The Impact of the Third IDA Education Loan Project

Despite having the most highly developed educational system, the Philippine education has been beleaguered by ineffective management, outdated curricula and inadequate textbooks. Results in this study show that textbook project has the most direct and significant impressions upon student learning. However, the overall outcomes of the textbook project depend on the students’ attitude towards learning. Hiring of competent faculties and improving teaching aids can also advance the system in the Philippine education.education

From colonial categories to local culture: Evolving state practices of ethnic enumeration in Oceania, 1965-2014

Numerous scholars have examined how governments in particular times and places have classified their populations by ethnicity, but studies that are both cross-national and longitudinal are rare. Using a unique database of census questionnaires, we examine state practices of ethnic enumeration over a 50-year period (1965–2014) in the 24 countries and areas that comprise Oceania. The region’s extraordinary linguistic and cultural diversity, combined with its complex colonial history and indigenous politics, make it an ideal site for comparative analyses. We find a shift from biological conceptions of difference to a more cultural understanding of group identity, exemplified by a sharp rise in language questions and the decline of race-based inquiries. While local identity labels have largely displaced colonial categories, the imprimatur of previous regimes still lingers, particularly in Melanesia. These shifts in official constructions of ethnoracial differences reflect a gradual lessening of colonial influences on demographic practices

How a turn to critical race theory can contribute to our understanding of 'race', racism and anti-racism in sport

As long as racism has been associated with sport there have been consistent, if not coordinated or coherent, struggles to confront its various forms. Critical race theory (CRT) is a framework established to challenge these racialized inequalities and racism in society and has some utility for anti-racism in sport. CRT's focus on social justice and transformation are two areas of convergence between critical race theorists and anti-racists. Of the many nuanced and pernicious forms of racism, one of the most obvious and commonly reported forms of racism in sport, racial abuse, has been described as a kind of dehumanizing process by Gardiner (2003), as those who are its target are simultaneously (re)constructed and objectified according to everyday myth and fantasy. However, this is one of the many forms of everyday racist experiences. Various forms of racism can be experienced in boardrooms, on television, in print, in the stands, on the sidelines and on the pitch. Many times racism is trivialized and put down as part of the game (Long et al., 2000), yet its impact is rarely the source of further exploration. This article will explore the conceptualization of 'race' and racism for a more effective anti-racism. Critical race theory will also be used to explore the ideas that underpin considerations of the severity of racist behaviour and the implications for anti-racism. © The Author(s) 2010

Local variation of hashtag spike trains and popularity in Twitter

We draw a parallel between hashtag time series and neuron spike trains. In each case, the process presents complex dynamic patterns including temporal correlations, burstiness, and all other types of nonstationarity. We propose the adoption of the so-called local variation in order to uncover salient dynamics, while properly detrending for the time-dependent features of a signal. The methodology is tested on both real and randomized hashtag spike trains, and identifies that popular hashtags present regular and so less bursty behavior, suggesting its potential use for predicting online popularity in social media.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Sociologists, archbishops, and 'making a verb of a noun'

Contemporary discussion about race has a tendency to set off out without first checking the rear view mirror. In Theories of Race and Ethnicity: Contemporary Debates and Perspectives, in contrast, Murji and Solomos identify what has and has not been covered, and so appeal at the outset for a 'more sustained' account of changing research agendas of race and ethnic relations. Taken as a whole, the collection allows the editors to contemplate 'what factors explain the mobilizing power of ideas about race and ethnicity in the contemporary environment?' and whether indeed 'it is the "real" rather than race that should be placed in quotation marks'

A Comparative Study of the Effect of Gabapentin, Topiramate, Levetiracetam and Zonisamide for Neuropathic Pain Induced by Anticancer Drug (Vincristine) in Rats

ABSTRACT Background: Neuropathic pain syndrome is a frequently occurring, disabling disease. Many anticancer drugs which are used to treat solid tumors cause neuropathic pain as their dose limiting side effect. Current treatment options are still relatively poor. Objective: The present study was designed to compare the effect of gabapentin, topiramate, levetiracetam and zonisamidefor treatment of neuropathic pain induced by anticancer drug(vincristine) in albinorats using thermal method. Materials and Methods: Neuropathic pain was induced by injecting vincristine (100µg/kg) intraperitoneally daily for 14 days in rats. Behavioural testing for thermal hyperalgesia was assessed 24 hours after each injection by the hotplat method. After 14 days rats were divided into five groups of six animals each. Group I was treated with distilled water as control group, group II was treated with oral gabapentin (60 mg/kg), group III received oral topiramate (40 mg/kg), group IV was treated with oral levetiracetam (120 mg/kg) and group V received zonisamide (50 mg/kg).The antihyperalgesic effect of drugs was assessed by the hotplate method 24 hours after each administration. Statistical analysis was done by two way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by post hoc test. Results: Gabapentin, topiramate and zonisamide treated groups showed asignificant(P < 0.0001) increase hot-plate latency as compared to control group. Levetiracetam treated group however, did not show a significant increase in hot-plate latency. Conclusion: In vincristine induced neuropathic pain gabapentin, topiramate and zonisamide appearto be promising drugs although they act by different mechanisms

Reviewing research evidence and the case of participation in sport and physical recreation by black and minority ethnic communities

The paper addresses the implications of using the process of systematic review in the many areas of leisure where there is a dearth of material that would be admitted into conventional Cochrane Reviews. This raises important questions about what constitutes legitimate knowledge, questions that are of critical import not just to leisure scholars, but to the formulation of policy. The search for certainty in an area that lacks conceptual consensus results in an epistemological imperialism that takes a geocentric form. While clearly, there is a need for good research design whatever the style of research, we contend that the wholesale rejection of insightful research is profligate and foolhardy. A mechanism has to be found to capitalise on good quality research of whatever form. In that search, we draw upon our experience of conducting a review of the material available on participation in sport and physical recreation by people from Black and minority ethnic groups. The paper concludes with a proposal for a more productive review process that makes better use of the full panoply of good quality research available. © 2012 © 2012 Taylor & Francis

Racism, anti-racist practice and social work: articulating the teaching and learning experiences of Black social workers

In the mid 1990s a Black practice teacher programme was established in Manchester and Merseyside with the primary aim to increase the number of Black practice teachers in social work organisations, and in turn provide a supportive and encouraging learning environment for Black student social workers whilst on placement. In the north‐west of England research has been undertaken, to establish the quality of the practice teaching and student learning taking place with Black practice teachers and students. This paper is an exploration of the ideas generated within the placement process that particularly focused on the discourse of racism and ant‐racist practice. Black students and practice teachers explain their understanding of racism and anti‐racist practice within social work. From the research, the paper will critique some of the ideas concerning anti‐racism. In particular, it will question whether anti‐racist social work practice needs to be re‐evaluated in the light of a context with new migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. It will concluded, by arguing that whilst the terms anti‐racism, Black and Minority Ethnic have resonance as a form of political strategic essentialism, it is important to develop more positive representations in the future