The Tsunami and the Chit Fund- Evidence from the Indian Ocean Tsunami Hit on Credit Demand in South India

We analyze the effects of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami on credit demand in South India. Combining data from a semi-formal financial intermediary with geophysical data on the Tsunami, we estimate the extent to which the price of credit and the structure of credit flows changed in response to this shock. We find a significant increase in the interest rate by 5.3 per cent on average in the affected branches around the Tsunami. Interest rates increased most dramatically in the first three months after the Tsunami hit and decreased subsequently over the year 2005. We conclude that (i) funds provided by Roscas did play a role for coping with this huge negative shock, (ii) repercussions of the Tsunami in the Rosca credit market were limited in terms of the order of magnitude of effects, and (iii) semi-formal credit and official aid are substitutes as disaster coping mechanisms rather than complements. --Roscas,Credit and Savings Associations,Rural Finance,Microfinance,Coping Strategies,Natural Disaster,Impact Evaluation

Virtual exchange in foreign language for specific purposes courses : Assessment strategies and tools

This mixed-methods study aims to explore the assessment strategies and tools teachers use to assess student learning in Virtual exchange (VE) in foreign/second language for specific purposes (FLSP) courses at tertiary level. The quantitative data were collected by means of a purpose-designed questionnaire that focused on assessment tools teachers used in order to give feedback to students involved in a VE project. The questionnaire data was supplemented with oral interviews with language teachers from diverse cultural backgrounds and aimed at eliciting more in-depth information about the planning of the assessment process, the form of assessment (e.g. summative or formative) and feedback provision. The results indicate that the teachers tend to perceive assessment as a formative process and apply assessment tools that focus on both content and language components, and encourage reflective practice and collaboration

Una traducción no es suficiente - principios de adaptación pedagógica en la elaboración de material didáctico adaptado al método AICLE

Built on the Canadian immersion model, Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has been an immensely popular approach to education in Europe. Despite the fact that this approach has been adopted in many systems of education, there is an acute shortage of textbooks supporting full integration of objectives related to both content and language. In some contexts, publishers offer translated versions of regular textbooks written in learners’ first language (L1), in which no adjustment is made to meet the requirements of the new mode of instruction. On the basis of the 4Cs (content, communication, cognition and culture) Framework of CLIL, the aim of this article is to indicate why translated CLIL textbooks fail to support learners in acquiring the subject matter in a foreign language. Additionally, to assist textbook designers, teachers and textbook evaluators, a few practical principles of high-quality CLIL learning materials will be provided.A pesar de que el Aprendizaje Integrado de Contenidos y Lengua (AICLE) ya se haya implantado en muchos sistemas educativos, el mercado carece de material didáctico que pudiera apoyar una plena integración de los objetivos centrados en contenidos y lengua. Algunas editoriales ofrecen los llamados manuales de AICLE, aunque en realidad no son más que réplicas de manuales locales de contenidos traducidos a otro idioma. En este artículo explicaremos, con base en el modelo de 4Cs de D. Coyle (contenido, comunicación, cognición y cultura), por qué este tipo de manuales no respetan la metodología AICLE. Además, exponemos una serie de rasgos necesarios para construir un buen manual que respete la integración de contenidos y lengua, con la confianza de que resulten útiles para los autores y evaluadores de los manuales, además de los profesores

Assessment in virtual exchange : a summary of the ASSESSnet project

This chapter outlines the ASSESSnet project [ASSESSnet: Language assessment in Virtual Mobility (VM) initiatives at tertiary level - teachers' beliefs, practices and perceptions; grant number 845783; https://www.assessnet.site/home]. First, its underlying mission is explained in this introduction, before a detailed description of the compilation and analytical approach to data undertaken during the project trajectory is provided. Following the research methodology, main findings of the ASSESSnet project are summarised and conclusions drawn

Financial market responses to a natural disaster:Evidence from credit networks and the Indian Ocean tsunami

We examine changes in financial allocations in Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (Roscas), a popular group-based financial institution world-wide, in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. With financial data from locations along the South Indian coast we estimate the causal effect of this major natural disaster on financial flows between occupational groups, the price of credit and other loan characteristics. We find that the supply of funds in these credit networks remained remarkably stable, while demand by small and medium-scale entrepreneurs increased significantly. In response, substantial funds were channeled from wage-employed members and commercial investors to entrepreneurs. We conclude that natural disasters affect individuals with substantial heterogeneity and that the Roscas we study offer more scope for gains from trade in response to a seemingly aggregate shock than commonly assumed for traditional credit and insurance networks

"Let's talk about el catalan's ;)" Student teachers' use of plurilingual and plurimodal resources in WhatsApp interaction

In this chapter, we explore code-switching choices in a multimodal mobile-supported exchange between future foreign language teachers, paying particular attention to the impact of the co-participants' code-switching on the sequentiality of the interaction. Extending from the observation that emoji may have more communicative purposes than simply conveying emotions or pictorially representing facial expressions or gestures (Kelly and Watts, 2015), it is suggested that emojis may be deployed to orchestrate the interaction (e.g. mitigation through humour) or to elicit a next-turn interaction from other participants (e.g. orientation of an expected response). This study, which uses Conversation Analysis (CA), seeks to deepen our understanding of the impact of technology on interactional practices in intercultural settings by exploring a WhatsApp interaction during a Virtual Exchange (VE) in a language teacher education course

"A Stressful Unknown" or "an Oasis"? : Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of Assessment in an In-Class and Online English Phonetics Course

The sudden need to switch from traditional in-class instruction to online teaching and assessment due to the covid-19 pandemic has posed considerable challenges to teachers, but also to learners. The mixed method study reported in this article compared Polish undergraduate students' cognitive, affective, and behavioural re-sponses to assessment provided in two practical English phonetics courses taught during an in-class fall semester and online spring semester. The quantitative data were collected by means of an online questionnaire, which consisted of three categories of semantic differential scales referring to the cognitive, affective, and behavioural responses. The qualitative data consisted of drawings, open-ended surveys, and individual interviews with the students. The t-test results showed sig-nificant differences in students' perceptions in terms of cognitive and behavioural aspects. The qualitative data revealed that although the students highly valued formative assessment in the course, the online mode weakened their engagement and interest in receiving feedback. It was also observed that students' perceptions of in-class and online assessment were shaped largely by their individual dif-ferences and learning preferences. The study underlies the importance of using anxiety-lowering techniques in both in-class and online classes, and the need for fostering undergraduate students' autonomous learning skills