The rationale for a wider concept of Inclusive Education for teacher education: A case-study of Serbia

Teacher education for inclusive education (IE) is recognized as vital for improving quality and equity in education globally. In the Western Balkan countries it is also part of the transition process towards joining the European Union and has attracted international funding for IE-related projects. A key finding from research funded by the European Training Foundation, carried out by the authors as members of a seven-country research team in 2009-2010, was that the prevailing local understanding of IE was very narrow. In this article we hypothesize the reasons for this finding. We use a case study of school and teacher education systems in Serbia to explore how this understanding has constrained the development of IE and associated teacher education and limited the efficacy of some recent internationally supported developments. We identify both challenges and possible ways forward for teacher education for IE based on promoting a concept of IE that is both collaboratively agreed and comprehensive. © 2012 UNESCO IBE

Small Town Transit-Oriented Development in Eastern Ontario and Sweden

Transit-oriented development (TOD) – the practice of planning dense, mixed-use nodes around a transit station – is becoming increasingly common in Canadian and North American urban planning. However, there has been little attention paid by practitioners and scholars to small towns, and how a theory intended for large urban areas can be applied to a smaller setting. With a potential new VIA Rail line being developed between Windsor and Quebec City, the town of Perth, Ontario may become home to a commuter railway station for the first time in over half a century. Can transit-oriented development work in Perth, a town of fewer than 6000 people? This paper explores the question of whether a regional railway station can stimulate transit-oriented development in a small town such as Perth. It examines the existing literature on TOD and makes use of a number of case studies of different scales. In compares VIA Rail as a commuter railway network to the commuter railway system in the Region of Skåne, Sweden, and examines five small towns with existing railway stations: Tierp, Gnesta, Skurup and Svedala (all in Sweden), and Smiths Falls, Ontario. Over the course of this paper, several conclusions are formulated. First, although TOD is possible in small towns, it must cater to the scale of said towns. Second, a railway station on its own is not sufficient to stimulate compact development; transit-supportive policies must be in place. Third, small towns are extremely sensitive to the current housing market, and their growth rates tend to be tied to housing affordability issues in nearby cities. Finally, increased connectivity can have the detrimental effect of reducing commercial activity in small towns, as the ease of access means that businesses have less incentive to locate in smaller markets. These lessons are applied to Perth in order to determine what a TOD plan might look like for the town

Investigating Reproductive Success and Endocrine Regulation of Mating Strategies in Male Japanese Medaka

Mate guarding, when two males compete for one female, is a reproductive strategy seen across a variety of vertebrate species. This often leads to hierarchical relationships, in which one male exerts dominance over other, subordinate males. However, the physiological mechanisms that promote dominance or subordinance in males remain largely unexplored. This study investigates the reproductive success and endocrine signals of these reproductive strategies in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). To identify dominant and subordinate males, triads consisting of two males of different genotypes and one female were observed repeatedly for 5 days. Male reproductive success was determined by genotyping embryos from each female. We found that the number of eggs fertilized by dominants and subordinates did not differ (p=0.29), indicating that dominant behavior does not guarantee reproductive success and that subordinate males may successfully fertilize eggs using sneaker male tactics. We hypothesized that these behaviors are linked to activity in the reproductive endocrine axis. To test this hypothesis, we quantified pituitary luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in dominant and subordinate males using ELISAs. While FSH did not differ between the groups, LH was unexpectedly higher in subordinate males (p=0.047). This indicates that either LH production is stimulated, or its pituitary release is inhibited in subordinates. To investigate these opposing explanations, we measured mRNA levels of LH, FSH, and GnRH receptors in the pituitary, and GnRH and AVT in the brain of dominant and subordinate males using qPCR. Mean differences between dominants and subordinates were not significant for any gene. Dominant fish expressed higher lhb in 8/12 tanks, indicating that LH production is not stimulated in subordinates, but as the transcripts for GnRH and its receptors also did not differ, further studies are needed to determine the mechanism by which LH release may be inhibited

The assessment of pain in older people

Pain is under-recognised and under-treated in older people. It is a subjective, personal experience, only known to the person who suffers. The assessment of pain is particularly challenging in the presence of severe cognitive impairment, communication difficulties or language and cultural barriers. These guidelines set out the key components of assessing pain in older people, together with a variety of practical scales that may be used with different groups, including those with varying levels of cognitive or communication impairment. The purpose is to provide professionals with a set of practical skills to assess pain as the first step towards its effective management. The guidance has implications for all healthcare and social care staff and can be applied in all settings, including the older person’s own home, in care homes, and in hospital

The Effects of Oppression on Queer Intimate Adolescent Attachment

In America’s privileged majority, one of the primary focuses of adolescence is to establish independence from the youth’s family of origin and develop primary attachment to an intimate partner. Unlike heterosexually identified youth, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and questioning (LGBTQ) youth receive limited support from society when developing their sexual orientation identity and same sex, intimate relationships. Furthermore, LGBTQ youth are exposed to an insufficient number of public, same sex relationships, have access to few supportive spaces to explore same sex sexuality and relationships, and are met with a societal understanding of relationship building that is entrenched in heterosexism. This societal oppression is concretely illustrated by the lack of consistent legal recognition of LGBTQ relationships in American society. Informed by Bowlby’s attachment theory, this qualitative research study sought to understand how experienced societal oppression of gay, bisexual, and queer male identified adolescents impacted the attachment process and attachment security of same sex relational intimacy. Through the use of in depth interviews, fourteen, male identified, African-American young adults between the ages of eighteen through twenty-four provided relational narratives in an effort to understand the factors that contributed to their ability to form positive, secure attachment to intimate, same sex partners while contending with homonegativity. An understanding of the diverse ways in which gay, bisexual, and queer male identified youth maintained feelings of secure attachment to their same sex partner when contending with homonegativity was identified. These findings contribute to the understanding of resilience in the attachment process of LGBTQ youth

Smoking Prevention Program for Adolescents: A Hands-on Approach

This project is an initial pilot idea for hands-on experiences to reinforce smoking prevention in adolescents. The proposed idea is to have students specifically those identified \u27at-risk\u27, being given opportunities to interact with pathology specimens on-site at the hospital, introduce spirometry, and real-world panel discussions. The resources of the hospital provide a unique opportunity for promotion of this public health goal.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1397/thumbnail.jp

Investigating reproductive success and endocrine regulation of mating strategies in male medaka

Mate guarding, when two males compete for one female, is a reproductive strategy seen across a variety of vertebrate species. This often leads to hierarchical relationships, in which one male exerts dominance over other, subordinate males. However, the physiological mechanisms that promote dominance or subordinance in males remain largely unexplored. This study investigates the reproductive success and endocrine signals of these reproductive strategies in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). To identify dominant and subordinate males, triads consisting of two males of different genotypes and one female were observed repeatedly for 5 days. Male reproductive success was determined by genotyping embryos from each female. We found that the number of eggs fertilized by dominants and subordinates did not differ (p=0.29), indicating that dominant behavior does not guarantee reproductive success and that subordinate males may successfully fertilize eggs using sneaker male tactics. We hypothesized that these behaviors are linked to activity in the reproductive endocrine axis. To test this hypothesis, we quantified pituitary luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in dominant and subordinate males using ELISAs. While FSH did not differ between the groups, LH was unexpectedly higher in subordinate males (p=0.047). This indicates that either LH production is stimulated, or its pituitary release is inhibited in subordinates. To investigate these opposing explanations, we measured mRNA levels of LH, FSH, and GnRH receptors in the pituitary, and GnRH and AVT in the brain of dominant and subordinate males using qPCR. Mean differences between dominants and subordinates were not significant for any gene. Dominant fish expressed higher lhb in 8/12 tanks, indicating that LH production is not stimulated in subordinates, but as the transcripts for GnRH and its receptors also did not differ, further studies are needed to determine the mechanism by which LH release may be inhibited

Discussion article : discourse markers, modal particles, and contrastive analysis, synchronic and diachronic

I discuss three issues common to papers in the present issue of CatJL by Aijmer, Bazzanella et al., and Waltereit and Detges. One is modal uses of discourse markers and distinctions between discourse markers and modal particles. The second is evidence provided by the papers for diachronic changes that individual markers underwent; the distinction between grammaticalization and pragmaticalization is considered and challenged. Finally, I raise some issues regarding the methodology of data-selection in contrastive studies.En aquest article discutim tres elements comuns a les contribucions d'Aijmer, Bazzanella et al., i Waltereit i Detges a aquest volum de CatJL. Un és els usos modals dels marcadors del discurs i les distincions entre marcadors del discurs i partícules modals. El segon són les proves que els articles aporten per al canvi diacrònic que han patit els marcadors concrets que s'hi estudien, en relació amb la distinció entre gramaticalització i pragmaticalització. Finalment, plantegem algunes qüestions relatives a la metodologia de selecció de dades en estudis contrastius

FUNDAMENTOS DO SERVIÇO SOCIAL: UMA ANÁLISE DAS PRODUÇÕES NOS PERIÓDICOS DA ÁREA

Resumo O presente trabalho sistematiza dados de tese sobre os Fundamentos do Serviço Social com base na teoria social marxista, a qual analisa como estes se constituem e se expressam na produção de conhecimento da área. Apresenta-se resultados de pesquisa quanti-qualitativa que analisou as produções publicadas em 11 periódicos da área nas últimas duas décadas (1993 a 2013), totalizando 2031 artigos revisados, conformando um banco de dados composto por 324 artigos que possuem descritores relacionados aos Fundamentos do Serviço Social. Verificou-se que a produção que aborda diretamente os Fundamentos é bastante diminuta não atingindo 1% das publicações dos periódicos (0,49%) e que a totalidade de artigos que tratam de temáticas relativas aos Fundamentos também é reduzida (15,91%)