The EU strategy of policy convergence with its neighbours in the area of trade

The objective of this paper is to ascertain whether the EU is seeking policy convergence with its neighbours in the area of trade by means of EU regulations. For each trade- related topic, we carried out a content analysis of the available official documents to identify the model of relations that has been established between the EU and four neighbouring countries (Morocco, Algeria, Ukraine and Georgia). The findings indicate that Europeanization is the EU strategy in most cases. However, adaptation to European regulations is only a long-term aim. When international regulations exist in a specific area, the EU usually demands the internationalization of a countrys regulations as a first step. When there are no international regulations, the convergence process is established on the basis of bilaterally developed norms. EU strategy also varies depending on the country. Its relations with Algeria are the most particular. We conclude that the EU is promoting policy convergence with its neighbours in the area of trade mainly on the basis of international and bilaterally-developed regulations.normative power, eu neighbourhood policy, europeanization, eu trade relations

Social media: a new way of public and political communication in digital media

Today, social media are the new way of public and political communication in digital marketing. Companies or organizations are no longer the exclusive owners of the relation of consumers with their products/services; instead, the survival of the organizations depends of the effective utilization of the social media. New web technologies have made it easy for anyone to create and distribute their own content.  A tweet can be viewed by virtually millions of people for free, and advertisers don’t have to pay publishers huge sums of money to embed their messages. More consumers are on social media than ever before, and every second a company is not engaged is a wasted opportunity [1]. Consumers trust other people to provide recommendations about products and services in a very active way and it is important to know how and why social media influence organizations. This study analyzes through a literature review the importance of public and political communication through social media and proposes a model of business for successful marketing strategies

Preparing Tomorrow’s World Language Teacher Today: The Case for Seamless Induction

This essay is a call to action. It offers a comprehensive overview of the challenges facing world language (WL) teacher educators and their employers, the K-12 schools, during the teacher induction period. We propose a new paradigm for WL teacher education based on national accreditation standards, best-practice pedagogy, insights from the professional literature on methods education, and the enhanced role of the methods instructor/supervisor. In order to become successful in the classroom, the pre-service educator undergoes a seamless period of induction that is student-centered and college/university-supported beyond the classroom arena

Identifying Key Components of Extracellular Matrix in Vascularized Skeletal Muscle Tissues

Engineered skeletal muscle tissues have recently been used for a variety of applications in the development of actuators for bio-robots, pre-clinical drug advances, and transplantation. In native muscle tissues, fibroblasts contribute to the formation of the extracellular matrix (ECM) layer, called endomysium, which is located between myofibers and capillaries. Because the ECM layer is known to have significant mechanical and biological roles, it can protect myofibers during contraction, control muscle development, and mediate cell to cell interactions. However, there is a lack of knowledge in establishing key components of the ECM, especially in engineered skeletal muscles, which affect differentiation of muscles and vascularization of endothelial cells. In this study, we made a system to study secreted ECM in various cell combinations in a controlled environment and stained the ECM to identity key components. We hypothesize that the ECM secreted by fibroblasts is changed by heterotypic cell to cell interaction with muscle and endothelial cells. This research will help to understand the role of the endomysium in the native muscle, enhance vascularization, and improve muscle differentiation of engineered muscles

The written production of argumentative and dissertation text: a didactic project based on Bakhtin's philosophy

This article is characterized as a theoretical and practical research related to a project developed during the year 2015 in two schools - one public, the other private- , in the city of Birigui, State of São Paulo, Brazil. The main goal of the study was to analyze: the pedagogical project and the teachers’ activities oriented towards teaching and learning of argumentative and dissertation texts. The methodology used in this research comprised: (i) visiting both schools, (ii) producing a description of ongoing school practices, with focus on the teaching of argumentative and dissertation texts, (iii) suggesting a teacher’s activity to improve this apprenticeship, (iv) putting this activity into practice and (v) analyzing obtained results. The theoretical framework used for this study was the Bakhtinian philosophy (BAKHTIN, 2013; 2006a; 2006b; 2006c; 2006d; 2010; 2013; VOLOSHINOV, 1986). This theoretical approach was chosen due to the importance of comprehension of the text not just as an amalgamated set of words, phrases and paragraphs; other than that, we understand it as a structure of meaning, in which we encounter linguistic forms, ideologies and discursive stance. At last, we can say the results show that the argumentative texts render assistance to the development of the students’ argumentative competence and skill, that is, in their ability to argue and organize ideas in a communicative situation

Master of Science

thesisUpper Cambrian strata in the Great Basin of western Utah are dominated by marine carbonate facies. The Hellnmaria Member of the Notch Peak Formation in the southern House Range and the Upper Carbonate Member of the St. Charles Formation in the northern South Lakeside Mountains are correlative Upper Cambrian strata. At both localities, the correlative carbonate units preserve cyanobacterical stromatolite facies containing burrows. The Hellnmaria Member and the Upper Carbonate Member both contain smooth walled cylindrical burrows inside and surrounding the stromatolites. The burrows exhibit a branching morphology, and they have a coarser grain fill that is different in texture from surrounding sediments. The branching geometry of the burrow tunnels is irregular and constricted. These are assigned to the trace fossil Thalassinoides paradoxicus. Thalassinoides paradoxicus is a deep infaunal deposit feeding trace fossil (fodinichnion) constructed by burrowing organisms of unknown identity. The probable burrowers mined shallow marine muds for food as well as seeking protection in the complex web of burrows. The Thalassinoides of this study are far too old to have been created by decapod crustaceans, which are the primary creators of such trace fossils in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, so the identity of the Cambrian trace makers remains unknown. Many of the Thalassinoides burrows have been replaced with chert, which appears to be early diagenetic in origin when the burrows were still porous enough for the silica to find favorable nucleation sites on the burrow surface. Many of the burrows are over-silicified due to growth of the microcrystalline chert nodules extending beyond the boundaries of the original trace fossil. The Hellnmaria and Upper Carbonate members represent a shallow, tropical, quiet water paleoenvironment on an open marine platform. This interpretation is due to the presence of stromatolites and Thalassinoides burrows, both of which flourished in this paleoenvironment. This study demonstrates the importance of trace fossils in the interpretation of paleoecology, paleoclimate, and paleoenvironment of the ancient carbonate strata during the Late Cambrian in the Great Basin. This is particularly useful, because much of the strata of this age in this region lack a substantial body fossil record