Implementing integrated measurements of essential biodiversity variables at a national scale

Funding: the Strategic Science Investment Funding for Crown Research Institutes from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.1. There is a global need for observation systems that deliver regular, timely data on state and trends in biodiversity, but few have been implemented, and fewer still at national scales. We describe the implementation of measurement of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) on an 8 km × 8 km grid throughout New Zealand, with multiple components of biodiversity (vegetation, birds, and some introduced mammals) measured simultaneously at each sample point. 2. Between 2011 and 2017, all public land was sampled nationally (ca. 1,350 points) and some private land (ca. 500 points). Synthetic appraisals of the state of New Zealand's biodiversity, not possible previously, can be derived from the first measurement of species distribution, population abundance, and taxonomic diversity EBVs. 3. Native bird counts (all species combined) were about 2.5 times greater per sample point in natural forests and shrublands than in non‐woody ecosystems, and native bird counts exceeded those of non‐native birds across all natural forests and shrublands. 4. Non‐native plants, birds, and mammals are invasive throughout, but high‐rainfall forested regions are least invaded, and historically deforested rain shadow regions are most invaded. 5. National reporting of terrestrial biodiversity across New Zealand's public land is established and becoming normalised, in the same manner as national and international reporting of human health and education statistics. The challenge is extending coverage across all private land. Repeated measurements of these EBVs, which began in 2017, will allow defensible estimates of biodiversity trends.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Issues of ideology in English language education worldwide: an overview

The relatively limited consideration of ideology in mainstream theory and research of teaching the English language to speakers of other languages has arguably prevented the problematization of many taken-for-granted perceptions and practices of the field. In this article I attempt to bring part of this marginalized body of scholarship on issues of ideology in the area of English language teaching (ELT) to highlight its potential insights for the field. The article sets out from a view of ideology as the most fundamental beliefs in any social practice, which may provide a less-formidable conception of the term and lessen the divergence among the minority of ELT researchers and professionals that do concern themselves with ideology. Then, after a brief sketch of the notion of ideology of language (education), I present an overview of aspects of this marginal but vibrant stream of thought on issues of ideology in ELT worldwide. Overall, the discussion is aimed to act as a call for the further understanding and embracement of sociopolitically-sensitive and ideologically-informed approaches to ELT theory, research, and practice

ESTUDO SOBRE OS RESULTADOS DA IRRIGAÇÃO EM COLOSTOMIZADOS SUBMETIDOS A UM PROCESSO DE TREINAMENTO SISTEMATIZADO

O presente estudo versa sobre os resultados do emprego da auto-irrigaçâo por 40 colostomizados, por nós treinados através de um processo de treinamento sistematizado. A efetividade do processo de treinamento pode ser constatada à medida que a maioria dos clientes o adotou em seus itens básicos, apontando pequeno número de dificuldades técnicas. Quanto aos resultados da autoirrigaçâo, como método de controle do hábito intestinal, verificou-se que 37,50% da população apresentou ausência de perdas fecais e 42,50%, perdas esporádicas entre as irrigações; 27,50% e 35,00% com ausência e redução dos gases nesses intervalos, respectivamente e 32,50% e 37,50% com abolição total e parcial do uso da bolsa coletora, respectivamente

Hepatic carnitine palmitoyltransferase I deficiency presenting as maternal illness in pregnancy

The spectrum of clinical presentation of fatty acid oxidation defects (FAOD) continues to expand. One FAOD, L-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (LCHAD) deficiency has been associated with liver disease in pregnancies involving a heterozygous mother carrying an affected fetus. Hepatic carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT I) deficiency typically presents as a Reyelike syndrome in children between 8 and 18 mo. of age. We have investigated a family in which the mother developed liver disease consistent with acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) and hyperemesis gravidarum in her two successive pregnancies. Neither child nor their mother was found to carry the common LCHAD G1528C mutation. Both children were subsequently shown to have absent activity of CPT I. This is the first report of CPT I deficiency presenting as maternal illness in pregnanc

Ideologies of English in Japan: the perspective of policy and pedagogy

This paper examines the ideologies of language which underpin mainstream applied linguistic research and educational policy generation for English language teaching in Japan. Over the last 30 years a burgeoning literature has devoted itself to the task of researching and directing English language education in Japan, but has, by its own admission, had little success in effecting much change in what it perceives as a system incompatible with effective language learning. By surveying prominent academic studies on this topic and analysing these with reference to the policy reforms with which they interact, the paper makes explicit the linguistic and socio-political assumptions upon which this work is based and suggests that a critical awareness of these ideologies can assist in the production of sustainable language regulation

Writing systems at play in Thai-English online interactions

This article explores the bilingual practices of a community of English-speaking Thai nationals on two online platforms: a social network site (Facebook) and an instant messaging service (MSN). Through a discourse analysis of informal conversation exchanges, the article examines the ways in which these participants play with the two languages and writing systems through practices of code- and script switching as well as orthographic variation, and it shows how these practices contribute to the construction of interpersonal meaning, the negotiation of relationships, and the performance of social identity in these online contexts. One interesting finding which this study reports is that certain forms of orthographic variation occur not only in English but also in both romanised Thai and that written in the Thai script. This is in contrast to conclusionsdrawn in previous studies which find that non-Roman scripts are often imbued with values of tradition and purity and are therefore not open to the manipulation which characterises the use of the Roman script. The conclusion of this study is that, in the absence of paralinguistic cues online, the participants are drawing on all the semiotic resources available to them*including those supplied by different writing systems*in performing identities as modern, internationally-oriented Thais