Investigating innovation in English language teaching :three case studies at a junior college in Taiwan

PhD ThesisThis qualitative research study attempts to investigate innovation in general English language teaching/learning as perceived by English teachers at a private vocational junior college in Taiwan, a Chinese-speaking context. The underachievement reported in the literature highlights the important issue that innovation is always constrained by many factors at all levels, in terms of institutional, educational, and cultural levels, etc. (Kennedy 1988). Recently research on innovation has been moving from a method-oriented understanding to broadening perspectives beyond language and classroom (Holliday 1996). In this context, this research aims to identify the mechanisms of three ELT innovation projects and investigate the factors affecting their success on many levels. The method adopted was ethnographic research that gave a thick description of how the teachers participated in the ELT projects leading to innovation. The three ELT projects to be examined were carried out on a school basis and located in the same context. One was initiated entirely top-down, one from both directions, and the other bottom-up. The first one aimed to implement a new teacher role of teacher-cum-researcher, the second to integrate technology into the English program, and the last to improve teaching through better materials. These projects were non-aided and independent of expatriates, and in this way different from the expatriate-aided ELT projects in the literature. Besides, unlike many projects that are designed and evaluated by their change agents, these projects were examined from the perspective of the end users (teachers), and in this way provide insights from a different angle. Several conclusions can be drawn from the analysis of the outcomes. It is found that the rise of the double centre-periphery innovation model in the field of education was ineffective in helping under-informed implementers to develop their change capacity. Dalin's four barriers (1983) are inadequate to address the barriers to innovation effectiveness, without taking the communication barrier and local negative rhythms into account, as they also inhibited the success of innovation. This study also shows that it seems naYve to expect that success is more likely in bottom-up innovations than in top-down innovations. In fact, if innovations, whether top-down or bottom-up, are to succeed, they require the same favourable conditions to facilitate their success, such as the development of the change capacity and effective conflict management

Fever Screening at Airports and Imported Dengue

Airport fever screening in Taiwan, July 2003–June 2004, identified 40 confirmed dengue cases. Results obtained by capture immunoglobulin (Ig) M and IgG enzyme-linked immunoassay, real time 1-step polymerase chain reaction, and virus isolation showed that 33 (82.5%) of 40 patients were viremic. Airport fever screening can thus quickly identify imported dengue cases

Fifteen-Year Population Attributable Fractions and Causal Pies of Risk Factors for Newly Developed Hepatocellular Carcinomas in 11,801 Men in Taiwan

Development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a multi-factorial process. Chronic infections with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are important risk factors of HCC. Host factors, such as alcohol drinking, may also play a role. This study aims to provide a synthesis view on the development of HCC by examining multiple risk factors jointly and collectively. Causal-pie modeling technique was applied to analyze a cohort of 11,801 male residents (followed up for 15 years) in Taiwan, during which a total of 298 incident HCC cases were ascertained. The rate ratios adjusted by age were further modeled by an additive Poisson regression. Population attributable fractions (PAFs) and causal-pie weights (CPWs) were calculated. A PAF indicates the magnitude of case-load reduction under a particular intervention scenario, whereas a CPW for a particular class of causal pies represents the proportion of HCC cases attributable to that class. Using PAF we observed a chance to reduce around 60% HCC risk moving from no HBV-related intervention to the total elimination of the virus. An additional ∼15% (or ∼5%) reduction can be expected, if the HBV-related intervention is coupled with an HCV-related intervention (or an anti-drinking campaign). Eight classes of causal pies were found to be significant, including four dose-response classes of HBV (total CPW=52.7%), one independent-effect class of HCV (CPW=14.4%), one HBV-alcohol interaction class (CPW=4.2%), one HBV-HCV interaction class (CPW=1.7%), and one all-unknown class (CPW=27.0%). Causal-pie modeling for HCC helps clarify the relative importance of each viral and host factor, as well as their interactions

Target Deletion of the Cytoskeleton-Associated Protein Palladin Does Not Impair Neurite Outgrowth in Mice

Palladin is an actin cytoskeleton–associated protein which is crucial for cell morphogenesis and motility. Previous studies have shown that palladin is localized to the axonal growth cone in neurons and may play an important role in axonal extension. Previously, we have generated palladin knockout mice which display cranial neural tube closure defect and embryonic lethality before embryonic day 15.5 (E15.5). To further study the role of palladin in the developing nervous system, we examined the innervation of palladin-deficient mouse embryos since the 200 kd, 140 kd, 90–92 kd and 50 kd palladin isoforms were undetectable in the mutant mouse embryo brain. Contrary to the results of previous studies, we found no inhibition of the axonal extension in palladin-deficient mouse embryos. The cortical neurons derived from palladin-deficient mice also showed no significant difference in neurite outgrowth as compared with those from wild-type mice. Moreover, no difference was found in neurite outgrowth of neural stem cell derived-neurons between palladin-deficient mice and wild-type mice. In conclusion, these results suggest that palladin is dispensable for normal neurite outgrowth in mice

Aberrant Sensory Gating of the Primary Somatosensory Cortex Contributes to the Motor Circuit Dysfunction in Paroxysmal Kinesigenic Dyskinesia

Paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia (PKD) is conventionally regarded as a movement disorder (MD) and characterized by episodic hyperkinesia by sudden movements. However, patients of PKD often have sensory aura and respond excellently to antiepileptic agents. PRRT2 mutations, the most common genetic etiology of PKD, could cause epilepsy syndromes as well. Standing in the twilight zone between MDs and epilepsy, the pathogenesis of PKD is unclear. Gamma oscillations arise from the inhibitory interneurons which are crucial in the thalamocortical circuits. The role of synchronized gamma oscillations in sensory gating is an important mechanism of automatic cortical inhibition. The patterns of gamma oscillations have been used to characterize neurophysiological features of many neurological diseases, including epilepsy and MDs. This study was aimed to investigate the features of gamma synchronizations in PKD. In the paired-pulse electrical-stimulation task, we recorded the magnetoencephalographic data with distributed source modeling and time-frequency analysis in 19 patients of newly-diagnosed PKD without receiving pharmacotherapy and 18 healthy controls. In combination with the magnetic resonance imaging, the source of gamma oscillations was localized in the primary somatosensory cortex. Somatosensory evoked fields of PKD patients had a reduced peak frequency (p < 0.001 for the first and the second response) and a prolonged peak latency (the first response p = 0.02, the second response p = 0.002), indicating the synchronization of gamma oscillation is significantly attenuated. The power ratio between two responses was much higher in the PKD group (p = 0.013), indicating the incompetence of activity suppression. Aberrant gamma synchronizations revealed the defective sensory gating of the somatosensory area contributes the pathogenesis of PKD. Our findings documented disinhibited cortical function is a pathomechanism common to PKD and epilepsy, thus rationalized the clinical overlaps of these two diseases and the therapeutic effect of antiepileptic agents for PKD. There is a greater reduction of the peak gamma frequency in PRRT2-related PKD than the non-PRRT PKD group (p = 0.028 for the first response, p = 0.004 for the second response). Loss-of-function PRRT2 mutations could lead to synaptic dysfunction. The disinhibiton change on neurophysiology reflected the impacts of PRRT2 mutations on human neurophysiology

A Study of the Customer Satisfaction on patent and trademark Agency-An example of T patent & trademark office

[[abstract]]The Intellectual Proprietary Rights (IPR) has already become one of the main edge tolls of industrial competition globally. In order to satisfy customers, the IPR service providers, patent & trademark law firms for instance, must be extremely professional that oftentimes includes specialization, standardization and customization services. The more competitive the environment becomes, the more positive and aggressive attitude service providers should have that helps them differentiate them. To begin with, differentiating oneself in the industry from other competitors is to improve the competitiveness in the same business environment. In the long run, pursuing good service quality and providing additional value to consumers is the path to customers? satisfaction. The study is conducted through questionnaire, customers who received the questionnaire came a IPR law firm T in middle Taiwan. 183 effective questionnaires were counted during the period of March 1, to April 17, 2005. The results of study are: 1. IPR law firm T?s customers pay attention to, reliability, responsiveness, empathy and assurance. 2. Among gaps between customer expectation and actual satisfaction, there was positive feedback in empathy; ?office attendants must keep their service on schedule? both to customer end and partner end as well. It is recommended that IPR law firm T must be aware of the previously mentioned, set up strategies, and improve customer's satisfaction to the law firm. 3. Must understand the needs of the customers and improve service quality in filing applications in foreign countries to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. 4. Customers in Hi-Tech industry are most satisfied and loyal to IPR law firm T

Baseline human papillomavirus infection, high vaginal parity, and their interaction on cervical cancer risks after a follow-up of more than 10 years

Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been recognized as a major factor for cervical cancer causation. Other factors, relating to reproduction, are also important. This study aims to disentangle the roles of baseline HPV infection, high vaginal parity (defined as having a parts per thousand yen4 vaginal deliveries), and the interaction between the two in predicting cervical cancer risk. The authors apply a newly developed causal-pie modeling technique to analyze a cohort of more than 10,000 women conducted in Taiwan with more than 10 years of follow-up. The rate ratios adjusted by age and menopausal status were further modeled by an additive Poisson regression with non-negative parameters. The index of causal-pie weight (CPW) was calculated to indicate the proportion of cervical cancer cases attributable to a particular class of causal pies. It was found that the CPWs are 36.3 % for baseline HPV infection, 35.6 % for baseline HPV infection and high vaginal parity, and 28.1 % for other factors. A causal-pie modeling based on a women cohort in Taiwan successfully disentangles the roles of virus factors and reproductive factors at study entry, independently or interactively, on subsequent cervical cancer risk

Weighing the Causal Pies in Case-Control Studies

PURPOSE: Epidemiologists are familiar with the concepts of Rothman's causal pies. Using real data the Hoffman study showed recently how to calculate the "proportion of diseased subjects who develop the disease due to classes of sufficient causes" (PDCs). The PDC is actually an attributable-fraction index. It may be specific to a particular risk factor profile but it does not correspond to any given class of causal pies. In this study, we show how to estimate the "causal-pie weights" ( CPWs), so that each and every class of causal pies has one and only one CPW attached to it. METHODS: To conform to Rothman's model, we apply a non -negative linear odds model to constrain all the odds ratios (ORs) to be equal to or greater than one, and the interactions between them to be additive or superadditive. Based on these constrained ORs, we calculate the population attributable fractions, and then the CPWs. We used a published case-control data to show the methodology. RESULTS: The CPWs succinctly quantify the relative importance of different classes of causal pies. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed method helps to clarify the multi- factorial and complex interactive effects in disease causation. It also provides important information for designing an efficient public health intervention strategy