Anti-Islamophobic Curriculums

Since patterns of immigration began taking hold, one of the primary goals of any immigrant to, or citizen of, North America has been to be accepted and to adapt to a new culture and learn to live a productive and healthy life. There are many different means by which people endeavor to accomplish this. One of these is through education, a platform that has been, and should continue to be, a principal path to achieving this goal. The field of education has also become one of the primary forums for provoking and questioning societal norms and is a powerful means towards achieving the vision of a multicultural society capable of living, working, and playing in harmony. Anti-Islamophobic Curriculums presents a specific curriculum to help teachers and young learners gain more awareness of cultures much different from theirs. Anti-Islamophobic Curriculums also endeavours to decrease sociophobic reaction toward cultures that are unfamiliar and to acquaint learners with a curriculum beyond what has traditionally been their predominant English/French/Indigenous experience. While the conclusions this book draws are applicable to any culture, the curriculum presented here emphasizes the Islamic culture and, through the educational process, aims to mitigate the sociophobic reaction its members often encounter

Dual Language Books Go Digital: Storybooks Canada in French Immersion Schools and Homes

In response to Canada’s growing ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity, educators in French immersion classrooms are increasingly responding with enhanced cross-linguistic initiatives, and dual language books are promising resources in the promotion of multilingualism (Zaidi, 2020; Zaidi & Dooley, 2021). This paper details a research project we completed in a 2019 classroom-based qualitative case study in a French immersion school experiencing an increasing enrollment of linguistically diverse students. The researchers sought to determine if Storybooks Canada, a free digital platform with 40 dual language books in multiple languages, could help promote literacy engagement and strengthen home-school connections. Five teacher participants identified a range of features that make the platform a useful resource for promoting literacy engagement, text comprehension, learner autonomy, meaning-making, and instructional differentiation. These included (i) the multilingual features, (ii) the ability to project stories on a large screen, (iii) the audio component, (iv) the illustrations, and (v) the different levels of text difficulty. While teachers made almost exclusive use of the French language features of the site, for classroom purposes, they supported cross-linguistic uses of the platform in the home context, with a view of strengthening home-school connections. En réponse à la diversité ethnique, culturelle et linguistique croissante présente actuellement au Canada, les éducateurs des classes d’immersion française y répondent de plus en plus en établissant des initiatives interlinguistiques améliorées. Par example, les livres bilingues sont des ressources prometteuses pour la promotion du multilinguisme (Zaidi, 2020; Zaidi et Dooley, 2021). Cet article détaille un projet de recherche réalisé en 2019 grâce à une étude de cas qualitative dans un école d’immersion française qui connait une augmentation du nombre d’élèves linguistiquement diversifiés. Les chercheurs ont cherché à déterminer si Storybooks Canada, un plateforme numérique gratuite avec 40 livres bilingues en plusiers langues, pourrait aider à promouvoir l’engagement en matière d’alpabétisation et à renforcer les liens entre la maison et lécole. Cinq ensignants participants ont identifié une gamme de caractéristiques qui font de la plateforme une ressource utile pour promouvoir l’engagement en littératie, la compréhension de texte, l’autonomie de l’apprenant, la création de sens et la différenciation pédagogique. Ceux-ci comprenaient (i) les fonctionnalités multilingues, (ii) la possibilité de projeter des hitoires sur un grand écran, (iii) la composante audio, (iv) les illustrations et (v) les différents niveaux de difficulté du texte. Bien que les enseignant aient utilisé presque exclusivement les caractéristiques en français du site, dans le cadre de la salle de classe, ils ont appuyé les utilisations interlinguistiques de la platforme dans le contexte familial, avec le but de renforcer les liens entre la maison et l’école.

Factor VII deficiency and pregnancy: a case report and review of literature

Factor VII deficiency is one of the \u27rare inherited disorders of coagulation.\u27 Few cases of Factor VII deficiency have been reported during pregnancy, a state which could potentially cause fatal haemorrhage. Here we report a case of a pregnant lady with a history of heavy menorrhagia and multiple first pregnancy failures. Delivery was carried out via Caesarean section due to non-reassuring foetal heart monitoring. Patient was treated with Fresh Frozen Plasma (FFPs) and Factor VII concentrates, however, the patient developed bleeding postoperatively. Literature indicates that whilst Factor VII levels rise during pregnancy in normal women, no increase is seen in homozygous cases, whereas there is a moderate rise in heterozygous individuals. History of heavy menorrhagia, multiple first pregnancy failures and a positive family history for bleeding disorders necessitate investigation and monitoring of Factor VII levels during pregnancy. Factor VII concentrates achieve adequate homeostasis in most cases. Recombinant Factor VIIa, however, is the treatment of choice and does not carry a risk of infection transmission or thrombus formation

Identity text: an educational intervention to foster cultural interaction

Background: Sociocultural theories state that learning results from people participating in contexts where social interaction is facilitated. There is a need to create such facilitated pedagogical spaces where participants can share their ways of knowing and doing. The aim of this exploratory study was to introduce pedagogical space for sociocultural interaction using ‘Identity Text’. Methods: Identity Texts are sociocultural artifacts produced by participants, which can be written, spoken, visual, musical, or multimodal. In 2013, participants of an international medical education fellowship program were asked to create their own Identity Texts to promote discussion about participants’ cultural backgrounds. Thematic analysis was used to make the analysis relevant to studying the pedagogical utility of the intervention. Result: The Identity Text intervention created two spaces: a ‘reflective space’, which helped participants reflect on sensitive topics such as institutional environments, roles in interdisciplinary teams, and gender discrimination, and a ‘narrative space’, which allowed participants to tell powerful stories that provided cultural insights and challenged cultural hegemony; they described the conscious and subconscious transformation in identity that evolved secondary to struggles with local power dynamics and social demands involving the impact of family, peers, and country of origin. Conclusion: While the impact of providing pedagogical space using Identity Text on cognitive engagement and enhanced learning requires further research, the findings of this study suggest that it is a useful pedagogical strategy to support cross-cultural education

Community\u27s perceptions of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in Sindh Pakistan: A qualitative study

Background: Maternal mortality is of global public health concern and \u3e99% of maternal deaths occur in less developed countries. The common causes of direct maternal death are hemorrhage, sepsis and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia. In Pakistan, pre-eclampsia/eclampsia deaths represents one-third of maternal deaths reported at the tertiary care hospital settings. This study explored community perceptions, and traditional management practices about pre-eclampsia/eclampsia.Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in Sindh Province of Pakistan from February to July 2012. Twenty-six focus groups were conducted, 19 with women of reproductive age/mothers-in-law (N=173); and 7 with husbands/fathers-in-law (N=65). The data were transcribed verbatim in Sindhi and Urdu, then analyzed for emerging themes and sub-themes using NVivo version 10 software.Results: Pre-eclampsia in pregnancy was not recognized as a disease and there was no name in the local languages to describe this. Women however, knew about high blood pressure and were aware they can develop it during pregnancy. It was widely believed that stress and weakness caused high blood pressure in pregnancy and it caused symptoms of headache. The perception of high blood pressure was not based on measurement but on symptoms. Self-medication was often used for headaches associated with high blood pressure. They were also awareness that severely high blood pressure could result in death.Conclusions: Community-based participatory health education strategies are recommended to dispel myths and misperceptions regarding pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. The educational initiatives should include information on the presentation, progression of illness, danger signs associated with pregnancy, and appropriate treatment

Does malaria during pregnancy affect the newborn?

Objective: To investigate the effect of malarial infection during pregnancy on the newborn.Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Karachi, using in-patient hospital records over an 11-year period from 1988 to 1999. The incidence of preterm delivery, low birth weight (LBW) and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) in 29 pregnant women with malaria, was compared with that in 66 selected pregnant women without malaria, who delivered at the AKUH during the same time period.Results: Pregnant women with malaria had a 3.1 times greater risk of preterm labor (p=0.14). They were more likely to be anaemic compared to women without malaria (RR=2.9, 95% CI=1.6-5.4) and had a significantly lower mean haemoglobin level (p=0.0001). Maternal malaria was significantly associated with LBW babies (p=0.001). The mean birth weight of infants born to pregnant women with malaria was 461 g less (p=0.0005). No significant association was, however, found between malarial infection during pregnancy and IUGR (p=0.33).CONCLUSION: Malarial infection during pregnancy is associated with poor maternal and fetal outcome. It is significantly associated with maternal anaemia and LBW infants. Appropriate measures must, therefore, be taken to prevent malaria during pregnancy, especially in endemic areas

Digitizing dual-language book pedagogies in uncertain times

Global volatility shifts the everyday realities of school life. In the culturally and linguistically diverse schools of Canada, Australia and Europe with which we work, educators and parents have sought to renew established pedagogies in response to transnational integration and disintegration, immigration and refugee resettlement, and the cultural flux and flows of globalisation. As cultural practices and traditions are disrupted, families, communities and school create new ways of being and becoming literate. Dual-language book (DLB) reading has been one of these; with the global COVID-19 pandemic, this practice itself is ripe for digital re-imagination. This paper provides links to an abundance of online dual-book resources, describes developments in dual-language pedagogies for digitized worlds of literacy, and suggests some practical ways of re-imagining dual-language pedagogies

Affordances of Multilingual and Multimodal Literacy Engagements of Immigrant High School Students: A Scoping Review

This article presents a scoping review of literacy research that employs multilingual and multimodal literacy narratives and discussions as tools for enabling immigrant youth to explore their intersectional identities and experiences of inequality. It encourages a re-examination of emerging educational/societal issues, incorporating these interventions as a catalyst for discussion. Utilizing a descriptive-analytic approach for data extraction, this scoping review has mapped out prevailing trends in the literature, research methodologies employed, and the types and objectives of multilingual and multimodal literacy interventions. The findings underscore a growing trend over the past decade in adopting multilingual and multimodal literacy interventions with immigrant youth, often employing collaborative research approaches such as participatory action research. The most frequently utilized multilingual and multimodal texts in such studies include digital storytelling materials (comprising images and video), spoken word poetry, photographs, and bilingual books. These interventions are typically designed to (a) encourage youth to express their knowledge, experiences, and identities; (b) examine and address educational and societal issues and opportunities; and (c) challenge dominant ideologies, practices, and discourses through the voices of immigrant youth. The review discusses the transformative possibilities for immigrant youth and encourages rethinking the language learning, literacy, and curriculum process. The data advocates for eclectic approaches and interventions to help newcomer youth understand their lived experiences and societal issues and encourages educators to respond in kind

Dual Language Books Go Digital: Storybooks Canada in French Immersion Schools and Homes

In response to Canada’s growing ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity, educators in French immersion classrooms are increasingly responding with enhanced cross-linguistic initiatives, and dual language books are promising resources in the promotion of multilingualism (Zaidi, 2020; Zaidi & Dooley, 2021). This paper details a research project we completed in a 2019 classroom-based qualitative case study in a French immersion school experiencing an increasing enrollment of linguistically diverse students. The researchers sought to determine if Storybooks Canada, a free digital platform with 40 dual language books in multiple languages, could help promote literacy engagement and strengthen home-school connections. Five teacher participants identified a range of features that make the platform a useful resource for promoting literacy engagement, text comprehension, learner autonomy, meaning-making, and instructional differentiation. These included (i) the multilingual features, (ii) the ability to project stories on a large screen, (iii) the audio component, (iv) the illustrations, and (v) the different levels of text difficulty. While teachers made almost exclusive use of the French language features of the site, for classroom purposes, they supported cross-linguistic uses of the platform in the home context, with a view of strengthening home-school connections.En réponse à la diversité ethnique, culturelle et linguistique croissante présente actuellement au Canada, les éducateurs des classes d’immersion française y répondent de plus en plus en établissant des initiatives interlinguistiques améliorées. Par example, les livres bilingues sont des ressources prometteuses pour la promotion du multilinguisme (Zaidi, 2020; Zaidi et Dooley, 2021). Cet article détaille un projet de recherche réalisé en 2019 grâce à une étude de cas qualitative dans un école d’immersion française qui connait une augmentation du nombre d’élèves linguistiquement diversifiés. Les chercheurs ont cherché à déterminer si Storybooks Canada, un plateforme numérique gratuite avec 40 livres bilingues en plusiers langues, pourrait aider à promouvoir l’engagement en matière d’alpabétisation et à renforcer les liens entre la maison et lécole. Cinq ensignants participants ont identifié une gamme de caractéristiques qui font de la plateforme une ressource utile pour promouvoir l’engagement en littératie, la compréhension de texte, l’autonomie de l’apprenant, la création de sens et la différenciation pédagogique. Ceux-ci comprenaient (i) les fonctionnalités multilingues, (ii) la possibilité de projeter des hitoires sur un grand écran, (iii) la composante audio, (iv) les illustrations et (v) les différents niveaux de difficulté du texte. Bien que les enseignant aient utilisé presque exclusivement les caractéristiques en français du site, dans le cadre de la salle de classe, ils ont appuyé les utilisations interlinguistiques de la platforme dans le contexte familial, avec le but de renforcer les liens entre la maison et l’école