Telecollaboration in Historical Spaces. Inservice and preservice foreign language teachers imagine future roles for online intercultural exchanges.

In recent years, the growing availability of internet connected devices and the widespread use of computer mediated communication appear to have reduced barriers to a potential 'normalisation' (Bax 2003, O'Dowd 2010) of online intercultural exchanges (OIE's) in foreign language classes. However, if informal and professional communication has been transformed by digital technology, classroom-based foreign language education has largely remained in a "walled -garden" or an analogue mode. Mentoring of OIE's could be facilitated by students bringing their personal digital devices to a wifi equipped class, but this might also result in unwelcome disruption (Conolé 2008) of teaching space.The use of Web 2.0 and informal social networking sites to set up 'Telecollaboration 2.0' projects (Guth & Helm 2010) could facilitate communication between learners but boundaries between personal and professional spaces might become uncomfortably blurred for both teachers and learners. More complete integration of OIE's into classroom practices may necessitate a radical rethinking of both teacher and learner roles. While many teachers and learners may now accept some pedagogical benefits of OIE's, they may be ill-prepared either to invest time in such exchanges or to transform their practices to take full advantage of their virtual partners. Perhaps more complex cultural obstacles are at play here preventing OIE's from becoming a 'core' rather than a 'peripheral' (O'Dowd 2010) element of foreign language education. The C OIE project seeks to 'build bridges' between formal and informal spaces, and to enable 848 learners from a British university (BU), a French university (FU) and a Polish university (PU) to develop digital literacy, linguistic, intercultural and pedagogical competences. The diverse means and modes of interaction and the large numbers of learners involved allow the members of the teaching network to reflect on the different possibilities and the challenges to integrating OIE activities into their pedagogical programs. At the same time, a small group of PU learners involved in the OIE are studying for a master in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and have participated in the exchange as both learners and trainee-teachers. A group of 6 experienced and 6 trainee language teachers from the C project are to be selected. Using Scollon and Scollon's (2004) concepts of 'historical body' and 'historical space' as a backdrop, we will study and analyse narratives relating their past experiences and their current attitudes to technology use in and outside the classroom. A quantitative/qualitative survey will enable us to further identify their professional and informal practices. Examination of interactions during the OIE will help to confirm their technology uses. A semi-directed interview will enable us to capture and analyse their visions of the place of OIE's in their imagined teaching futures. How far will these teachers and learner/teachers' grounding in existing discourses of practice be an obstacle to future transformations in their classrooms? This study's findings may help us to better understand barriers and bridges to wider, deeper integration of OIEs in future foreign language programs

"Building bridges? Investigating perceptions of second language learning affordances in on-line exchanges

Successive studies (McCloughin,2007; Kumar, 2008; Narayan & Baglow, 2010) and reports (JISC, 2009; Redecker et al, 2009) have suggested that there is scope for developing new pedagogical approaches linked to informal learning in on-line social networks and participatory spaces of web 2.0. Others (Kellner, 2000; Lankshear, 2006) propose that it is the role of teachers to help learners develop 'new literacies' in order to become effective actors in the 21st century. In the field of foreign language learning, (Sockett & Toffoli, 2010; Ala-Mutka, 2010) recommend that teachers take into account the informal practices of learners online to help them develop their language skills beyond the classroom. Taking an ecological approach on second language (L2) development Ziglari (2008) emphasizes that "it is better to expose learners to real and natural settings". Language learning histories as used by Menezes (2011) have revealed the differing perceptions of individuals to language learning "affordances". Van Lier (2000) underlines the subjective nature of "affordances". If individuals learn languages in the same way as an animal "learns" the forest, or a plant "learns" the soil, one must first identify the species in order to better care for his/her development. Palfreyman (2011) and Kurata (2008) have shown the importance of an individual's offline social networks in determining L2 learning affordances and strategies. While online social networks such as Facebook indeniably have the potential to extend social capital of individuals and thereby the affordances for L2 development, such tools may be also be used simply to mirror and reinforce existing social bonds. As Menezes (2011) points out, a prolonged stay in a foreign country is no guarantee of L2 acquisition. In this study we will attempt to answer the following question: Are the perceptions of L2 affordances in on-line exchanges determined by the individuals' off-line social networks and/or their on-line social networks and informal practices? The CLAVIER project gives 579 students from a British University (BU) and a French University (FU) the opportunity to connect to practice their L2. A Moodle course was the initial meeting point for the students but they have been encouraged to choose their own means of communication and to decide on the type and content of their interactions. Students from BU and FU have been asked to write and exchange stories reflecting on their experiences in foreign languages and the factors which have influenced their attitudes and behaviours. Two questionnaires will give us further information about their offline and online social networks and informal practices. Twenty of the most active students in the exchange from BU and FU and twenty of the least active students are to be selected. The sample will be chosen on the basis of responses to the questionnaires. A study of interactions and a recorded interview will enable us to further understand their perceptions of L2 affordances in on-line exchanges. Could teachers act as bridging capital to enhance their L2 learning in natural on-line environments

Writing the unreadable untext: a collaborative autoethnography of #rhizo14

No abstract available

Développement de compétences interculturelles et numériques : le cas d’un dispositif de télécollaboration à l’université

International audienceLes dispositifs intégrant les Tice pour les langues étrangères, mettant notamment en oeuvre en l'interaction en ligne, sont aujourd'hui entrés dans la norme (Bax, 2009 ; 2011). La télécollaboration (Tomé, 2009 ; Helm et al., 2012) en particulier permet d'engager les participants sur la durée, dans des contextes culturels variés (O'Dowd, 2018). Elle constitue un terrain d'étude intéressant des compétences non seulement numériques mais également interculturelles. Le dispositif que nous présentons met en relation des apprenants d'anglais langue étrangère en contexte universitaire francophone, avec des étudiants polonais, futurs enseignants d'anglais, et vise à établir des liens entre apprentissage formel et informel, et espaces personnels, institutionnels et professionnels des participants. Lors de sa mise en oeuvre au second semestre 2018-2019, les participants ont notamment pu se présenter sur des applications en ligne, contribuer à un groupe de discussion qu'ils administraient, participé à des visioconférences sur des thèmes interculturels, organisées et animées par les étudiants-futurs enseignants. Ils pouvaient également communiquer en ligne, en synchrone ou asynchrone, avec les applications de leur choix, en binôme ou en groupes. De plus, des activités hors ligne, telles que l'accueil des étudiants polonais par les apprenants français, ont pu être réalisées. Dans notre présentation, nous proposons un cadre permettant de caractériser les interactions des participants, en vue d'analyser les apports de la télécollaboration. Les premiers résultats montrent l'adoption de nouvelles compétences numériques et le développement de diverses compétences interculturelles, comme la reconnaissance des possibilités offertes par des échanges virtuels interculturels et l'ouverture d'opportunités de mobilité physique informelle entre apprenants

Legal culture and climate change adaptation : an agenda for research

While climate change adaptation research has increasingly focused on aspects of culture, a systematic treatment of the role of legal culture in how communities respond to climate risk has yet to be produced. This is despite the fact that law and legal authority are implicated in most, if not all, of the ways in which actors seek to reduce the risks posed to communities by climate change. Using a scoping review methodology, this article examines the intersection of climate change adaptation and legal culture in existing research. Overall, we find that the significance of legal culture for adaptation actions has been under-explored. Yet, it is also clear that a focus on legal culture holds significant promise for our understanding of climate change adaptation. We set out a research agenda for the field, highlighting the ways in which a focus on legal culture may enrich existing key themes within climate change adaptation research. This article is categorized under: Policy and Governance > Governing Climate Change in Communities, Cities, and Regions Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change > Institutions for Adaptation

Rationing Antiretroviral Therapy for HIV/AIDS in Africa: Choices and Consequences

The question facing African governments and societies, say Rosen and colleagues, is not whether to ration such therapy, but how to do so in a way that maximizes social welfare

New Zealand blue whales: initial photo-identification of a little-known population

ABSTRACT Eighteen blue whales were photo-identified from coastal waters around the North and South Islands of New Zealand from 2004-2013 in five different months of the year. No photographic matches were found between locations. The photo-ID collection provides a foundation for future study on this little-known population. Fourteen of the photo-identifications were obtained in January and March 2013 during transits of the Antarctic Blue Whale Voyage from Nelson, NZ to Antarctica and return. This voyage also allowed for observations of the external morphology and behaviour of the blue whales encountered. Body length and proportion, head shape, body condition and skin condition were similar to Australian but not Antarctic blue whales. Feeding behaviour was observed off the South Island's west coast in January 2013 and strong evidence of feeding off the east coast in March 2013, the first this has been reported for these locations

A randomised phase II study of pegylated arginine deiminase (ADI-PEG 20) in Asian advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients

[[abstract]]Background:Human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells are largely deficient of argininosuccinate synthetase and thus auxotrophic for arginine. This study aims to investigate the efficacy and pharmacodynamics of pegylated arginine deiminase (ADI-PEG 20), a systemic arginine deprivation agent, in Asian HCC patients. Methods:Patients with advanced HCC who were not candidates for local therapy were eligible and randomly assigned to receive weekly intramuscular injections of ADI-PEG 20 at doses of 160 or 320 IU m-2. The primary end point was disease-control rate (DCR). Results:Of the 71 accruals, 43.6% had failed previous systemic treatment. There were no objective responders. The DCR and the median overall survival (OS) of the intent-to-treat population were 31.0% (95% confidence interval (CI): 20.5-43.1) and 7.3 (95% CI: 4.7-9.9) months respectively. Both efficacy parameters were comparable between the two study arms. The median OS of patients with undetectable circulating arginine for more than or equal to and <4 weeks was 10.0 (95% CI: 2.1-17.9) and 5.8 (95% CI: 1.4-10.1) months respectively (P=0.251, log-rank test). The major treatment-related adverse events were grades 1-2 local and/or allergic reactions. Conclusions:ADI-PEG 20 is safe and efficacious in stabilising the progression of heavily pretreated advanced HCC in an Asian population, and deserves further exploration.British Journal of Cancer advance online publication, 31 August 2010; doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6605856 www.bjcancer.com

High ANC coverage and low skilled attendance in a rural Tanzanian district: a case for implementing a birth plan intervention

BACKGROUND: In Tanzania, more than 90% of all pregnant women attend antenatal care at least once and approximately 62% four times or more, yet less than five in ten receive skilled delivery care at available health units. We conducted a qualitative study in Ngorongoro district, Northern Tanzania, in order to gain an understanding of the health systems and socio-cultural factors underlying this divergent pattern of high use of antenatal services and low use of skilled delivery care. Specifically, the study examined beliefs and behaviors related to antenatal, labor, delivery and postnatal care among the Maasai and Watemi ethnic groups. The perspectives of health care providers and traditional birth attendants on childbirth and the factors determining where women deliver were also investigated. METHODS: Twelve key informant interviews and fifteen focus group discussions were held with Maasai and Watemi women, traditional birth attendants, health care providers, and community members. Principles of the grounded theory approach were used to elicit and assess the various perspectives of each group of participants interviewed. RESULTS: The Maasai and Watemi women's preferences for a home birth and lack of planning for delivery are reinforced by the failure of health care providers to consistently communicate the importance of skilled delivery and immediate post-partum care for all women during routine antenatal visits. Husbands typically serve as gatekeepers of women's reproductive health in the two groups - including decisions about where they will deliver- yet they are rarely encouraged to attend antenatal sessions. While husbands are encouraged to participate in programs to prevent maternal-to-child transmission of HIV, messages about the importance of skilled delivery care for all women are not given emphasis. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing coverage of skilled delivery care and achieving the full implementation of Tanzania's Focused Antenatal Care Package in Ngorongoro depends upon improved training and monitoring of health care providers, and greater family participation in antenatal care visits