Moving beyond the ‘language problem': developing an understanding of the intersections of health, language and immigration status in interpreter-mediated health encounters

Health systems internationally are dealing with greater diversity in patient populations. However the focus on ‘the language problem’ has meant little attention is paid to diversity within and between migrant populations; and how interpreted consultations are influenced by intersecting migratory, ethnicity and sociodemographic variables. Our analysis of the experiences of patients, health care providers and interpreters in Scotland evidences the need to move beyond language, addressing multiple hidden inequalities in health care access and provision that operate in both clinic and, especially, home-based settings. We call for a practice-evidenced research agenda promoting cultural communication across health care and home settings, acknowledging immigration status as a social determinant of health. Sur le plan international, des systèmes de santé font face à une diversité croissante dans ses populations de patients. Cependant, l’accent sur ‘le problème de langue’ se traduit dans une manque d’attention à la diversité a l’intérieur même et entre des populations des migrants; et la façon par laquelle des variables migratoire, ethnique et sociodémographique influencent elles-mêmes des consultations interprétées. Notre analyse des expériences des patients, des professionnels fournissant de soins de santé et des interprètes offre des preuves du besoin de dépasser le problème de langue. Et en faisant cela, nous adressons des multiples inégalités, souvent cachées dans des contextes de soins de santé, dans les milieux clinique et domicile. Nous proposons un programme de recherche basé sur la pratique, qui favorise la communication culturelle dans des milieux clinique et domicile, et qui reconnait le statut d’immigration comme un déterminant social de la santé

Charm and Bottom Semileptonic Decays

We review the present status of theoretical attempts to calculate the semileptonic charm and bottom decays and then present a calculation of these decays in the light--front frame at the kinematic point $q^2=0$. This allows us to evaluate the form factors at the same value of $q^2$, even though the allowed kinematic ranges for charm and bottom decays are very different. Also, at this kinematic point the decay is given in terms of only one form factor $A_{0}(0)$. For the ratio of the decay rates given by the E653 collaboration we show that the determination of the ratio of the Cabibbo--Kobayashi--Maskawa (CKM) matrix elements is consistent with that obtained from the unitarity constraint. At present, though, the unitarity method still has greater accuracy. Since comparisons of the semileptonic decays into $\rho$ and either electrons or muons will be available soon from the E791 Fermilab experiment, we also look at the massive muon case. We show that for a range of $q^2$ the $SU(3)_F$ symmetry breaking is small even though the contributions of the various helicity amplitudes becomes more complicated. For $B$ decays, the decay $B \rightarrow K^{*} \ell \bar{\ell}$ at $q^2=0$ involves an extra form factor coming from the photon contribution and so is not amenable to the same kind of analysis, leaving only the decay $B \rightarrow K^{*}\nu \bar{\nu}$ as a possibility. As the mass of the decaying particle increases we note that the $SU(3)$ symmetry becomes badly broken at $q^2=0$.Comment: Latex, 19 pages, two figures are attached, a minor change in the manuscript related to thi

Failure mechanism of AlN nanocaps used to protect rare earth-implanted GaN during high temperature annealing

The structural properties of nanometric AlN caps, grown on GaN to prevent dissociation during high temperature annealing after Eu implantation, have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy and electron probe microanalysis. The caps provide good protection up to annealing temperatures of at least 1300 degrees C, but show localized failure in the form of irregularly shaped holes with a lateral size of 1-2 µm which extend through the cap into the GaN layer beneath. Compositional micrographs, obtained using wavelength dispersive x-ray analysis, suggest that these holes form when GaN dissociates and ejects through cracks already present in the as-grown AlN caps due to the large lattice mismatch between the two materials. Implantation damage enhances the formation of the holes during annealing. Simultaneous room temperature cathodoluminescence mapping showed that the Eu luminescence is reduced in N-poor regions. Hence, exposed GaN dissociates first by outdiffusion of nitrogen through AlN cracks, thereby opening a hole in the cap through which Ga subsequently evaporates

The exclusive \bar{B} --> \pi e^+ e^- and \bar{B} --> \rho e^+ e^- decays in the two Higgs doublet model with flavor changing neutral currents

We calculate the leading logarithmic QCD corrections to the matrix element of the decay b --> d e^+ e^- in the two Higgs doublet model with tree level flavor changing currents (model III). We continue studying the differential branching ratio and the CP violating asymmetry for the exclusive decays B --> \pi e^+ e^- and B --> \rho e^+ e^- and analysing the dependencies of these quantities on the selected model III parameters, \xi^{U,D}, including the leading logarithmic QCD corrections. Further, we present the forward-backward asymmetry of dileptons for the decay B --> \rho e^+ e^- and discuss the dependencies to the model III parameters. We observe that there is a possibility to enhance the branching ratios and suppress the CP violating effects for both decays in the framework of the model III. Therefore, the measurements of these quantities will be an efficient tool to search the new physics beyond the SM.Comment: 27 pages, 14 Figure

Energy measurement of prompt fission neutrons in 239Pu(n,f) for incident neutron energies from 1 to 200 MeV

Prompt fission neutron spectra in the neutron-induced fission of 239Pu have been measured for incident neutron energies from 1 to 200 MeV at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. Preliminary results are discussed and compared to theoretical model calculation

Collaboration scripts - a conceptual analysis

This article presents a conceptual analysis of collaboration scripts used in face-to-face and computer-mediated collaborative learning. Collaboration scripts are scaffolds that aim to improve collaboration through structuring the interactive processes between two or more learning partners. Collaboration scripts consist of at least five components: (a) learning objectives, (b) type of activities, (c) sequencing, (d) role distribution, and (e) type of representation. These components serve as a basis for comparing prototypical collaboration script approaches for face-to-face vs. computer-mediated learning. As our analysis reveals, collaboration scripts for face-to-face learning often focus on supporting collaborators in engaging in activities that are specifically related to individual knowledge acquisition. Scripts for computer-mediated collaboration are typically concerned with facilitating communicative-coordinative processes that occur among group members. The two lines of research can be consolidated to facilitate the design of collaboration scripts, which both support participation and coordination, as well as induce learning activities closely related to individual knowledge acquisition and metacognition. In addition, research on collaboration scripts needs to consider the learners’ internal collaboration scripts as a further determinant of collaboration behavior. The article closes with the presentation of a conceptual framework incorporating both external and internal collaboration scripts