Classical swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease in Lao PDR

Approximately 75% of the population of Lao PDR is engaged in agriculture and the vast majority (approximately 90%) of these producers are in the smallholder sector. Livestock are an important contributor to national, agricultural and village economies and are relied on for food security. The pig population has increased over the past 5 years at an annual average increase of 4.7% at the national herd level and up to 20% in some provinces. Cattle and buffalo populations have grown at more modest rates of 1–2% (Figure 1). Disease, including foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and classical swine fever (CSF), is a major constraint to efficient and sustainable livestock production. Up to 80–90% of pigs and 99% of cattle and buffalo are produced in the smallholder sector using low input practices; as such, there is limited private sector input. Disease reporting, diagnosis, control and prevention are addressed by the Lao Government through the National Department of Livestock and Fisheries (DLF) and local agriculture and forestry offices at provincial and district government levels. These activities are supported by international partners such as the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Commonwealth Scientific and Investigation Research Organisation (CSIRO), Japanese International Cooperation Association (JICA), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), European Union (EU) and Office International des Epizooties (OIE). Disease reporting and communication are passive and reports are made from villages through government administrations at district and provincial levels and then to the national level—the DLF and the National Animal Health Centre (NAHC). Communication of FMD-related information at regional and international levels is coordinated by the OIE South-East Asian FMD regional coordination unit (SEAFMD RCU), where reports are submitted monthly. Disease reporting for CSF is less well coordinated and information is provided to the OIE

Searching for the semantic boundaries of the Japanese colour term \u27ao\u27

The Japanese language has a colour term, \u27ao\u27 (or \u27aoi\u27), which is usually referred to in bilingual dictionaries as being the equivalent of English \u27blue\u27. Very often, however, it is used to describe things which English speakers would describe as being green. Granny Smith apples are \u27ao\u27, so are all Westerners\u27 eyes, regardless of whether they would be described as being \u27blue\u27 or \u27green\u27 in English. The sky and the sea are prototypically \u27ao\u27, but this term is also used to describe lawns, forests, traffic lights and unripe tomatoes. What, then, do Japanese native speakers (henceforth JNS) understand by this term? How do its semantic boundaries relate to those of the term \u27midori\u27 (`green\u27)? What is the JNS understanding of the foreign loan words \u27guriin\u27 (green) and \u27buruu\u27 (blue)? This study pursues these questions seeking to delineate the semantic boundaries of the colour term \u27ao\u27

Clinical Functional Genomics

Functional genomics is the study of how the genome and its products, including RNA and proteins, function and interact to affect different biological processes. The field of functional genomics includes transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and epigenomics, as these all relate to controlling the genome leading to expression of particular phenotypes. By studying whole genomes—clinical genomics, transcriptomes and epigenomes—functional genomics allows the exploration of the diverse relationship between genotype and phenotype, not only for humans as a species but also in individuals, allowing an understanding and evaluation of how the functional genome ‘contributes’ to different diseases. Functional variation in disease can help us better understand that disease, although it is currently limited in terms of ethnic diversity, and will ultimately give way to more personalized treatment plans

Jews: The Makers of Early Modern Berlin

This paper will discuss how Jews fit into the economic policies of Brandenburg-Prussia in the later 16th century. From Frederick William’s decree in 1671 to allow fifty Jewish families to settle in Brandenburg-Prussia to these families and their descendants becoming immersed in the economy of Berlin through their use in courts but more so through their trading, specifically, the ways in which they traded and how they used these to free themselves from some of the constraints of German Christian society. Thusly, this will be shown by looking at Jews in Brandenburg-Prussia in the later 17th century, Jews in Berlin, and Jews and their relations to the economic sphere of Berlin. The conclusion of this paper is that Jews in Berlin from the time of their readmission in 1671 had become a necessity for Brandenburg-Prussia in order to rebound from its destruction in the Thirty Years’ War. This can be seen in their extensive use in the courts of Brandenburg-Prussia and the taxes that were extracted from them. However, this can also be seen in the ways that Jews traded with the German Christian majority and how they were able to circumvent some aspects of the society that were used to keep them down. This has expanded on the ways in which Jews used their roles in the economic sphere of Berlin to help improve their lives and possibly of Jews in positions similar to theirs

"Fine thank you. And you?" Linguistic Politeness in Australian English and the Interlanguage Pragmatics of Japanese ESL Speakers

This paper examines politeness breakdowns between Japanese ESL speakers and L1 speakers of Australian English. In doing so, the paper develops a model of linguistic politeness which sees the marking of social power and social identification configurations as crucial. Using this model as a template, a possible explanation for differences in politeness strategies used by Japanese ESL and L1 Australian English speakers is suggested and research findings are cited to examine this hypothesis

Exploring Dynamic Processes: a Qualitative Study of Problem-Based Learning Experiences within Clinical Psychology Training

Aim: The existing literature on the experiences of individuals who have undertaken Problem-Based Learning (PBL) as part of their doctoral Clinical Psychology training in the UK is scarce, particularly from the perspective of qualitative peer research. The aim of the present study was to construct and articulate a deeper account of such experiences, and in particular, to explore how individuals make sense of these experiences. It is hoped that the findings of the present study will increase awareness within Clinical Psychology training programmes of the experiences, perspectives and needs of trainees who undertake PBL. Method: A qualitative approach was adopted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight Trainee Clinical Psychologists who have undertaken PBL at a Clinical Psychology training programme in South-East England. Their accounts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), which endeavours to illuminate the lived experiences of small samples of individuals who have experienced a particular phenomenon. Results: The analytic procedure highlighted four main themes emerging within participants’ accounts: Intensity of the experience; Striving towards connection versus fear of disconnection; Responses to manage the experience(s) can be unhelpful and helpful; and Trying to make sense of PBL. Implications: Participants characterised PBL as a challenging yet invaluable process through which they made significant gains, both professionally and personally. Facilitators were noted to play a key role in helping to create safe spaces in which trainees are supported to engage with issues that may arise for them in relation to their professional and personal development. Implications and recommendations are outlined for the benefit of Clinical Psychology training programmes that may wish to incorporate or alter PBL within their syllabuses

Politeness and paradigms of family: A perspective on the development of communicative competence in the Japanese ESL speaker

This thesis examines the issue of linguistic politeness in English with specific reference to Japanese ESL speakers. It develops a theoretical framework that sees shared assumptions concerning the marking of social-power and social-distance differentials as crucial. Developing the notion that linguistic politeness is a function of a status-dependent and context-dependent variety of language usage, it argues that there are four fundamental types of utterances, and that speech acts conforming to any of the power and distance configurations by means of which these four utterance types are defined can be considered to be polite if-but only if -both speaker and hearer have similar conceptions of their role-relationship within a given speech event. It argues further that perceptions of role-relationships -for both native speakers of Australian English and for Japanese ESL speakers-result from culturally codified understandings of family, and that these understandings provide the primary conceptual template for social actors manufacture and maintenance of social reality in extra-familial face-to-face interaction. As these conceptual templates are not congruent across cultures in the ways in which familial power and distance variables are codified, however, neither are the role-relationships in terms of which extra-familial social encounters are framed; and this, in tum, can lead to Japanese ESL speakers using politeness strategies in contextually inappropriate ways. From this theoretical perspective, the research uses a custom-designed interactive multimedia software package to compare choices of utterances with verified power and distance configurations made by Japanese ESL speakers with choices made by native speakers of Australian English in a variety of everyday speech situations

Durational Residency Requirements for In-State Tuition: Searching for Access to Affordable Higher Learning

With the annual costs of earning a college degree in the United States swelling, the relative lower cost of a public education is precious. State residents save thousands of dollars a year by enrolling at a public university in their home state. On the other hand, non-residents, even those who wish to become residents, must pay inflated out-of-state prices, while receiving the same education. While non-residents may eventually gain the benefits of residency, including reduced tuition rates, the cost differential until then is often substantial. In California, depending on a student\u27s individual taxpayer status, an out-of-state student may never gain residency while enrolled, resulting in a nearly doubled tuition bill for the term of their education. This Note analyzes the constitutionality of durational residency requirements and their interplay with the right to travel under Equal Protection, Due Process, and the Privileges or Immunities Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. This Note argues that durational residency requirements like the one in California are unconstitutional