working to transform the livelihoods of people through bottom-up struggle and more participatory approaches rather than passively waiting for top-down solutions.Comparative Research Programme on Poverty (CROP) at the University of BergenpublishedVersio