School Stakeholders' Experience with Navigating ICT Policy Reforms in Singapore

Using qualitative research inquiry methods, this inquiry attempts to explore how school stakeholders cope with incessant and seemingly endless transformations in schools. The central phenomenon to be studied focuses on how school stakeholders “make sense” of educational reform. In order to do this, an exploratory case study of two target schools taking part in policy reform initiatives directed at ubiquitous use of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) in a Singapore context would be the locus of this inquiry. Using Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), interviews, and observations this inquiry investigates and builds emerging explanations to sense-making experiences of stakeholders. Policy learning narratives of actors involved in the ICT-education reforms would be analysed using the lens of Actor-Network Theory (ANT). Findings from this exploratory inquiry provide insights to ongoing debates on policy learning experiences of school stakeholders in periods of uncertainty

Henipavirus and Tioman Virus Antibodies in Pteropodid Bats, Madagascar

Specimens were obtained from the 3 Malagasy fruit bats, Pteropus rufus, Eidolon dupreanum, and Rousettus madagascariensis. Antibodies against Nipah, Hendra, and Tioman viruses were detected by immunoassay in 23 and by serum neutralization tests in 3 of 427 serum samples, which suggests that related viruses have circulated in Madagascar

Cruise passengers’ perception of key quality attributes of cruise lines in North America

This study identified cruise passengers’ perceived importance and performance of quality attributes for cruise lines in North America by utilizing an importance–performance analysis tool. The results concluded that: (a) room temperature, behavior of other passengers, food and beverages, and accommodation require immediate attention from cruise line operators; (b) the cruise lines are succeeding in providing excellent services for their customers, as well as maintaining a high level of overall shipboard cleanliness; and (c) cruise marketing efforts should promote the attractiveness of onboard activities and facilities, including entertainment, recreation and sports facilities, fitness and health facilities, supplementary facilities, and facilities for children. Overall, the results of this study help cruise lines identify which onboard attributes need more attention and determine the areas that may be consuming too many resources

Successes and failures in language planning for European languages in Asian nations

Although there have been some attempts to examine language planning and its successes and failures in South and East Asian languages, especially as such planning relates to English and to other European languages, no systematic cross-national study is available that looks systemati-cally at these issues. While such a study is not possible within the limits imposed by this paper – a monograph would probably be needed; we attempt to sketch the broad outlines of what such a study might look like and provide some basic data about, and examples of the successful and more problematic language policy and planning that has occurred in this region. If we look beyond the large regional languages (e.g., Bengali, Chinese, Japanese, Javanese, Korean, and more recently Malay/Indonesian and Filipino) and the multitude of minority lan-guages, we find European – and of course Arabic and other Asian languages – have become es-tablished in the various polities in the region. These languages have come to be used for a number of reasons, including: •Trade internally within the region, from the Arabian peninsula, and later from Europe (Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish); •Religious proselytisation conducted through Arabic and various European languages; •Colonization, as conducted through various European (and Asian) languages; •Languages learned to access overseas education and technology; •Wars of aggression, some of which were linked to European, North American, and Asian colonial development; •The geopolitics of the “cold war”, especially for Russian and English; and •The rise of English as an economic world language or lingua franca

A controlled evaluation of social prescribing on loneliness for adults in Queensland: 8-week outcomes

IntroductionThere have been few controlled evaluations of Social Prescribing (SP), in which link workers support lonely individuals to engage with community-based social activities. This study reports early outcomes of a trial comparing General Practitioner treatment-as-usual (TAU) with TAU combined with Social Prescribing (SP) in adults experiencing loneliness in Queensland.MethodsParticipants were 114 individuals who were non-randomly assigned to one of two conditions (SP, n = 63; TAU, n = 51) and assessed at baseline and 8 weeks, on primary outcomes (loneliness, well-being, health service use in past 2 months) and secondary outcomes (social anxiety, psychological distress, social trust).ResultsRetention was high (79.4%) in the SP condition. Time × condition interaction effects were found for loneliness and social trust, with improvement observed only in SP participants over the 8-week period. SP participants reported significant improvement on all other outcomes with small-to-moderate effect sizes (ULS-8 loneliness, wellbeing, psychological distress, social anxiety). However, interaction effects did not reach significance.DiscussionSocial prescribing effects were small to moderate at the 8-week follow up. Group-based activities are available in communities across Australia, however, further research using well-matched control samples and longer-term follow ups are required to provide robust evidence to support a wider roll out

Biogenesis of cytochrome b6 in photosynthetic membranes

In chloroplasts, binding of a c′-heme to cytochrome b6 on the stromal side of the thylakoid membranes requires a specific mechanism distinct from the one at work for c-heme binding to cytochromes f and c6 on the lumenal side of membranes. Here, we show that the major protein components of this pathway, the CCBs, are bona fide transmembrane proteins. We demonstrate their association in a series of hetero-oligomeric complexes, some of which interact transiently with cytochrome b6 in the process of heme delivery to the apoprotein. In addition, we provide preliminary evidence for functional assembly of cytochrome b6f complexes even in the absence of c′-heme binding to cytochrome b6. Finally, we present a sequential model for apo- to holo-cytochrome b6 maturation integrated within the assembly pathway of b6f complexes in the thylakoid membranes

Cardiovascular responses to progressive hypoxia in ducks native to high altitude in the Andes

The cardiovascular system is critical for delivering O2 to tissues. Here, we examined the cardiovascular responses to progressive hypoxia in four high-altitude Andean duck species compared with four related low-altitude populations in North America, tested at their native altitude. Ducks were exposed to stepwise decreases in inspired partial pressure of O2 while we monitored heart rate, O2 consumption rate, blood O2 saturation, haematocrit (Hct) and blood haemoglobin (Hb) concentration. We calculated O2 pulse (the product of stroke volume and the arterial–venous O2 content difference), blood O2 concentration and heart rate variability. Regardless of altitude, all eight populations maintained O2 consumption rate with minimal change in heart rate or O2 pulse, indicating that O2 consumption was maintained by either a constant arterial–venous O2 content difference (an increase in the relative O2 extracted from arterial blood) or by a combination of changes in stroke volume and the arterial–venous O2 content difference. Three high-altitude taxa (yellow-billed pintails, cinnamon teal and speckled teal) had higher Hct and Hb concentration, increasing the O2 content of arterial blood, and potentially providing a greater reserve for enhancing O2 delivery during hypoxia. Hct and Hb concentration between low- and high-altitude populations of ruddy duck were similar, representing a potential adaptation to diving life. Heart rate variability was generally lower in high-altitude ducks, concurrent with similar or lower heart rates than low-altitude ducks, suggesting a reduction in vagal and sympathetic tone. These unique features of the Andean ducks differ from previous observations in both Andean geese and bar-headed geese, neither of which exhibit significant elevations in Hct or Hb concentration compared with their low-altitude relatives, revealing yet another avian strategy for coping with high altitude

Judgment of Learning Accuracy in High-functioning Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study explored whether adults and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate difficulties making metacognitive judgments, specifically judgments of learning. Across two experiments, the study examined whether individuals with ASD could accurately judge whether they had learnt a piece of information (in this case word pairs). In Experiment 1, adults with ASD demonstrated typical accuracy on a standard ‘cue-alone’ judgment of learning (JOL) task, compared to age- and IQmatched neurotypical adults. Additionally, in Experiment 2, adolescents with ASD demonstrated typical accuracy on both a standard ‘cue-alone’ JOL task, and a ‘cue-target’ JOL task. These results suggest that JOL accuracy is unimpaired in ASD. These results have important implications for both theories of metacognition in ASD and educational practise