L1, consensus nil: Factors affecting the erratic application of oral translation as an EFL vocabulary teaching technique at Japanese universities

This paper reviews the rehabilitation of the learner\u27s first language (L1) in pedagogic literature and, more specifically, the teacher\u27s use of oral translation into the L1 as a vocabulary teaching technique. A survey conducted at a Japanese university reveals that, while oral translation is applied in some way and to some extent by a vast majority of EFL teachers, it is not subject to any consistent methodology and still suffers from credibility issues. The paper refers to teachers dispensing oral translation as if it were a one-stop shortcut to learning and suggests that its application without prior or subsequent complementation has become commonplace. Though this may be attributed to teachers being generally more cognizant of the restored legitimacy of the L1 than to the finer details pertaining to its use, the paper suggests that this lack of criticality has exacerbated feelings of confusion and guilt among the EFL community

Addressing a Supposed Deficiency: a Critical Thinking and Process-writing Methodology for Japanese EFL

　The stigma of an East Asian critical thinking (CT) deficiency has endured despite liberal protestations and empirical demonstrations to the contrary. It is, however, incontrovertibly true that students in Japan and other parts of East Asia are relatively untutored and unpracticed in the relevant modes of execution and expression that have emerged as the global standard. This paper presents and tests a methodology for the practice of CT and its expression as an argumentative paragraph. One hundred Japanese non-English major university students were equally divided into two groups. The group exposed to the methodology was subsequently able to demonstrate significantly superior task performance. Further data derived from a post-task questionnaire affirmed that Japanese students are generally aware of and receptive to a conception of CT consistent with the global standard. Future research will seek to determine the most effective modes of practice through which to maximize the methodology’s potential and the extent of its transferability to other contexts. The paper nevertheless concedes that even the most refined of methodologies will likely fail if the relevant education authorities in East Asia remain less enamored of the potential benefits of having a student body imbued with the ability to hold value systems to critical account than they are wary of the potential drawbacks

Putting the critical cat among the patriotic pigeons: guiding principles for the teaching of critical thinking as a precursor to critical writing in the Japanese EFL classroom

　Whatever the veracity of the claim that East Asian students are deficient in critical thinking (CT) due to its incompatibility with Confucianism, it is incontrovertibly true that they do not typically conform to the modes of execution and expression that have emerged as the global standard. This has placed East Asian graduates at a disadvantage in the global marketplace and induced the Japanese government to redress a perceived CT deficit―an objective that implies a profound pedagogic shift away from rote learning and towards active learning and the development of higher order thinking skills. This paper aims to facilitate this shift by distilling a set of guiding principles through which to devise a contextually-appropriate methodology for the practice of CT and its expression. The paper also examines the sociocultural ramifications of a more CT-inflected Japanese education system and the assumption that it will be counteracted by a more prescriptive form of moral education. Future research will test each of the individual guiding principles set out by this paper in terms of its ability to inform a CT-facilitative methodology. Future commentaries, meanwhile, will presumably focus upon the Japanese government’s attempts to limit the fallout as it moves to imbue its populace with the ability to hold state-sponsored patriotism and other facets of Japan’s socially conservative value system to critical account

Patterning of tensile fabric structures with a discrete element model using dynamic relaxation

Tensile fabric membranes present opportunities for efficient structures, combining the cladding and support structure. Such structures must be doubly curved to resist external loads, but doubly curved surfaces cannot be formed from flat fabric without distorting. Computational methods of patterning are used to find the optimal composition of planar panels to generate the form, but are sensitive to the models and techniques used. This paper presents a detailed discussion of, and insights into, the computational process of patterning. A new patterning method is proposed, which uses a discrete model, advanced flattening methods, dynamic relaxation, and re-meshing to generate accurate cutting patterns. Comparisons are drawn with published methods of patterning to show the suitability of the method

Physical frailty and decline in general and specific cognitive abilities:The Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

Background: physical frailty is associated with many adverse outcomes including disability, chronic disease, hospitalisation, institutionalisation and death. It is unclear what impact it might have on the rate of normal cognitive ageing. We investigated whether physical frailty was related to initial level of, and change in, cognitive abilities from age 70 to 79 years.Method: participants were 950 members of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936. Physical frailty was assessed at age 70 years using the Fried criteria. Cognitive function was assessed at ages 70, 73, 76 and 79 years. We used linear regression to examine cross-sectional and prospective associations between physical frailty status at age 70 years and factor score estimates for baseline level of and change in four cognitive domains (visuospatial ability, memory, processing speed and crystallised ability) and in general cognitive ability.Results: physical frailty, but not prefrailty, was associated with lower baseline levels of visuospatial ability, memory, processing speed and general cognitive ability after control for age, sex, education, depressive symptoms, smoking and number of chronic illnesses. Physical frailty was associated with greater decline in each cognitive domain: age-adjusted and sex-adjusted standardised regression coefficients (95% CIs) were: −0.45 (−0.70 to –0.20) for visuospatial ability, −0.32 (−0.56 to –0.07) for memory, −0.47 (−0.72 to −0.22) for processing speed, −0.43 (−0.68 to –0.18) for crystallised ability and −0.45 (−0.70 to –0.21) for general cognitive ability. These associations were only slightly attenuated after additional control for other covariates.Conclusion: physical frailty may be an important indicator of age-related decline across multiple cognitive domains

A discrete model for patterning of tensile fabric structures.

Tensile fabric structures are efficient and cost effective structural systems for covering large areas. The performance of such structures is highly dependent on their geometry, and for this reason they must be doubly curved. However, doubly curved surfaces may not be formed from flat fabric without incurring distortions. The process of patterning is employed to determine the planar configuration of panels, such that after assembly, these distortions are minimised. However, patterning is sensitive to the numerical models and processes employed. Shear of the fabric is required for it to adopt a doubly curved shape, but this has been overlooked in the numerical models used currently for the patterning of tensile fabric structures. On this basis, a discrete element model for numerical representation of the fabric, during the patterning process, is proposed and examined in this thesis. Further to this, the computational process of patterning is examined thoroughly, and improvements to sub-processes within patterning form part of a proposed patterning method. This thesis reviews the literature relating to tensile fabric structures, patterning, and numerical modelling. The discrete model is described, along with its implementation in the proposed patterning method. Comparison with published results is included to evaluate the suitability of the proposed model and patterning method. It is shown that the proposed discrete element model offers an alternative model for architectural fabrics at the patterning stage. Conditions for successful use of the model are stated and explored. In addition to this, the proposed improvements to the patterning process are examine

Consumer‑driven strategies towards a resilient and sustainable food system following the COVID‑19 pandemic in Australia

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health restrictions temporarily disrupted food supply chains around the world and changed the way people shopped for food, highlighting issues with food systems resilience and sustainability. The aim of this study was to explore consumer-driven strategies towards a more resilient and sustainable food system in Australia, learning from experiences during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: During May–June 2020, a cross-sectional, online survey was conducted in Tasmania, Australia in a non-random sample of adults aged 18 years and over. The survey collected demographic data and posted the open-ended question: “How could Tasmania’s food system be better prepared for a disaster in the future?” Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the demographic data and thematic analysis was employed to analyse the qualitative data. Results: Survey respondents (n = 698) were predominantly female (79%), over 55 years of age (48%), university educated (70%) and living with dependents (45%). Seven key themes were identified: (i) balance food exports with local needs; (ii) strengthen local food systems; (iii) increase consumer awareness of food supply chains; (iv) build collaboration and connection in the food system; (v) embed clear contingency arrangements; (vi) support community capacity building and individual self-sufficiency; and (vii) the food system coped well. Conclusions: The consumer-driven strategies identified indicate multiple opportunities to increase resilience and sustainability in the food system to avoid future supply disruptions. Our findings indicate that considerable popular support for more resilient, local and sustainable food systems may be emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic

Are Rural Health Clinics Part of the Rural Safety Net?

Key Findings: 86% of independent RHCs offer free care, sliding fee scales, or both; 97% were currently accepting new Medicaid/SCHIP patients; RHCs\u27 patient mix has a higher proportion of Medicaid/SCHIP patients in counties not served by a federally funded Community Health Center (CHC). Lacking the grant funds and federal technical assistance provided to CHCs to build service capacity, few RHCs have had the resources to expand their scope of services. The Affordable Care Act has made it clear that partnering with CHCs is an option for RHCs that find themselves serving safety net populations. More study is needed laying out the details of such arrangements, the reimbursement and governance implications, and the relative advantages and disadvantages from the perspectives of the CHC, the RHC, the physician, and especially, the patient

Safety Net Activities of Independent Rural Health Clinics

Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) are an important part of the rural health care infrastructure as they provide a wide range of primary care services to the rural residents of 45 states. Since RHCs are located in underserved rural areas and serve vulnerable populations, many consider them safety net providers. In this paper we explore whether and to what extent independent RHCs are serving a safety net role, or have the capacity to serve that role. We address this question through a telephone survey of 392 randomly selected independent RHCs. Response rate for the survey was 93%. We investigated whether and to what extent RHCs offer free or discounted care and serve Medicaid populations. We also sought to determine if the proximity of a federally funded Community Health Center might have an effect on the extent to which an RHC serves the safety net role. Key Findings: 86% of the RHCs surveyed provide free or discounted care, and an estimated 27% of their visits are from Medicaid patients, although only 47% reported that they help their patients enroll in Medicaid; proximity of a Community Health Center, either in the same county or in the same zip code, was not associated with offering free or discounted care, but was associated with the percentage of total patient visits attributable to Medicaid patients; using 30% or more of patients on Medicaid as a threshold, we found that RHCs with a CHC in the same county were significantly less likely to meet this threshold (38%) as compared with RHCs without a CHC in their county (65%)

Safety Net Activities of Independent Rural Health Clinics

Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) are an important part of the rural health care infrastructure as they provide a wide range of primary care services to the rural residents of 45 states. Since RHCs are located in underserved rural areas and serve vulnerable populations, many consider them safety net providers. In this paper we explore whether and to what extent independent RHCs are serving a safety net role, or have the capacity to serve that role. We address this question through a telephone survey of 392 randomly selected independent RHCs. Response rate for the survey was 93%. We investigated whether and to what extent RHCs offer free or discounted care and serve Medicaid populations. We also sought to determine if the proximity of a federally funded Community Health Center might have an effect on the extent to which an RHC serves the safety net role. Key Findings: 86% of the RHCs surveyed provide free or discounted care, and an estimated 27% of their visits are from Medicaid patients, although only 47% reported that they help their patients enroll in Medicaid; proximity of a Community Health Center, either in the same county or in the same zip code, was not associated with offering free or discounted care, but was associated with the percentage of total patient visits attributable to Medicaid patients; using 30% or more of patients on Medicaid as a threshold, we found that RHCs with a CHC in the same county were significantly less likely to meet this threshold (38%) as compared with RHCs without a CHC in their county (65%)