Teachers’ Beliefs and Practice on Meaning-Making in the Teaching of Literature

The main purpose of the study was to examine teachers’ beliefs and practice regarding meaning-making in the teaching of literature. The study was carried out through a detailed investigation of two research questions: (1) what are teachers’ beliefs regarding meaning-making in the teaching of literary texts? (2) How do teachers make meaning accessible to students in a literature classroom? These questions were continuously addressed throughout the study with the specific concern of investigating teachers’ beliefs in meaning-making, understanding the process of meaning-making in the teaching of literature and linking these concepts to actual classroom practice in the English language teaching classroom in the secondary schools in Malaysia. A naturalistic qualitative inquiry was selected as the methodology of the study since it was deemed the most appropriate for a phenomenon of this nature. Data was gathered and generated from eight teachers from two government schools. The participants were selected based on criterion reference purposive sampling. The data collection method to achieve the purpose of this study was in-depth interview, non-participant lesson observation and document review. Each interview lasted one to two hours, were recorded using digital audio recorder, transcribed verbatim, and analysed manually. In addition, a non-participant lesson observation of teachers’ teaching the literature component was made available to the researcher by some of the participants. Documents in the form of teachers’ lesson plans, syllabus and students’ products were also analysed. The trustworthiness of the study was ensured through member checks, peer examination, triangulation of data source and audit trail. The findings yielded nine beliefs regarding meaning making and three approaches employed by the participants in the literature classroom. The findings were further conceptualised to form a thematic portrayal of teachers’ beliefs and practice. The study concludes by constructing a model of teachers’ beliefs and practice in meaning-making which could enhance understanding of the phenomenon of meaning-making process in relation to teachers’ beliefs and practice. Implications of the study focus on training of pre-service and in-service Teacher Education. Recommendations for further research were also suggested

The BIOKLIM project: biodiversity research between climate change and wilding in a temperate montane forest : the conceptual framework

To understand the rapid rate of change in global biodiversity, it is necessary to analyse the present condition of ecosystems and to elucidate relationships of species to their environment. The BIOKLIM Project (Biodiversity and Climate Change Project) is intended to close this gap in our knowledge of montane and high montane forests of Central European low mountain ranges, one of the most threatened mixed montane systems worldwide. The Bavarian Forest National Park is characterised by its altitude range of ca. 800 m and a strongly developed gradient of forest structure. Relicts of old growth forests (areas of former local nature reserves) and dead stands, mostly killed by bark beetles, are accompanied by widely varying levels of woody debris and light. The gradients comprise a wide range of abiotic and forest structure factors, making the study area well suited for a multidisciplinary investigation of biodiversity. Unconstrained ordination (CA) of six taxa (vascular plants, wood inhabiting fungi, birds, carabids, spiders and molluscs) indicate the altitudinal gradient to be the main driver for distribution patterns of species assemblages. Objectives, structure, study design and data sampling of the BIOKLIM Project are described in detail. We set up 293 sampling plots along four main straight transects following the altitudinal gradient. All abiotic and stand structure data regarded as relevant are available for each plot. Vascular plants, wood inhabiting fungi and birds were sampled or mapped on all 293 plots. For the other 22 investigated taxa we used subsamples pre-stratified according to the sampling methods. The necessity of dealing with spatial autocorrelation, arising from sampling along linear transects, is described. Finally, study approach of our biodiversity project is compared with others involving altitudinal gradients. Worldwide, only a few multidisciplinary biodiversity studies have been previously conducted on long altitudinal gradients. However, in most cases sampling techniques were similar to ours, which allows comparison of results between continents. Keywords: Climate Change, Biodiversity, species-environment relationshipsUm die rasante Veränderung globaler Biodiversität zu verstehen, ist es erforderlich, den gegenwärtigen Zustand von Ökosystemen zu analysieren und die Zusammenhänge zwischen Arten und deren Umwelt aufzulösen. Das BIOKLIMProjekt (Biodiversität und Klima Projekt) hat zum Ziel, diese Wissenslücken für Wälder montaner und hochmontaner Mittelgebirge zu schließen. Der Nationalpark Bayerischer Wald ist neben dem Höhengradient (ca. 800 m) durch einen starken Strukturgradient geprägt. Dieser resultiert aus Restvorkommen sehr alter Bestände (ehem. Naturschutzgebiete) sowie dem Wirken des Borkenkäfers seit ca. zwei Jahrzehnten und einem dadurch verbundenen z. T. sehr hohen Totholzvorrat. Die Gradienten umfassen eine breite Spanne von abiotischen Faktoren und Bestandesstrukturen und machen den Nationalpark zu einem gut geeigneten Untersuchungsgebiet für interdisziplinäre Biodiversitätsforschung. Korrespondenzanalysen (CA) für 6 taxonomische Gruppen (Gefäßpflanzen, Holzpilze, Vögel, Laufkäfer, Spinnen und Mollusken) machen die starke Abhängigkeit der Artengruppen vom Höhengradienten deutlich. Es werden detailliert die Zielsetzungen, Projektaufbau, das Untersuchungsdesign sowie die Erfassungsmethoden des BIOKLIM-Projektes beschrieben. 293 Probepunkte wurden entlang von 4 Transekten, welche dem Höhengradienten folgen, eingerichtet. Zu jedem Probekreis stehen alle als relevant erachteten Daten zur Abiotik und Bestandesstruktur zur Verfügung. Gefäßpflanzen, Holzpilze und Vögel wurden auf allen 293 Probepunkten erfasst. Für die anderen 22 untersuchten Artengruppen wurde in Abhängigkeit von der Methode ein stratifiziertes Design gewählt. Lösungsansätze zum Umgang mit Autokorrelation, die durch die Anordnung von Probekreisen entlang von Linien (Transekte) bedingt ist, werden dargestellt. Schließlich wird das BIOKLIM-Projekt mit den wenigen weltweiten Biodiversitätsprojekten verglichen und diskutiert. In den meisten Fällen sind die Erhebungsmethoden ähnlich, sodass Vergleiche der Ergebnisse zwischen verschiedenen Kontinenten möglich werden. Schlüsselwörter: Klimawandel, Biodiversität, Arten-Umwelt-Beziehun

Receptor interaction profiles of novel psychoactive tryptamines compared with classic hallucinogens

The present study investigated interactions between the novel psychoactive tryptamines DiPT, 4-OH-DiPT, 4-OH-MET, 5-MeO-AMT, and 5-MeO-MiPT at monoamine receptors and transporters compared with the classic hallucinogens lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocin, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and mescaline. We investigated binding affinities at human monoamine receptors and determined functional serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) 5-HT2A and 5-HT2B receptor activation. Binding at and the inhibition of human monoamine uptake transporters and transporter-mediated monoamine release were also determined. All of the novel tryptamines interacted with 5-HT2A receptors and were partial or full 5-HT2A agonists. Binding affinity to the 5-HT2A receptor was lower for all of the tryptamines, including psilocin and DMT, compared with LSD and correlated with the reported psychoactive doses in humans. Several tryptamines, including psilocin, DMT, DiPT, 4-OH-DiPT, and 4-OH-MET, interacted with the serotonin transporter and partially the norepinephrine transporter, similar to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine but in contrast to LSD and mescaline. LSD but not the tryptamines interacted with adrenergic and dopaminergic receptors. In conclusion, the receptor interaction profiles of the tryptamines predict hallucinogenic effects that are similar to classic serotonergic hallucinogens but also MDMA-like psychoactive properties

Eine Apologie des Historismus

Der Frankfurter Mediävist Johannes Fried legt mit seiner neuesten Monographie Der Schleier der Erinnerung ein Werk vor, das sich mit der Frage nach der Verlässlichkeit von Quellen beschäftigt. Ausgehend von der Tatsache, dass alle Aussagen über die Vergangenheit auf der Leistungsfähigkeit des Gedächtnisses beruhen, unterzieht der Autor nach einer grundlegenden Einführung in die Arbeitsweisen des menschlichen Gehirns eine Reihe von Einzelbeispielen einer Gedächtniskritik. Dabei ist es Frieds erklärtes Ziel, die bruta facta der Ereignisse eruieren zu können und alle Verformungen der Erinnerungen auszuschalten. Das zentrale Ergebnis seiner Studie ist die Forderung nach einer auf neurowissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse gestützten Quellenkritik, die die bewussten und unbewussten Verformungen des Gedächtnisses aufdecken kann

FEMINISME EKSISTENSIALIS KONTEN BODY POSITIVITY TARA BASRO DI MEDIA SOSIAL INSTAGRAM (Analisis Isi Klaus Krippendorff)

Body positivity merupakan gerakan sosial yang memperjuangkan diversitas bentuk tubuh yang didasari adanya standar tubuh ideal yang kemudian memicu tindakan body shaming. Berkembangnya teknologi informasi dan komunikasi membuat pesan-pesan bermuatan body positivity secara mudah dan masif disebarkan melalui media sosial, salah satunya Instagram. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian dengan metode analisis isi kualitatif yang bertujuan untuk membedah pesan-pesan body positivity dalam konten-konten Instagram Tara Basro. Unit analisis dalam penelitian ini merupakan empat konten unggahan yang dipilih dengan menggunakan rumusan konten body positivity. Kemudian dianalisis dengan tindakan yang muncul dari terbentuknya citra tubuh positif, yaitu apresiasi tubuh, penerimaan dan cinta tubuh, mengkonseptualisasikan kecantikan secara luas, dan investasi adaptif dalam perawatan tubuh yang kemudian dikaitkan dengan konsep feminisme eksistensialis seperti takdir dan sejarah, mitos, dan kehidupan masa kini perempuan. Dalam penelitian ini ditemukan bahwa melalui konten-konten body positivity dalam Instagram Tara Basro, perempuan merupakan kaum yang dapat menjadi bebas dan mengaktualisasikan dirinya semaksimal mungkin

Toepassing van stenoeciteit voor ruimtelijke beleidsvraagstukken, een advies aan EZ

Door Alterra is vrij recent het criterium stenoeciteit ontwikkeld (Corporaal, et al, 2011), waarbij de ecologische waarde op een schaalloze manier uitgedrukt is in één getal onder de 100. Het is een eenvoudige graadmeter waarmee je ook correlaties met andere 'velden' kunt aangaan, bijvoorbeeld met landbouweconomische kengetallen of sociaal-economische. Er zijn methodisch nog allerlei onbenutte kansen die opgespoord zouden kunnen worden en die betekenis kunnen hebben voor de rol van EZ in de regio

The effects of parental ADHD symptoms on parenting behaviors

Friedrich A, Moning J, Weiss J, Schlarb A. The effects of parental ADHD symptoms on parenting behaviors. Health. 2017;2017(9):1054-1074.Adults suffering from attention-deficit/hyperactivity-disorder (ADHD) often display high levels of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. These symptoms might interfere with skills that are necessary for optimal parenting such as consequent and emotionally responsive behavior towards the child. Therefore, the present review aims at investigating how parental ADHD symptoms influence parenting, thereby including specific parental behaviors of both effective behavior control and emotional responsiveness. In order to identify eligible studies, a systematic search was conducted. Studies were included in this review if at least some of the investigated parents suffered from ADHD or heightened ADHD symptoms, and if the studies focused on specific parenting behaviors as outcome measures. 14 studies yielded the inclusion criteria. Across studies, parental ADHD symptoms were negatively associated with consistent discipline, parental involvement and positive parenting, and positively associated with lax and over-reactive parenting, intrusiveness and negative emotions. The core symptom of inattention had stronger negative effects on parenting than impulsivity and hyperactivity. Across studies, the gender of parents had inconsistent effects. All in all, the present review shows that parental ADHD is associated with serious impairments in parenting. Therefore, parents with ADHD should be specially addressed and trained in the context of children ADHD treatment

Causal effect of PM1 on morbidity of cause-specific respiratory diseases based on a negative control exposure

Background: Extensive studies have linked PM2.5 and PM10 with respiratory diseases (RD). However, few is known about causal association between PM1 and morbidity of RD. We aimed to assess the causal effects of PM1 on cause-specific RD. Methods: Hospital admission data were obtained for RD during 2014 and 2019 in Beijing, China. Negative control exposure and extreme gradient boosting with SHapley Additive exPlanation was used to explore the causality and contribution between PM1 and RD. Stratified analysis by gender, age, and season was conducted. Results: A total of 1,183,591 admissions for RD were recorded. Per interquartile range (28 μg/m3) uptick in concentration of PM1 corresponded to a 3.08% [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.66%–4.52%] increment in morbidity of total RD. And that was 4.47% (95% CI: 2.46%–6.52%) and 0.15% (95% CI: 1.44%-1.78%), for COPD and asthma, respectively. Significantly positive causal associations were observed for PM1 with total RD and COPD. Females and the elderly had higher effects on total RD, COPD, and asthma only in the warm months (Z = 3.03, P = 0.002; Z = 4.01, P \u3c 0.001; Z = 3.92, P \u3c 0.001; Z = 2.11, P = 0.035; Z = 2.44, P = 0.015). Contribution of PM1 ranked first, second and second for total RD, COPD, and asthma among air pollutants. Conclusion: PM1 was causally associated with increased morbidity of total RD and COPD, but not causally associated with asthma. Females and the elderly were more vulnerable to PM1-associated effects on RD