An Overlooked Aspect of Internationalization: Power Blocs and the “Cultural Other” in the Classroom

As teachers, instructors, and educators, we strive to prepare our students to become global citizens and equip them with a degree of intercultural competence, where they can survive within a global economy and an interconnected world. However, we are sometimes too focused on the broader global picture and often overlook an essential component towards internationalization and globalization: the power blocs that exist inside our classroom. This article serves as a commentary to prompt teachers at schools, instructors at universities, and educators to ensure that a major component of our teaching and learning practice should be focused on blurring the boundaries between students of different/competing power blocs inside the classrooms. Blurring such boundaries is an essential milestone towards promoting tolerance, acceptance, and acknowledgment of the “cultural other” in today\u27s interconnected world

Inquiry into the teaching and learning practice: An ontological-epistemological discourse

Tertiary education has been actively moving over the last two decades from the lecturer-centred to the student-centred approach, focusing more on “what the student does” rather than on “what the student is” or “what the teacher is”. We, as academics, teacher educators, and teachers, do attend many workshops and seminars promoting student-centred learning. However, the question that arises is “are we prepared to truly develop from the conventional lecture-based learning, which is hard to eliminate, to the innovative student-centred learning, which may be hard to accept, adopt, and sustain?” The way we plan, organise and deliver knowledge might be mostly epistemological. However, there exists an ontological stance on how we perceive knowledge and on our belief—informed opinions—of “the most effective pedagogy” in organising and emphasising such knowledge. This paper will present a personal reflective study on the ontological–epistemological discourse that a novice academic experienced in first accepting the idea of a student-centred learning approach, implementing such strategy and in reflecting back on this experience. This study promotes a rethinking of our teaching and learning practice as an ontological and epistemological form of inquiry and generates insights which may be further extended and researched. This paper finally offers a reread of the Experiential Learning Cycle of the Praxis Inquiry, a model established and adopted by the College of Education, Victoria University, Melbourne

Bilateral simultaneous complete quadriceps rupture following chronic symptomatic tendinopathy: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Quadriceps rupture is a disabling injury mostly seen in men over 40 years of age. Bilateral quadriceps rupture is a rare injury that is often secondary to predisposing medical conditions. Ultrasound is a cheap and reliable tool for diagnosis but is operator dependent. Thus, magnetic resonance imaging is the preferred method of investigation despite its cost and availability. Prompt diagnosis and early surgical repair are needed for an optimal end result.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of a healthy 54-year-old Caucasian male farmer who presented with bilateral simultaneous complete quadriceps rupture, which was managed surgically and he was followed up for three years. He was previously under our care for enthesopathy of the quadriceps on both sides. We believe that chronic enthesopathy of the superior pole of patella made his quadriceps susceptible to complete rupture on eccentric loading.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Only a few cases of bilateral simultaneous complete quadriceps rupture in patients with symptomatic enthesopathy have been previously reported. We stress the importance of warning patients of the risk of developing complete tendon rupture when they present with an enthesopathy around the knee.</p

An exploration of the experiences of people living with painful ankle osteoarthritis and the non-surgical management of this condition

Objectives Osteoarthritis (OA) of the ankle joint is associated with life-long joint pain and disability if not appropriately managed. There is a dearth of research concerning ankle OA and the impact on those living with the condition. Aim: To explore the experiences of people living with painful OA ankle and their views about the non-surgical management of this condition. Design Qualitative design, using semi-structured interviews. Participants Nine participants, recruited from an orthopaedic clinic at a UK hospital and the general population. All had a clinical and radiographic diagnosis of OA ankle. Interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was undertaken to identify emerging themes. Ethical approval was obtained. Results: Nine semi-structured interviews were undertaken. Eight participants were male, median age = 55 years (IQR = 42.5 - 64.5). Mechanism of onset was due to trauma (falls, repeated inversion injuries or road traffic collisions) (n = 7), or the effects of haemophilia (n = 2). The median duration of symptoms was 2 years (IQR = 1.5 - 10). Data saturation was achieved. Four themes were identified: • Signs and symptoms • Impact on participation • Impact on self-identity & mental wellbeing • Views on non-surgical management Conclusions: This is the first study to explore the experiences of people with symptomatic OA ankle. Our findings suggest that those with OA ankle suffer with severe pain, which has a substantial negative impact on a person’s physical and mental wellbeing. The findings of this study may be used to inform future research

Metric for Security Activities assisted by Argumentative Logic

International audienceRecent security concerns related to future embedded systems make enforcement of security requirements one of the most critical phases when designing such systems. This paper introduces an approach for efficient enforcement of security requirements based on argumentative logic, especially reasoning about activation or deactivation of different security mechanisms under certain functional and non-functional requirements. In this paper, the argumentative logic is used to reason about the rationale behind dynamic enforcement of security policies

Forensic science in Ghana: A review

The use of forensic science continues to grow across the world. In Ghana, major advancements took off in2011, including the introduction of modern DNA profiling and the establishment of an automated fingerprint identification system. These developments have led to some positive impacts on the delivery of justice, including the exoneration of a wrongly incarcerated individual. However, a review of the policy-related aspects of forensic science shows gaps in legislation, governance, service provision, quality assurance and accreditation, education and research. An important recommendation to improve forensic science in Ghana is the creation of a “national policy strategy”, a blueprint informed by relevant stakeholders, best practice from other countries and the status of the field. Resolutions to the policy issues identified in this review will ensure a more robust application of forensic science in delivering safe justice and enhancing public security