bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Critical success factors for build–operate–transfer (BOT) projects in China
Authors: Yang Jiaju , Nisar Tahir M , Prabhakar Guru Prakash
Published: May 2018

This study aims to create a list of CSFs for China’s BOT projects to help organizations achieve project success. We first describe the role of CSFs in terms of three broad categories of whether BOT projects adopt strategies for risk transfer, the degree to which BOT projects foster the ‘whole- life approach’ to project design and management and extent to which BOT projects ensure timely delivery and supplies good-quality products and services. Based on an initial CSF list, a questionnaire survey was conducted to identify the relatively important CSFs for BOT projects in China. Our initial assessment shows that the key CSFs corresponded to our defined categories of BOT projects’ success factors. We then provide an updated list of CSFs with the top ten factors in ranking analysis. This list of CSFs could play a useful role in the phases of preparing, bidding, constructing, operating and transferring of BOT projects.
Changing role of women in the Irish society: an overview of the female consumer
Authors: Sheehan Ashling , Berkery Elaine , Lichrou Maria
Published: May 2018

The changing role of women in the Irish society has attracted significant attention within the sociology literature; however, there has been little discussion within the field of marketing. This paper aimed to synthesise existing research and literature in the area to outline the key changes in the role of women in the Irish society since the 1920s, highlighting the impact of such changes on consumer behaviour patterns in Ireland. It specifically focused on key landmarks in the transformation of women in the Irish society, including the participation of women in the labour force, Ireland's economic growth since the mid-1990s and the current economic recession. These changes provide the backdrop for the emergence of female consumer patterns in Ireland, which were then discussed under the following themes: changing attitudes towards family life, representations of women in the media and the recession.
Pension provision by small employers in Ireland: an analysis of Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) using bounded rationality theory
Authors: Maloney Maureen , McCarthy Alma
Published: May 2018

This paper applies a model of bounded rationality to study small employers’ decision-making on pension provision in Ireland. Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) pension products were intended to provide inexpensive, flexible pension options, particularly targeted towards small enterprises. After 10 years of their introduction, evidence suggests that the PRSA pension product has little impact on pension coverage in Ireland and the employees of small organisations are least likely to be the members of pension schemes. Drawing on the theory of bounded rationality and a review of the legislative and institutional context within which small employers in Ireland make decisions on pension provision, this paper presents a pension decision-making model of small employers based on the work of Simon (1983). A range of propositions are set out for empirical research to examine pension provision practices of small employers relating to whether they have a tendency to organise rather than sponsor PRSAs for their employees. The implications for theory, research and policy are explained.
What’s love got to do with it? Employee engagement amongst higher education workers
Authors: Byrne Orla , MacDonagh Joe
Published: May 2018

Employee engagement is an important construct in management research as engaged employees not only perform better in their jobs but also feel happier and more fulfilled in the workplace. Employee engagement is a function of the job resources employees have in coping with their job demands. This paper makes a threefold contribution to the existing engagement literature by: (1) exploring this construct with a sample of third-level academics in the Irish public sector – a relatively unmapped sample in engagement research, (2) identifying organisational support as a key job resource that enables academics to cope with their job demands and (3) proposing that employee engagement reflects how strongly an employee puts his or her heart into work – suggesting a reconceptualization of engagement as love. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Laboratory medicine contributions to patient blood management concepts
Authors: Spethmann Janine , Schlüter Kathrin , Schlatterer Kathrin
Published: May 2018

Background:

A review of the literature shows that the role of laboratory diagnostics in the multidisciplinary concept of patient blood management (PBM) is underrepresented, so the contribution that laboratory diagnostics can make needs to be elucidated.

Methods:

The central objective of this study was to decrease the volume of blood drawn for laboratory diagnostics as part of a hospital quality management project focussed on increasing efficiency and reducing the turnaround time (TAT) of laboratory results. Optimization potential within the complete preanalytical process was reviewed to obtain potential improvement measures. These measures fell into two groups: training to reduce preanalytical errors in the entire hospital and using blood collection tubes with lower nominal fill volumes.

Results:

A validation of the success of these measures was performed after 1 year. The occurrence of several blood collection non-compliances had decreased substantially. By changing the blood collection tube volume, approximately 177 L less patient blood was drawn for diagnostic purposes in the 384-bed hospital per year. For geriatric and intensive care unit (ICU) patients, there was a very significant reduction in diagnostic blood loss (−27.2% ICU, −42.5% geriatric patients). The number of tubes used per patient per day decreased by 13%.

Conclusions:

In conclusion, this approach represents an important lab-side contribution to PBM concepts.
Do You See What I See? Aspects of Color Choice and Perception in Ancient Egyptian Painting
Authors: Strong Meghan E.
Published: May 2018

Color in ancient Egypt has been examined through linguistics, anthropological theory and archaeological science. In recent years, attention has focused on the application of art historical theories of reception and perception to ancient Egyptian art, but seldom on color itself. This article will examine aspects of color choice and visual perception, particularly focusing on use of the pigments yellow ochre and orpiment. Building on a growing body of art historical and archaeometric scholarship, it will demonstrate the contributions that experimental archaeology can make to the analysis and understanding of ancient Egyptian painting. Specifically, this study will examine why the Egyptian artist chose specific color combinations by taking into account the original space and lighting conditions of these paintings.
Japan: The Earliest Evidence of Complex Technology for Creating Durable Coloured Goods
Authors: Matsumoto Naoko
Published: May 2018

The invention of lacquer technology is significant in history as the first evidence of the use of an organic substance in creating durable coloured objects. By focusing on the evidence from the Jomon Period, Japan, this article clarifies the nature of complex technology and knowledge required for lacquer production, presents how lacquer technology enhanced our creative ability, and discusses its significance in human history. Lacquer technology was invented in the course of increasing human-plant interaction in the warming climate of the early Holocene. Personal ornaments coated with red lacquer are the most conspicuous throughout the Jomon Period from the beginning of lacquer technology. Strong attention to colour and intensive application on personal ornaments indicate that the creation of symbolic artefacts in social context was at the core of Jomon lacquer technology.
Community Art: Communities of Practice, Situated Learning, Adults and Children as Creators of Cave Art in Upper Palaeolithic France and Northern Spain
Authors: Janik Liliana , Cooney Williams Jessica
Published: May 2018

This paper presents acts of fluting as tangible expressions of activities performed by Palaeolithic communities of practice, in which situated learning was part of the social transmission of knowledge and communities of practice include children, men and women. To identify individual members of the communities of practice who were involved in the creation of parietal art in the Franco-Cantabrian region we have analysed the age and the sex of the people who ‘decorated’ the caves. Secondly, by following the analysis of lines created by flutings by different members of the community of practice, we suggest that children under the age of seven, who had no the cognitive abilities to comprehend the meaning of images, were active and prolific fluters and performed acts of decorating cave walls by themselves or with the support of other community members. This approach allows us to consider parietal art as community art where visual contributions were created by community members of all age and sexes.
On the Attribution of Palaeolithic Artworks: The Case of La Marche (Lussac-les-Châteaux, Vienne)
Authors: Chisena Simone , Delage Christophe
Published: May 2018

In this paper, we have explored the possibility of assigning the humanthemed engravings from La Marche to their authors, according to the method outlined by J.M. Apellaniz in the 1980s. The method employed here follows the first of the three stages postulated by Apellaniz: macroscopic observation, microscopic analysis and experimental protocol. From our study emerged a pattern of five groups and sixteen hands at work in this site. We believe, therefore, that it is possible to speak of La Marche as an “art workshop”, where portable art was produced and taught.
How Do We Explain ‛Autistic Traits’ in European Upper Palaeolithic Art?
Authors: Spikins Penny , Scott Callum , Wright Barry
Published: May 2018

Traits in Upper Palaeolithic art which are also seen in the work of talented artists with autism, including most obviously an exceptional realism, remain to be explained. However any association between the famously evocative animal depictions created in the European Upper Palaeolithic and what is commonly seen as a ‘disorder’ has always been contentious. Debate over these similarities has been heated, with explanations ranging from famous works of Upper Palaeolithic art having been created by individuals with autism spectrum conditions, to being influenced by such individuals, to being a product of the use of psychotropic drugs. Here we argue that ‘autistic traits’ in art, such as extreme realism, have been created by individuals with a cognitive extreme of local processing bias, or detail focus. The significance of local processing bias, which is found both as a feature of autism spectrum conditions and in artists with exceptional talent at realistic depiction who aren’t autistic, has implications for our understanding of Upper Palaeolithic society in general, as well as of the roles played by individuals with autism spectrum conditions.
The Entrapment of Art: Rock-Art, Order, Subversion, Creativity, Meaning, and the Appeal of Illusive Imagery
Authors: Fernandes António Batarda
Published: May 2018

Bringing together apparently opposing modern and post-modern approaches to interpretation is one of the challenges that lie ahead for rock-art studies. This endeavour may help to surmount ‘no interpretation is possible’ stances (see Bednarik, 2014) and to value rock-art as a diverse and complex phenomenon where precise significance is concealed within multiple meaning-carrying conveyors. The idea that different rock-art traditions (as with any other art form) made use of a given set of symbols (also) aiming to enforce an ‘imagined’ order is instrumental to the present paper. Ancient imagery, despite precise production contexts, materializes the need to resort to visual symbols in order to help maintain social concord, regardless of exact meaning. However, this is a dynamic process; whenever there is an effort to uphold a certain set of moral and social complying principles, there are also nonconformist and subversive attempts to challenge and mutate that same collection of rules.
Over Rock and Under Stone: Carved Rocks and Subterranean Burials at Kipia, Ancash, AD 1000 – 1532
Authors: Lane Kevin , Pomeroy Emma , Davila Milton Reynaldo Lújan
Published: May 2018

Research in the Andes has yielded evidence for a complex association between settlement sites and mortuary monuments, tied to concepts of death, ancestor veneration and water. The Huaylas-Inca and later Spanish colonial site of Kipia in the Cordillera Negra of the Ancash Highlands, North-Central Andes is a multi-faceted site, that contains a small settlement core, and a cosmological centre which includes carved rocks (huancas), niches and offerings. This, in turn backs onto a necropolis composed of a series of subterranean tombs (pukullo). In association, these features directly reference the surrounding agro-pastoralist landscape. In particular they evoke neighbouring lakes as possible foci of ethnogenesis or pacarinas. The relation between ceremonial sites and cemeteries is crucial to understanding Andean concepts of death and renewal. In this article, alongside a detailed description of the site, we provide a preliminary analysis of the contents of one of the pukullo. In turn, these results are placed within their landscape context to discuss issues related to sacrality, water and death.
Boundary Effects in the Desiccation of Soil Layers with Controlled Environmental Conditions
Authors: Lakshmikantha M. R. , Prat Pere C. , Ledesma Alberto
Published: May 2018

This article presents the results of an experimental research carried to investigate the mechanics of cracking of soil layers under drying conditions. The tests were conducted under controlled laboratory conditions and in an environmental chamber with circular and rectangular specimens to investigate the effect of the boundary conditions (size, shape, and aspect ratio of the specimens and containers) on the process of initiation and propagation of cracks and on the final crack pattern at the end of desiccation. The tests in the environmental chamber were conducted with imposed temperature and relative humidity and provided new insight into the mechanics of the formation of cracks in a drying soil, and they showed that cracks can initiate either at the top, bottom, or at both surfaces of the drying specimen. The results also reveal how the crack patterns are controlled by the existing mechanical and hydraulic boundary conditions. The cracks seem to form sequentially in patterns that can be explained by three key factors: stresses higher than the tensile strength, the direction of the generated stresses, and the stress redistribution in the vicinity or inside the newly formed domain. In order to substantiate the sequential nature of the crack pattern formation, experimental evidences showing the existence of a cracking sequence during the laboratory desiccation experiments are presented and analyzed.
Rapid Estimation of Fouled Railroad Ballast Mechanical Properties
Authors: Neupane Madan , Parsons Robert L. , Han Jie
Published: May 2018

Ballast fouling and ballast deterioration are significant maintenance concerns. Ballast fouling occurs because of the wearing of the ballast against the tie and other ballast, along with the intrusion of fines from the subgrade and deposition of coal dust or soil particles from the surface. In this study, the assessment of mechanical properties of fouled ballast using available geotechnical tests is discussed. These mechanical properties include subgrade reaction modulus from static plate loading tests, dynamic deformation modulus from light weight deflectometer (LWD) tests, and California bearing ratio (CBR) from dynamic cone penetrometer (DCP) tests. The test results show similar trends for these mechanical properties, which were determined by varying the fouling amount as well as the moisture content. The mechanical properties first increased with the moisture content up to a certain value and then decreased rapidly after a peak value. This article also discusses the correlations between these mechanical properties developed from the tests.
An Improved Rotating Soak Method for MICP-Treated Fine Sand in Specimen Preparation
Authors: Li Hongyan , Li Chi , Zhou Tuanjie , Liu Shihui , Li Lin
Published: May 2018

An improved preparation method for microbial-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP)–treated fine sand was studied in this article. By improving the test apparatus and adding some additives, the specimens had more comprehensive contact with calcium source solution. Unconfined compression strength (UCS) and triaxial shear strength (TSS) were tested on the specimens prepared through this improved experimental method. Three different bacteria concentrations, two additives with six addition amounts, and a nonadditive were prepared in the process of UCS and TSS testing. The results indicate that the UCS increased 2.7 times and the precipitated calcium carbonate in the core increased 1.6 times through this improved experimental method. The uniformity of specimens was also significantly promoted through this method. The optional bacteria concentration and the best amount of additive addition were proposed in consideration of mechanical performance and environment friendliness. Moreover, the improved preparation method presents a meaningful experiment exploration applying MICP technology to more extensive soil.
Application of Digital Image Correlation Technique for Measurement of Tensile Elastic Constants in Brazilian Tests on a Bi-Modular Crystalline Rock
Authors: Patel Shantanu , Martin C. Derek
Published: May 2018

Most rocks show different elastic properties in tension and compression (bi-modularity). In this study, we derive new equations to calculate the tensile Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio from a Brazilian test by incorporating bi-modularity into stress–strain equations. We tested Brazilian specimens of Lac du Bonnet granite and compared the Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio in tension obtained with the values from direct tension tests on dog-bone shaped specimens. Digital image correlation (DIC) and conventional strain gauges were used to extract the strain on the flat surfaces of the Brazilian disks. With the DIC technique, a speckle density of approximately 250 speckles/cm2 was needed to accurately capture the strain pattern. The strain measured using the DIC technique was consistent with the strain measured using the conventional strain gauges. The major advantage of the DIC technique is the ability to map the complete strain pattern over the surface of the Brazilian disk and quantify the uniformity of loading. The Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio in tension were obtained using the new equations and were found to be in general agreement with the values obtained from the direct tension tests.
Measurements of the Shear Modulus of Materials by the Free-Plate Torsional Mode Shape Method
Authors: Wang Zheng , Wang Yunlu , Cao Yu , Gao Zizhen
Published: May 2018

In this work, according to the first-order torsional mode shape function computed by ANSYS software and the optimization principle, the relationship between the shear modulus of materials and the first-order torsional frequency of the free plate was established in terms of the energy method. Mode shape coefficients of orthotropic materials (lumbers of Sitka spruce, Scots pine, Beech, et al.) and isotropic materials (steel, aluminum, and glass) were calculated. The correlation between the mode shape coefficients of lumbers in tangential, radial, and cross sections and length-width and width-thickness ratios of the free plate was obtained. Also, the correlation between the mode shape coefficients of isotropic materials and the length-width ratio of the free plate were achieved. The correctness of these correlations was verified by mathematical simulation, dynamic testing, and static testing for shear modulus. The transient excitation method can be used to measure the spectrum of free plates. With the aid of the cross-power spectrum based on the frequency spectrum, the first-order torsional frequency of the free plate can be directly identified. The free-plate torsional mode shape method proposed in this work is applicable not only to testing the shear modulus of isotropic materials such as steel but also to testing shear modulus in the three main sections (GTL, GLR, and GRT) of orthotropic materials such as lumber.
The Surface Tension of Synthetic Blood Used for ASTM F1670 Penetration Tests
Authors: Portnoff Lee , Jaques Peter A. , Furlong Jennifer L.
Published: May 2018

The ASTM F1670 test method, Standard Test Method for Resistance of Materials Used in Protective Clothing to Penetration by Synthetic Blood, was based on research involving transmission of bloodborne pathogens (Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV) in the 1980s. The test method details the measurement of synthetic blood penetration through garments. A key parameter affecting penetration is synthetic blood surface tension, which is measured via du Noüy ring tensiometer. However, little is known about the sources of variation impacting surface tension measurements. In this study, the synthetic blood used for ASTM F1670 was evaluated from within the ASTM F903 test apparatus, Standard Test Method for Resistance of Materials Used in Protective Clothing to Penetration by Liquids, and with two mixing treatments. Measurements were compared against two outside laboratories and with two alternate tensiometric methods (pendant drop and capillary rise). It was found that using the methods specified in the ASTM F1670 test method, surface tension of the synthetic blood was not 40–44 dynes/cm as was expected. The surface tension was initially above 50 dynes/cm and declined to below 40 dynes/cm after 60 minutes. The surface tension within the penetration cell was relatively constant over time, showing that the surface tension measurements outside the penetration cell are not indicative of the surface tension within the apparatus during the test. Shaking the synthetic blood, a mixing procedure detailed in the ASTM F1670 test method, increased the surface tension. The increase was greatest in a container having more airspace. Du Noüy ring measurements by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health compared to external labs were within 15 %. Testing with alternate methods showed that the “open to atmosphere” methods (ring and drop) began lower and declined rapidly when compared to the “closed to atmosphere” method (capillary). Results of this research will help amend the ASTM F1670 standard to better characterize the measurement and handling of synthetic blood used in the ASTM F1670 test and to provide a framework for consideration of test fluid used in future ASTM standards.
Linking Ecology and Service Function in Scenic Road Landscape Planning: A Spatial Analysis Approach
Authors: Qin Xiaochun , Cui Shengnan , Liu Shu
Published: May 2018

With the promotion of the concepts “Beautiful China” and “Green Transportation” in China, the conventional method of road landscape planning that primarily considered greening functions and visual aesthetics fell short of satisfying the current demands. The service quality provided for users of scenic roads increasingly became the major concern in landscape planning. In this article, the concept and methods of spatial and functional structure for scenic roads were introduced, focusing especially on the ecological and service value. In terms of the features of scenic roads in China, we proposed the ecological pattern analysis method based on sustainable development, the spatial structure analysis method based on different scales, and the service function method based on a point-axis system. Guided by ecological and service values, the multifunctional integrated service framework was established to form the landscape planning method system for scenic roads. Using the West Stone Forest Scenic Road (Xiqiao to Shilin) along the Stone Forest World Natural Heritage in Yunnan province of China as the case study, the landscape ecological pattern evaluation and planning, the landscape structure and spatial function planning, and the point-axis system and service extension planning were aligned with the analysis of roadside landscape types and characteristics by employing high-resolution remote sensing images and a geographic information system. By taking the multivalued service function into account, the integrated spatial analysis planning approach for West Stone Forest Scenic Road was established, which provided a theoretical reference and method guidance for establishing the theory and technology approaches for scenic road landscape planning in China.
Medium of Instruction in the Schools of Assam: a Dilemma between Self identity and Unification
Authors:   Assistant Professor Dept. of Education, Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh-786004, Upadhyaya Amar
Published: May 2018

Education is always considered as a medium of social transformation. Education transmits the cultural and social identity of an individual or group of individuals from one generation to another generation. In broad sense education is the sum total of knowledge of society. During the present era the formal education has a crucial role to be played in transforming the existing knowledge and exploring the new knowledge in the human society. The formal system which is also called school system is highly responsible in this context. Now the question is if the demographic distribution of a particular region is highly uneven and each demographic group wants to sponsor their own language as medium of instruction, what would be the best solution. How does the governing system accommodate it? This paper highlights the same scenario in the school system of Assam, which is culturally and demographically diverse state of North East India. As Assam is a Tribal dominated state, the new generation of tribal segments is mostly the first generation learners. The greater Assamese society covers the sub communities like Tie- Ahom, Tie- Phake, Bodo, Missing, Karbi, Rabha, Tiwa, Konch, Sonowal, Kachari, Kalita, Dimasa, Tea Tribes, Gorkhas, Maran, Mattak, Khamti, Koibatra, Bengali and many more. Most of these communities have their own language or dialect and cultural traditions. Now the critical aspect is whether these communities get educated through Assamese language as medium of instruction or their own language as medium of instruction. This brings the dilemma between self identity and unification. Again the growth of English medium schools in Assam has shown another dimension of the aspect.
Hindi Language Competency of KGBV Students in Bihar
Authors:   Department of Psychology, T M Bhagalpur University, Singh Chandra B P
Published: May 2018

The study identified reasons for poor performance (about 40%) in Hindi language of class VI students in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) of Bihar and also noticed loss in transition (about 6 to 24 %) at the upper primary level despite residential facilities being provided to them. There existed acute shortage of teachers (46%) as well as wardens (46%) in KGBV, resulting in poor management of residential facilities. Additionally, non-availability of language teacher for teaching Hindi and their limited understanding of pedagogical processes left the teaching-learning transaction unattended. Their insufficient training to language at the time of induction showed a gap in inputs concerning what the students desired and what the teachers had. In some KGBVs (e.g. Kishanganj) there existed minimal activities to overcome learning deficiencies in Hindi. They had virtually no idea about how to evaluate students and formulate plan for improving Hindi language. Non-literate mothers had strong desire to educate their daughter (40 per cent achievement in Hindi language). Attitudinal problem of the school teachers and headmasters were prominently observed. They attributed to the KGBV stakeholders for the managerial activities. The study suggested deployment of teachers and their intensive training for improving Hindi language among the students of KGBV.
Content Teachers’ Written Comments on Their Life-long English Language Profiles
Authors:   University of Bergamo, Italy, Costa Francesca
Published: May 2018

CLIL in Italy has been compulsory by law since 2003 (Moratti’s Law) for the last year of all secondary schools. Subject-matter teachers were chosen to be the CLIL teachers, and only in 2012 did methodological and linguistic training begin (provided by universities all over the country). This study explores the profile of content teachers attending CLIL training not in terms of their linguistic competence but in terms of their relationship with English as an additional language. To do so, 115 trainees were asked to fill in a questionnaire composed of 10 open-ended questions and 2 close-ended ones. This questionnaire had both a research and training goal, since it was submitted at the beginning of the training course to investigate content teachers’ perceived linguistic profiles, which served as a psychological and pedagogical starting point for the course. Results show that content teachers have a specific linguistic identity and have had similar past experiences with the English language. These results could have repercussions and be exported to other training programmes, especially in terms of shifting teachers’ personae from subject-matter to fully-fledged CLIL teachers.
Applying Innovation to CLIL
Authors:   University of Salento, Lecce, Italy, Gallo Giovanna
Published: May 2018

This paper describes a successful experience of flipped classroom conducted at the University of Salento, Italy, with students of English of the Courses of Study in Science of Primary Education, for the past three years. The initiative arises from the realisation that the traditional lecture does not work anymore with the new generations of students who need different stimuli in order to get the appropriate skills and competences required for their future profession. In a traditional lecture, students just take notes and try to memorise notions so as to pass the final exams and, after that, they tend to forget most of what they studied during the course. Moreover, in spite of the awareness of the importance of speaking English today, and in spite of various reforms aimed at achieving better competence, Italian students graduating from secondary schools, generally enter University with a low-level competence in the language. The pedagogical model of the flipped classroom applied to CLIL, along with strategies of non-formal education, involving team-work and problem solving, based on the principle of learning by doing, were used to introduce theoretical topics and to perform a number of activities aimed at inclusion and intercultural education. Through active participation in discussion, different tasks assigned which required critical thinking, creativity and the use of communication technologies in creating several products, the students were able to master the theoretical topics planned for the course as well as the teaching approaches, methodologies and strategies to put them into practice in their future jobs.
Implementation of Content and Language Integrated Learning at Schools in Latvia
Authors:   University of Latvia, Karapetjana Indra , RoziÅ†a Gunta ,   University of Latvia
Published: May 2018

The European Union supports multilingualism and promotes the learning of foreign languages since their knowledge enhances understanding among peoples and increases employability. To increase the efficiency and effectiveness of foreign language education in schools, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has been promoted in Europe; this has influenced ways in which Latvia nowadays approaches bilingual education. A qualitative case study was undertaken to explore the implementation of CLIL at schools in Latvia, CLIL being seen as an element of bilingual education. This article outlines the development of CLIL in Latvia, which is largely embedded in national level policies which have a substantial effect on the development of bilingual education and CLIL. It also clarifies the aims of this educational approach in the context of the present education challenges and assesses its potential in Latvia. It can be observed that education policies in Latvia not only aim at strengthening the ethnic minority learners’ knowledge of Latvian, but also at changing from the focus on second and foreign language learning outcomes to the emphasis on an integrated view on the development of language and non-linguistic subject content.
A Study on The Attitude of Secondary School Teachers of West Bengal Towards CLIL
Authors:   Satyapriya Roy College of Education, Kolkata, Chowdhury Piku
Published: May 2018

Cognitive development goes hand in hand with linguistic development, and language emerges as a tool through which a learner comes to understand the world. In the first language these processes are paired naturally, though for second language learners like the majority of learners of English in India, traditional methods for teaching second/foreign languages often dissociate language learning from cognitive or academic development. By contrast, an integrated approach brings these domains together in instruction. Integration of language and content, commonly known as CLIL, therefore emerges as significant for effective education. However, though the West Bengal Elementary Teacher Education Curriculum Framework encourages? CLIL, there seems to be a significant knowledge gap among practising secondary and higher secondary teachers regarding language and content integrated teaching and learning. The present study seeks to explore the knowledge and attitude of teachers of West Bengal regarding the CLIL methodology.
Language Complexity and Multilingual Education in India – A Policy Perspective
Authors:   Executive Director, CLIL@India, Manipal University, Manipal, Bhaskaran Resmi P
Published: May 2018

Debate on the medium of instruction in the primary education in India has a long history. Initially it was between classical Indian languages and foreign language, English. Colonial rulers promoted English education with adequate fund and trained teachers with modern education background. In the advent of independence movement, the medium of instruction became a political issue. The issue of what should be the medium of instruction for mass education has received the attention in all the education commissions from 1853 onwards. Independent India delineated this issue within the context of national integration and brought out three tier language formula in 1968. Only a few Indian States implemented it, while majority ignored this policy proposal. Meanwhile, the demand for English as medium of instruction strengthened among the urban middle class, making way out for modern Indian languages also from the classrooms. The present paper is an enquiry into the strategy and the methodology delineated to handle the linguistic diversity of the nation as well as the socio-economic mobility of the people through classrooms by Indian State using policy history framework.
Concise Review: Herbal remedies for the treatment of nausea and vomiting
Authors: Mohsenzadeh Azam , Ahmadipour Shokoufeh , Rahmani Parisa , Shakarami Parmida
Published: May 2018

Background: Vomiting occurs when the contractions of stomach muscle walls cause a large amount of the stomach content to go upward and flow back into the esophagus; this process is very common among infants. The aim of this review was to present the effects of medicinal plants on vomiting.

Methods: In the current review, articles indexed in databases such as ISI, PubMed, Scopus, Islamic World Science Citation Center, Scientific Information Database, and Magiran were retrieved using the search terms ‘vomiting’, ‘nausea’, ‘medicinal plants’, and ‘traditional medicine’.

Results: Based on the research findings, the medicinal plants Zingiber officinale, Mentha piperita, Cinnamomum verum, Citrus limon, Matricaria chamomilla, Lavandula angustifolia, Allium cepa, Oryza sativa, Foeniculum vulgare, Cuminum cyminum, Eugenia caryophyllata, Elettaria cardamomum, Pimpinella anisum, Ferula assa-foetida, Ocimum basilicum, and Musa sapientum were selected as the focus.

Conclusion: In traditional medicine, treatment for vomiting is relevant, especially in children. The mechanisms of some of these plants have been understood but for many they are still unclear. Further investigations are needed to understand more about these medicinal plants and their mechanism of action for effective use in the clinic.
Las mujeres chilenas en el proyecto educacional decimonónico
Authors: Fernández Darraz María Cecilia
Published: May 2018

Este artículo informa los mecanismos lingüísticos que mantienen el androcentrismo en el discurso escolar sobre inserción de las mujeres chilenas al proyecto educacional decimonónico. Basada en los Estudios Críticos del Discurso, en la propuesta de Representación de Eventos Sociales y en el Modelo de Valoración; la investigación concluye que el enfoque androcéntrico en los manuales escolares se expresa, primero, en que la expansión educacional del siglo XIX se construye como un proceso neutro que no reconoce las particularidades de la educación femenina. En segundo término, el discurso ignora la histórica subordinación de las mujeres, así como las barreras para acceder al espacio público en general y al campo educacional en particular. Finalmente, se valora a mujeres destacadas que no representaron la generalidad. De esta forma, el discurso omite o, escasamente, evoca las relaciones sociales fundadas en una estructura patriarcal que opera como mecanismo de estratificación basado en la diferencia sexual.
Contested words, gender norms and language ideologies
Authors: Su Hsi-Yao
Published: May 2018

This study investigates the slang term tai in Taiwan Mandarin and its interactions with gender norms and local language ideologies. Initially a derogatory term denoting an undesirable type of localness, tai has been appropriated to emphasize non-conformity and local identity and has become a discursive site where ideologies concerning gender, language, localness, and cosmopolitanism interact with and shape each other. Using both questionnaire and news corpus data, the study reveals that female subjects evaluate tai more negatively and display a higher level of sensitivity to the role of linguistic practices in the discourse of tai than male subjects. Analysis of related news indicates that tai is strongly associated with non-standard language and non-conformity and is less compatible with the mainstream ideal of femininity. The study reveals how word meaning is embedded in an ideological matrix in which representations of language and gender constantly interact with various intersecting strands of ideologies.
‘Girly Latina versus girly American’
Authors: Rojas-Sosa Deyanira
Published: May 2018

The construction of gender and race are constantly negotiated by community members, and both categories affect the way speakers see themselves and others. By analysing a Latina student’s narrative, this study explores how she articulates through the use of several indexical processes, not only her own identity but also her friend’s, in order to explain how their classmates perceive them. In this narrative, the speaker explains how different levels of femininity, ‘girly American’ versus ‘girly Latina’, affect the way Latinas are perceived and, in some cases, treated in discriminatory ways. This analysis finds that her articulation of different levels of femininity, and her arguments about how different stereotypes associated with Latinas may cause discrimination, shows how the construction of gender and race are interrelated and fluid, and how there are certain performances of gender more acceptable than others even within the heterosexual norm. This analysis shows how language practices are fundamental to create and circulate ideologies about gender and ethnicity, and how essential it is to understand these practices in order to recognise and challenge the discrimination faced by minority groups in the United States, especially women of colour.
‘Earrings and shields’
Authors: Wambura Joyce
Published: May 2018

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a global issue affecting women and girls in different parts of the world. Over 140 million girls and women have undergone FGM worldwide. In the UK, 130,000 girls and women live with the consequences of FGM (Reid 2014). In Kuria region of Kenya, 96% of women and girls have undergone FGM (Oloo et al 2010) despite its illegal status. FGM has been approached from the religious, medical and human rights perspectives but the linguistic perspective has not yet been considered. Drawing on Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this paper seeks to address the FGM issue from a linguistic perspective by analysing metaphors in female circumcision in Kuria Kenya. Focus is on how through discourse, gender inequalities are normalised and advanced within a sociocultural system and how this, in turn, contributes to legitimation of FGM. Findings show that metaphors function as discursive strategies for constructing and maintaining dominant patriarchal hegemonies and maintaining the status quo while reinforcing the perpetuation of FGM. I suggest that an understanding of the role of gender and discourse in FGM could influence efforts to end the practice and lead to positive change.
‘Good mums don’t, apparently, wear make-up’
Authors: Mackenzie Jai
Published: May 2018

This article explores the discourses and related subject positions that are negotiated by contributors to the discussion forum of a popular British parenting website, Mumsnet Talk. Drawing on analysis of a single thread posted to this forum, I explore the ways in which participants, who present themselves as women and as parents, negotiate dominant discourses of gendered parenthood that position them as ‘mothers’, and often, by association, as the primary caregiver, who is defined and positioned exclusively in relation to children. I also show that contributors use a range of linguistic and digital resources to challenge such discourses, and that their resistance can be facilitated, at times, by the affordances of the forum itself. The potential to connect with a large community of Mumsnet users, for example, is identified as a powerful resource at their disposal. Overall, I find that Mumsnet Talk is a fruitful site for negotiating, resisting and subverting socio-cultural norms and expectations, but that it remains difficult here, as elsewhere, for women to escape dominant discourses that work to position them in restrictive gendered subject positions.
Editors’ Introduction to Volume 12
Authors: Caldas-Coulthard Carmen Rosa , Milani Tommaso M.
Published: May 2018

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The Multi-Polarity of Angolan Pentecostalism
Authors: Zawiejska Natalia , Van de Kamp Linda
Published: May 2018

This article discusses the national framing of Angolan Pentecostalism from the perspective of connections. It analyses how Angola matters as a centre of inspiration for different Pentecostal churches and networks precisely by engaging different religious imaginaries, social memories and anticipations of the future that operate in a variety of ethnic, African and Lusophone spaces. In doing so, this contribution aims at overcoming both the understanding of global Pentecostalism through a national and diasporic lens as well as a universal lens, underscoring the multi-polarity of Angolan Pentecostalism. The connections that Angolan Pentecostalisms create between places and cultures involve different transnational circuits that cultivate diverse cultural, economic and political imaginations and belongings. The possibilities for bridging and bonding that different Pentecostal connections offer generate new relationships, imaginations, rituals and the circulation of ideas. We suggest that Angolan Pentecostalism might be seen as a multi-polar force of multi-directional connections, which dynamics and intensity oscillates, depending on the location and movement of a Pentecostal group in the global geography of power, in postcolonial territorial and social settings, and on modes of appropriating and making Lusophone heritages.
Pentecostalism and the Urban Landless Movement
Authors: Swatowiski Claudia , Barbosa Luciano
Published: May 2018

This article addresses the connection between Pentecostalism and a movement of people who had occupied urban land in an effort to gain legal residence. Based on an investigation of the “Ocupação Glória” land settlement in the city of Uberlândia, Brazil, we analyse the ways in which demands for the right to housing are associated with Pentecostal dynamics and cosmologies. We examine how Pentecostals contribute to a movement to legalize unauthorized settlements in urban space, and establish an overlapping of political struggle and spiritual battle. We also investigate how the practices of evangelical churches in the “Ocupação Glória” at times work in juxtaposition and at times in opposition to other modalities of the social movement that operate in the settlement.
Conceptualizing Motherhood in Yoga
Authors: Wittich Agi
Published: May 2018

Prenatal yoga classes have become widespread worldwide. Still, while scientific studies examined the benefits of such practices, the conceptual and sociocultural meanings still need to be studied. This paper focuses on pregnancy-oriented Iyengar yoga, which includes pre-conception, prenatal and postnatal yoga practices developed in the Iyengar Yoga school. Interestingly, while these practices are seen as ideal for pregnant and postpartum women, they contrast with what is perceived as an ideal yoga practice. Thus, pregnancy-oriented Iyengar Yoga reveals a shift in purpose from achieving an excellent and advanced yoga practice to the health of female yoga practitioners and their children in a modern lifestyle setting. The findings of this paper are based on my doctoral research, and draw on textual analysis of over fifty relevant Iyengar yoga publications, and qualitative interviews with thirty-seven Iyengar Yoga teachers and four members of the Iyengar family between 2015 and 2019.
Death and Dying in the Bhagavad-Gita
Authors: Petek Nina
Published: May 2018

The Bhagavad-Gita is one of the most important works in the philosophical-religious tradition of India, which, among other things, offers a complex teaching on death and dying. This article focuses on the four basic characteristics of death, as they appear in the poem: death as a source of selfawareness, death as an element giving meaning to the existence in the social and individual context, death as an aesthetic experience, and death as ritual, meditative performance. In the process, the essential doctrines which support these dimensions of death will be illuminated on the basis of textual analysis with reference to some ideas from the Vedas and the Upanisads: the relationship between the transience of the body and the immortality of the spirit, the teaching on two deaths, phenomenal and unconditional, which is based on the tension between the social and the individual, and the relationship between the fatefulness and the freedom of death which will be presented in the context of the doctrine of time, which emerges from the visual encounter with death as the ‘wholly other’. This is also the source of the aesthetic experience, which, however, leads from death as something entirely different, alien and external to the essential internalization, which culminates in the very moment of death, when all the individual’s profane and soteriological endeavours are measured.