Citizenship Education and Embodied ways of Knowing: What can be learned from the voices of Ghanaian youth in schooling and education?

This article examines Ghanaian youth voices about issues of personal and moral character development through the teachings of local embodied ways of knowing and how such ways of knowing further inform our understanding of discipline and the socialization of Ghanaian youth to become responsible citizens.  We briefly explore the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of researching moral character development, the question of discipline and the relations to youth and citizenship responsibilities through youth voices. We argue youth voices show complex understandings of embodied ways of knowing relating to questions of citizenry, discipline, character, moral, and respect.  The paper hence offers insights toward reforms needed in educational delivery (teaching, learning and instruction), as well as values of education to address the question of youth voice, decolonization, discipline, and embodied ways of knowing, so as to enhance the possibilities of coming to know citizenry, character, moral and community

Beyond the Rhetoric: Moving from Exclusion, Reaching for Inclusion in Canadian Schools

This article is informed by the findings of a three-year research study in Ontario schools in order to understand the factors and forces that make for students' engagement and disengagement in schools. Although research has sought to understand the processes that contribute to some students feeling a sense of marginality and disconnectedness in their schools, we have also paid attention to exemplary practices of inclusive schooling in educational settings. Specifically, in this article we examine educational practices that engender exclusion or inclusion, particularly of racially marginalized students in Euro-American or Canadian contexts. We develop an analysis that uncovers the connection between "inclusionary and exclusionary" practices of schooling. "Inclusivity" moves beyond mere classroom presence of minorities or superficial attempts at multiculturalism: students may feel disempowered and therefore excluded as far as actual classroom practices are concerned (e.g., teaching, sharing knowledge). Moving from exclusion means identifying students' own narrative accounts of marginality and subordination that result in feeling left out. Reading for inclusion means interrogating strategies initiated by schools, students, educators, parents, and local communities to counteract the marginalization of disadvantaged and racial minority youths. Our aim in this article is to use available research information to encourage the wider application of effective inclusive practices to improve learning outcomes for all youth.Cet article repose sur les résultats d'une étude qui s'est déroulée sur trois ans dans des écoles en Ontario et qui avait comme objectif de comprendre les facteurs et les enjeux qui font en sorte que les étudiants sont impliqués ou pas dans leur école. Alors que les chercheurs ont tenté de saisir les processus qui contribuent au sentiment qu'ont certains étudiants d'être marginalisés et désengagés dans leur école, ils ont également porté leur attention sur les pratiques exemplaires d'écoles intégratrices dans des milieux pédagogiques. Plus précisément, dans cet article, les auteurs se penchent sur les pratiques pédagogiques qui créent l'exclusion ou l'inclusion, notamment d'étudiants marginalisés en cause de leur race dans des contextes euroaméricain ou canadien. Ils poursuivent une analyse qui révèle le lien entre des pratiques d'enseignement "inclusifs" et ceux qui sont "exclusifs". L'inclusivité va au-delà de la simple présence en salle de classe de minorités ou des démarches superficielles tendant vers le multiculturalisme qui peuvent laisser les étudiants avec le sentiment d'être tenus à l'écart du pouvoir et donc exclus quant aux pratiques en salle de classe (par exemple, l'enseignement, le partage de connaissances). Pour mettre fin à l'exclusion, il faut tenir compte des récits descriptifs que font les étudiants de leur marginalité et de leur subordination, ainsi que des sentiments d'être exclus qui en résultent. Pour encourager l'inclusion, il faut analyser les stratégies mises de l'avant par les écoles, les étudiants, les enseignants, les parents et les communautés pour faire contrepoids à la marginalisation des jeunes qui sont défavorisés ou membres d'une minorité ethnique. Le but des auteurs est de profiter des résultats de recherches pour encourager une application plus répandue de démarches efficaces d'inclusion et améliorer l'apprentissage de tous les jeunes

School Reforms in Ontario: The "Marketization of Education" and the Resulting Silence on Equity

Market dynamics have begun to entrench themselves in educational systems around the world. Although this phenomenon has been addressed in several recent writings (Ball, 1993; Dehli, 1996; Gerwitz, Ball, & Bowe, 1995; Kenway, 1993; Robertson, 1995), few have incorporated a critical antiracist framework. As noted by Dehli (1996) the encroachment of market forms, relations, and concepts into educational sites usually results in the marginalization and muting of other dimensions of schooling. Using an integrative antiracist perspective that is informed by the findings of an ongoing study of inclusive schooling in Ontario (Dei et al, 1996), this article critically examines these ongoing reforms in a Canadian context, specifically in relation to the recent reforms in Ontario's educational system. We draw on knowledge about race and difference to argue for serious questioning of these reforms and their impact on socially disadvantaged groups. In doing so, the article asserts that current trends are leading toward the " Marketisation of education" (Ball, 1993; Gerwitz et al., 1995; Kenway, 1993) in Ontario, and that the harmful consequences of this shift will be felt most severely in relation to issues of equity and access in education. Through the rhetoric of cost-effectiveness and bureaucratic efficiency, the "official" agenda for educational change shifts focus away from equity considerations in schooling to those of capital, market forces, and big business. The article interrogates the rhetoric of reform and calls for equity to be placed at the centre of educational change. In conclusion we suggest new ways of examining and addressing genuine educational options in Canadian contexts.La dynamique de marché a commencé à s'inscrire dans les systèmes d'éducation de par le monde. Alors qu'on a beaucoup écrit sur ce phénomène récemment (Bail, 1993; Dehli, 1996; Gerwitz, Bail, & Bowe, 1995; Kenway, 1993; Robertson, 1995), peu d'auteurs ont incorporé un cadre de travail antiraciste dans leur analyse. Comme Dehli (1996) l'a noté, l'empiétement des formes, des relations et des concepts du marché sur les sites éducationnels entraîne habituellement la marginalisation et la mise à l'écart d'autres dimensions de la scolarité. Adoptant une perspective antiraciste integrative reposant sur les résultats d'une étude continue de l'école inclusive en Ontario (Dei et al, 1996), cet article étudie d'un oeil critique les réformes en cours dans un contexte canadien, plus particulièrement par rapport aux réformes récentes dans le système d'éducation en Ontario. Nous puisons dans des connaissances sur la race et les différences pour appuyer nos arguments qui proposent une sérieuse remise en question de ces réformes et leur impact sur les groupes socialement défavorisés. Nous affirmons ainsi que les tendances actuelles mènent à la "Commercialisation de l'éducation" (Bail, 1993; Gerwitz et al, 1995; Kenway, 1993) en Ontario, et que les conséquences néfastes de ce changement se feront surtout sentir dans les questions d'équité et d'accès en matière d'éducation. Par le biais du discours sur la rentabilisation et l'efficacité administrative, les projets "officiels"/l'agenda officiel visant aux cliangements pédagogiques se distancienl des considérations d'équité pour se rapprocher de celles gouvernées par le capital, les forces du marché et les grandes entreprises. Cet article remet en question le discours des réformes et propose que l'équité constitue la base sur laquelle les changements pédagogiques seront formulés. La conclusion présente de nouvelles façons d'aborder et d'étudier les options réelles en matière d'éducation dans divers contextes canadiens

Examination of Traditional Medicine and Herbal Pharmacology and the Implications for Teaching and Education: A Ghanaian Case Study

This article presents the preliminary findings of a pilot study of the practice, uses, and effectiveness of traditional medicine in Ghana. Based on in-depth interviews with local key practitioners and users of traditional medicine, the article points to some of the educational significance of local cultural knowledge on the environment and the relevance of such knowledge for science education in Ghana. In the discussion the authors briefly highlight general themes relating to local understandings of traditional medicine, the distinctions between traditional and plant medicine, contestations between traditional medicine and orthodox medicine, local conceptions of health and a healthy individual, the economics of health, and the lessons of science and public education. Although the findings of the study are preliminary, the article argues that much is to be gained for educational purposes through the critical study of traditional medicine, particularly in terms of the promotion of science and community education in Ghana

Decolonizing Science and Science Education in a Postcolonial Space (Trinidad, a Developing Caribbean Nation, Illustrates)

The article addresses how remnant or transformed colonialist structures continue to shape science and science education, and how that impact might be mitigated within a postcolonial environment in favor of the development of the particular community being addressed. Though cognizant of, and resistant to, the ongoing colonial impact globally and nationally (and any attempts at subjugation, imperialism, and marginalization), this article is not about anticolonial science. Indeed, it is realized that the postcolonial state of science and science education is not simply defined, and may exist as a mix of the scientific practices of the colonizer and the colonized. The discussion occurs through a generic postcolonial lens and is organized into two main sections. First, the discussion of the postcolonial lens is eased through a consideration of globalization which is held here as the new colonialism. The article then uses this lens to interrogate conceptions of science and science education, and to suggest that the mainstream, standard account of what science is seems to represent a globalized- or arguably a Western, modern, secular-conception of science. This standard account of science can act as a gatekeeper to the indigenous ways of being, knowing, and doing of postcolonial populations. The article goes on to suggest that as a postcolonial response, decolonizing science and science education might be possible through practices that are primarily contextually respectful and responsive. That is, localization is suggested as one possible antidote to the deleterious effects of globalization. Trinidad, a postcolonial developing Caribbean nation, is used as illustration

Diagnosis and management of tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) fusion sarcomas : expert recommendations from the World Sarcoma Network

Sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of malignancies with mesenchymal lineage differentiation. The discovery of neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase (NTRK) gene fusions as tissue-agnostic oncogenic drivers has led to new personalized therapies for a subset of patients with sarcoma in the form of tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) inhibitors. NTRK gene rearrangements and fusion transcripts can be detected with different molecular pathology techniques, while TRK protein expression can be demonstrated with immunohistochemistry. The rarity and diagnostic complexity of NTRK gene fusions raise a number of questions and challenges for clinicians. To address these challenges, the World Sarcoma Network convened two meetings of expert adult oncologists and pathologists and subsequently developed this article to provide practical guidance on the management of patients with sarcoma harboring NTRK gene fusions. We propose a diagnostic strategy that considers disease stage and histologic and molecular subtypes to facilitate routine testing for TRK expression and subsequent testing for NTRK gene fusions.Peer reviewe

Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19

Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2–4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease

Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes

Cancer is driven by genetic change, and the advent of massively parallel sequencing has enabled systematic documentation of this variation at the whole-genome scale(1-3). Here we report the integrative analysis of 2,658 whole-cancer genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types from the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We describe the generation of the PCAWG resource, facilitated by international data sharing using compute clouds. On average, cancer genomes contained 4-5 driver mutations when combining coding and non-coding genomic elements; however, in around 5% of cases no drivers were identified, suggesting that cancer driver discovery is not yet complete. Chromothripsis, in which many clustered structural variants arise in a single catastrophic event, is frequently an early event in tumour evolution; in acral melanoma, for example, these events precede most somatic point mutations and affect several cancer-associated genes simultaneously. Cancers with abnormal telomere maintenance often originate from tissues with low replicative activity and show several mechanisms of preventing telomere attrition to critical levels. Common and rare germline variants affect patterns of somatic mutation, including point mutations, structural variants and somatic retrotransposition. A collection of papers from the PCAWG Consortium describes non-coding mutations that drive cancer beyond those in the TERT promoter(4); identifies new signatures of mutational processes that cause base substitutions, small insertions and deletions and structural variation(5,6); analyses timings and patterns of tumour evolution(7); describes the diverse transcriptional consequences of somatic mutation on splicing, expression levels, fusion genes and promoter activity(8,9); and evaluates a range of more-specialized features of cancer genomes(8,10-18).Peer reviewe

Second asymptomatic carotid surgery trial (ACST-2): a randomised comparison of carotid artery stenting versus carotid endarterectomy

Background: Among asymptomatic patients with severe carotid artery stenosis but no recent stroke or transient cerebral ischaemia, either carotid artery stenting (CAS) or carotid endarterectomy (CEA) can restore patency and reduce long-term stroke risks. However, from recent national registry data, each option causes about 1% procedural risk of disabling stroke or death. Comparison of their long-term protective effects requires large-scale randomised evidence. Methods: ACST-2 is an international multicentre randomised trial of CAS versus CEA among asymptomatic patients with severe stenosis thought to require intervention, interpreted with all other relevant trials. Patients were eligible if they had severe unilateral or bilateral carotid artery stenosis and both doctor and patient agreed that a carotid procedure should be undertaken, but they were substantially uncertain which one to choose. Patients were randomly allocated to CAS or CEA and followed up at 1 month and then annually, for a mean 5 years. Procedural events were those within 30 days of the intervention. Intention-to-treat analyses are provided. Analyses including procedural hazards use tabular methods. Analyses and meta-analyses of non-procedural strokes use Kaplan-Meier and log-rank methods. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN21144362. Findings: Between Jan 15, 2008, and Dec 31, 2020, 3625 patients in 130 centres were randomly allocated, 1811 to CAS and 1814 to CEA, with good compliance, good medical therapy and a mean 5 years of follow-up. Overall, 1% had disabling stroke or death procedurally (15 allocated to CAS and 18 to CEA) and 2% had non-disabling procedural stroke (48 allocated to CAS and 29 to CEA). Kaplan-Meier estimates of 5-year non-procedural stroke were 2·5% in each group for fatal or disabling stroke, and 5·3% with CAS versus 4·5% with CEA for any stroke (rate ratio [RR] 1·16, 95% CI 0·86–1·57; p=0·33). Combining RRs for any non-procedural stroke in all CAS versus CEA trials, the RR was similar in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients (overall RR 1·11, 95% CI 0·91–1·32; p=0·21). Interpretation: Serious complications are similarly uncommon after competent CAS and CEA, and the long-term effects of these two carotid artery procedures on fatal or disabling stroke are comparable. Funding: UK Medical Research Council and Health Technology Assessment Programme

Worldwide comparison of survival from childhood leukaemia for 1995–2009, by subtype, age, and sex (CONCORD-2): a population-based study of individual data for 89 828 children from 198 registries in 53 countries

Background Global inequalities in access to health care are reflected in differences in cancer survival. The CONCORD programme was designed to assess worldwide differences and trends in population-based cancer survival. In this population-based study, we aimed to estimate survival inequalities globally for several subtypes of childhood leukaemia. Methods Cancer registries participating in CONCORD were asked to submit tumour registrations for all children aged 0-14 years who were diagnosed with leukaemia between Jan 1, 1995, and Dec 31, 2009, and followed up until Dec 31, 2009. Haematological malignancies were defined by morphology codes in the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, third revision. We excluded data from registries from which the data were judged to be less reliable, or included only lymphomas, and data from countries in which data for fewer than ten children were available for analysis. We also excluded records because of a missing date of birth, diagnosis, or last known vital status. We estimated 5-year net survival (ie, the probability of surviving at least 5 years after diagnosis, after controlling for deaths from other causes [background mortality]) for children by calendar period of diagnosis (1995-99, 2000-04, and 2005-09), sex, and age at diagnosis (< 1, 1-4, 5-9, and 10-14 years, inclusive) using appropriate life tables. We estimated age-standardised net survival for international comparison of survival trends for precursor-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Findings We analysed data from 89 828 children from 198 registries in 53 countries. During 1995-99, 5-year agestandardised net survival for all lymphoid leukaemias combined ranged from 10.6% (95% CI 3.1-18.2) in the Chinese registries to 86.8% (81.6-92.0) in Austria. International differences in 5-year survival for childhood leukaemia were still large as recently as 2005-09, when age-standardised survival for lymphoid leukaemias ranged from 52.4% (95% CI 42.8-61.9) in Cali, Colombia, to 91.6% (89.5-93.6) in the German registries, and for AML ranged from 33.3% (18.9-47.7) in Bulgaria to 78.2% (72.0-84.3) in German registries. Survival from precursor-cell ALL was very close to that of all lymphoid leukaemias combined, with similar variation. In most countries, survival from AML improved more than survival from ALL between 2000-04 and 2005-09. Survival for each type of leukaemia varied markedly with age: survival was highest for children aged 1-4 and 5-9 years, and lowest for infants (younger than 1 year). There was no systematic difference in survival between boys and girls. Interpretation Global inequalities in survival from childhood leukaemia have narrowed with time but remain very wide for both ALL and AML. These results provide useful information for health policy makers on the effectiveness of health-care systems and for cancer policy makers to reduce inequalities in childhood survival