bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Systematic Narrative Review of Effects of Community-Based Intervention on Rates of Organ Donor Registration
Authors: Golding Sarah Elizabeth , Cropley Mark
Published: August 2017

Background:

The demand for organ donation is increasing worldwide. One possible way of increasing the pool of potential posthumous donors is to encourage more members of the general public to join an organ donor registry.

Objective:

A systematic review was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of psychological interventions designed to increase the number of individuals in the community who register as organ donors.

Methods:

PsycINFO and PubMed databases were searched. No date limits were set. Randomized and nonrandomized controlled trials exploring the effects of community-based interventions on organ donor registration rates were included. Methodological quality was assessed using the “Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies.”

Results:

Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria; 19 studies found a positive intervention effect on registration. Only 8 studies were assessed as having reasonable methodological robustness. A narrative synthesis was conducted. Factors influencing registration rates include providing an immediate registration opportunity and using brief interventions to challenge misconceptions and concerns about organ donation.

Discussion:

Community-based interventions can be effective at increasing organ donor registrations among the general public. Factors that may increase effectiveness include brief interventions to address concerns and providing an immediate registration opportunity. Particular consideration should be paid to the fidelity of intervention delivery. Protocol registration number: CRD42014012975.
Outcomes of Patients With Familial Transthyretin Amyloidosis After Liver Transplantation
Authors: Banerjee Dipti , Roeker Lindsey E. , Grogan Martha , Swiecicki Paul , Poterucha John , Heimbach Julie , Zeldenrust Steve , Gertz Morie , Edwards Brooks , Daly Richard , Klarich Kyle W. , Dispenzieri Angela
Published: August 2017

Background:

Familial transthyretin amyloidosis is a disease caused by misfolded transthyretin aggregates that can impair multiple organ systems. Liver transplantation is the first-line treatment for familial transthyretin amyloidosis.

Research Question:

Our objective is to study outcomes and survival among patients with familial transthyretin amyloidosis after transplantation.

Design:

All patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplant for familial transthyretin amyloidosis at Mayo Clinic between 1997 and 2012 were reviewed. Baseline clinical characteristics, organs transplanted, and posttransplant clinical course were assessed.

Results:

Of the 40 patients, 7 patients had the V30M mutation and 33 had other mutations. Nineteen patients received liver only, 19 liver and heart, and 2 combined liver, heart, and kidney transplants. The 5-year overall survival was 85% for those receiving multiple organ transplant and 52% for those receiving liver transplant only ( P = .057). There was no difference in overall survival based on mutation (V30M vs other mutations), but survival was confounded by varied disease involvement and organs transplanted. Those who had early death (≤24 months from liver transplant) had a higher incidence of baseline peripheral neuropathy, autonomic neuropathy, lower modified BMI, and higher alkaline phosphatase.

Discussion:

Outcomes of orthotopic liver transplant in familial transthyretin amyloidosis are variable due to heterogeneity in mutations and patient status at the time of transplant. Familial transthyretin amyloidosis can progress, despite liver transplantation. Patients receiving combined liver, heart/kidney transplant demonstrated improved survival compared to liver transplant alone.
MS People’s Performance and Satisfaction With Daily Occupations: Implications for Occupational Therapy
Authors: Abdullah Eman J. , Badr Hanan E. , Manee Fahad
Published: August 2017

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) face difficulties in performing daily occupations. The objectives of this study were to assess the performance of and level of satisfaction with daily occupations among people with MS, and to explore factors associated with their performance and satisfaction. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 MS individuals. The Arabic version of Satisfaction With Daily Occupations (SDO) scale was used. Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression were used for data analysis. SDO performance and satisfaction median scores were 10/14 and 51/70, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that unemployment and cognitive symptoms were associated with poor occupational performance. Furthermore, unemployment, being married, visual problems, and low endurance were significant correlates of poor satisfaction with performing daily occupations. Social and clinical factors contributed to dissatisfaction with the poor performance of daily occupations among people with MS. Intervention studies are needed to investigate the role of occupational therapy in improving the performance of daily occupations in people with MS.
The usefulness of thoracic ultrasonography in diagnosis and staging of bronchogenic carcinoma
Authors: Hafez Manal R , Sobh Eman SM , Elsawy Sawsan B , Abo-Elkheir Omaima I
Published: August 2017

Aim

To evaluate (1) the usefulness of thoracic ultrasound in diagnosis and staging of bronchogenic carcinoma by comparing lesion detectability between thoracic- ultrasound and computed tomography and (2) the outcome of thoracic-ultrasound-guided biopsy in diagnosing bronchogenic carcinoma.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study on 53 patients of confirmed bronchogenic carcinoma. All patients had been investigated by thoracic-ultrasound and chest-computed tomography; data regarding the presence of mass (its size, necrosis), lymph nodes invasion, peritumoural atelectasis, consolidations, pleural effusion, chest wall invasion, and paralysis of the diaphragm were recorded. Thoracic-ultrasound-guided biopsy was done for 41 patients.

Results

Thoracic-ultrasound had significantly higher detection rate of peritumoural atelectasis, paralysis of the diaphragm, and supraclavicular lymph nodes invasion, while it has significantly lower detection rate of pulmonary masses and mediastinal lymph nodes invasion than computed tomography. It has nonsignificant higher detection rate of pleural effusion, consolidations, chest wall invasion and necrosis within mass than computed tomography. Thoracic-ultrasound detects static air-bronchogram and/or fluid bronchogram in 53.3% of bronchogenic carcinoma-associated consolidation. Thoracic-ultrasound-guided biopsy revealed positive yield in 78.0% (32/41) of patients. All patients with negative thoracic-ultrasound biopsy had mass size >5 cm with necrosis within the mass. Self-limited complications occurred in 26.8% after thoracic-ultrasound-guided biopsy (haemoptysis 22.0%, pneumothorax 2.4% and subcutaneous emphysema 2.4%).

Conclusion

Thoracic-ultrasound has a significant complementary role to computed tomography in diagnosis and staging of bronchogenic carcinoma. Thoracic-ultrasound-guided biopsy revealed good positive yield (78%), its yield was negatively affected by mass size and necrosis. It is a simple, practical and accurate procedure without significant patients’ risks.
The dynamic immunomodulatory effects of vitamin D3 during Mycobacterium infection
Authors: Gough Maya E , Graviss Edward A , May Elebeoba E
Published: August 2017

Mycobacterium tuberculosis ( Mtb), is a highly infectious airborne bacterium. Previous studies have found vitamin D3 to be a key factor in the defense against Mtb infection, through its regulation of the production of immune-related cytokines, chemokines and effector molecules. Mycobacterium smegmatis was used in our study as a surrogate of Mtb. We hypothesized that the continuous presence of vitamin D3, as well as the level of severity of infection would differentially modulate host cell immune response in comparison with control and the vehicle, ethanol. We found that vitamin D3 conditioning promotes increased bacterial clearance during low-level infection, intracellular containment during high-level infection, and minimizes host cytotoxicity. In the presence of vitamin D3 host cell production of cytokines and effector molecules was infection-level dependent, most notably IL-12, which increased during high-level infection and decreased during low-level infection, and NO, which had a rate of change positively correlated to IL-12. Our study provides evidence that vitamin D3 modulation is context-dependent and time-variant, as well as highly correlated to level of infection. This study furthers our mechanistic understanding of the dual role of vitamin D3 as a regulator of bactericidal molecules and protective agent against host cell damage.
Immunopathophysiology of inflammatory bowel disease: how genetics link barrier dysfunction and innate immunity to inflammation
Authors: Mehta Minesh , Ahmed Shifat , Dryden Gerald
Published: August 2017

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) comprise a distinct set of clinical symptoms resulting from chronic or relapsing immune activation and corresponding inflammation within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Diverse genetic mutations, encoding important aspects of innate immunity and mucosal homeostasis, combine with environmental triggers to create inappropriate, sustained inflammatory responses. Recently, significant advances have been made in understanding the interplay of the intestinal epithelium, mucosal immune system, and commensal bacteria as a foundation of the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. Complex interactions between specialized intestinal epithelial cells and mucosal immune cells determine different outcomes based on the environmental input: the development of tolerance in the presence of commensal bacterial or the promotion of inflammation upon recognition of pathogenic organisms. This article reviews key genetic abnormalities involved in inflammatory and homeostatic pathways that enhance susceptibility to immune dysregulation and combine with environmental triggers to trigger the development of chronic intestinal inflammation and IBD.
‘Interpreting employment legislation through a fundamental rights lens
Authors: O’Connor Niall
Published: August 2017

This article examines the use of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights as a tool of interpretation. Specifically, it assesses the influence of the Charter on the CJEU’s existing purposive approach to the interpretation of employment legislation. From its inception, the Charter has been lauded for its inclusion of a number of employee-protective rights. The CJEU’s early use of the Charter certainly appeared promising, with a number of legislative provisions seeming to be bolstered by a fundamental rights reading. On closer inspection, has the Charter really made any difference? It is shown that the Charter is simultaneously evolutionary and yet revolutionary. It is evolutionary in that the social rights derive largely from pre-existing legislation which has long been given a purposive and usually employee-friendly reading. It is revolutionary in that the economic freedoms, although similarly steeped in long-standing jurisprudence, have emboldened the CJEU to disrupt existing approaches to the interpretation of legislation. Of particular concern is the CJEU’s radical reinterpretation of the freedom to conduct a business in the case of Alemo-Herron.
Parameters of Holmquist–Johnson–Cook model for high-strength concrete-like materials under projectile impact
Authors: Ren Gen-Mao , Wu Hao , Fang Qin , Kong Xiang-Zhen
Published: August 2017

Holmquist–Johnson–Cook constitutive model has been widely used in analyzing the dynamic responses of concrete-like materials under projectile impact and explosive loadings, the constitutive parameters of which were always referred from the original documents and only applied to the normal strength concrete with the compressive strength of 48 MPa. Aiming to confirm the Holmquist–Johnson–Cook model parameters for high-strength concrete-like materials (compressive strength ≥60 MPa), based on the available test data from the quasi-static uniaxial compression, triaxial compression, Split-Hopkinson pressure bar, as well as the Hugoniot experiments, the strength parameters, the strain rate parameter, and the equation of state parameters of Holmquist–Johnson–Cook model for high-strength concrete-like materials are determined. Using the finite element program LS-DYNA, total eight sets of projectile penetration and perforation tests on high-strength concrete (uniaxial compressive strengths of 67.5–157 MPa) and high-strength rock targets (uniaxial compressive strengths of 60 and 154 MPa) are numerically simulated, respectively. By comparisons with the test data of penetration depths and residual velocities of the projectiles, the verifications of the proposed parameters are validated, which provides the reference for the design of protective structures.
An examination of college student wellness: A research and liberal arts perspective
Authors: Baldwin Debora R , Towler Kerry , Oliver Michael D , Datta Subimal
Published: August 2017

Promoting wellness within academia reduces disease frequency and enhances overall health. This study examined wellness factors among undergraduate students attending a research university ( n = 85) or a small liberal arts college ( n = 126). Participants were administered surveys which measured physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and occupational wellness. Significant institutional differences emerged on measures of physical and social wellness. When collapsed across academic institutions, students who were gainfully employed reported greater self-efficacy compared with unemployed students. Gender differences emerged on measures of physical and social well-being. Our findings support the need for targeted interventions that facilitate enhanced college student development and well-being.
Athletic Pubalgia in Females: Predictive Value of MRI in Outcomes of Endoscopic Surgery
Authors: Matikainen Markku , Hermunen Heikki , Paajanen Hannu
Published: August 2017

Background:

Athletic pubalgia is typically associated with male athletes participating in contact sports and less frequently with females. Endoscopic surgery may fully treat the patient with athletic pubalgia.

Purpose:

To perform an outcomes analysis of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and endoscopic surgery in female patients with athletic pubalgia.

Study Design:

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods:

Fifteen physically active female patients (mean age, 37 years) with athletic pubalgia were treated surgically via placement of total extraperitoneal endoscopic polypropylene mesh behind the injured groin area. The presence of preoperative bone marrow edema (BME) at the pubic symphysis seen on MRI was graded from 0 to 3 and correlated with pain scores after surgery. The outcome measures were pre- and postoperative pain scores and recovery to daily activity between 1 and 12 months after surgery. Results were compared with previously published scores from male athletes (n = 30).

Results:

With the exception of lower body mass index, the females with (n = 8) and without (n = 7) pubic BME had similar patient characteristics to the corresponding males. Mean inguinal pain scores (0-10) before surgical treatment were greater in females than males (during exercise, 7.8 ± 1.1 vs 6.9 ± 1.1; P = .0131). One month after surgery, mean pain scores for females were still greater compared with males (2.9 ± 1.7 vs 1.3 ± 1.6; P = .0034). Compared with female athletes with normal MRI, pubic BME was related to increased mean preoperative pain scores (8.13 ± 0.99 vs 6.43 ± 1.2; P = .0122). After 1 year, surgical outcomes were excellent or good in 47% of women.

Conclusion:

Endoscopic surgery was helpful in half of the females with athletic pubalgia in this study. The presence of pubic BME may predict slightly prolonged recovery from surgery.
Characterization of GABAergic Marker Expression in the Chronic Unpredictable Stress Model of Depression
Authors: Banasr Mounira , Lepack Ashley , Fee Corey , Duric Vanja , Maldonado-Aviles Jaime , DiLeone Ralph , Sibille Etienne , Duman Ronald S. , Sanacora Gerard
Published: August 2017

Background

Evidence continues to build suggesting that the GABAergic neurotransmitter system is altered in brains of patients with major depressive disorder. However, there is little information available related to the extent of these changes or the potential mechanisms associated with these alterations. As stress is a well-established precipitant to depressive episodes, we sought to explore the impact of chronic stress on GABAergic interneurons.

Methods

Using western blot analyses and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, we assessed the effects of five-weeks of chronic unpredictable stress exposure on the expression of GABA-synthesizing enzymes (GAD65 and GAD67), calcium-binding proteins (calbindin, parvalbumin, and calretinin), and neuropeptides co-expressed in GABAergic neurons (somatostatin, neuropeptide Y, vasoactive intestinal peptide, and cholecystokinin) in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of rats. We also investigated the effects of corticosterone and dexamethasone exposure on these markers in vitro in primary cortical and hippocampal cultures.

Results

We found that chronic unpredictable stress induced significant reductions of GAD67 protein levels in both the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of chronic unpredictable stress-exposed rats but did not detect changes in GAD65 protein expression. Similar protein expression changes were found in vitro in cortical neurons. In addition, our results provide clear evidence of reduced markers of interneuron population(s), namely somatostatin and neuropeptide Y, in the prefrontal cortex, suggesting these cell types may be selectively vulnerable to chronic stress.

Conclusion

Together, this work highlights that chronic stress induces regional and cell type-selective effects on GABAergic interneurons in rats. These findings provide additional supporting evidence that stress-induced GABA neuron dysfunction and cell vulnerability play critical roles in the pathophysiology of stress-related illnesses, including major depressive disorder.
Writing the Drive: From Freud’s Theory of Bisexuality to Wittgenstein and the Limits of Language
Authors: Wilson Daniel
Published: August 2017

Freud first theorizes the drive through Wilhelm Fliess’s theory of bisexuality, which proposes that human life is structured by the periodic expression of a masculine and a feminine substance. Long after his break with Fliess, Freud maintains elements of Fliess’s theory, arguing that the feminine eroticizes the body and orients the drive toward its impossible object and that analysis is interminable because in both men and women the feminine is rejected by the ego. Lacan largely passes over Freud’s bisexual thesis. Through his reading of Wittgenstein, whose Tractatus takes up Fliess’s theory of bisexuality through the intermediary of Otto Weininger, however, Lacan formalizes the impasse between the feminine as what mobilizes the drive and the ego as it is constructed in language. Lacan’s reading of logical form in Wittgenstein opens to a writing of the drive in its relationship to a logical object that is itself missing from reality.
A Triple-Electrode Based Dual-Biosensor System Utilizing Track-Etched Microporous Membrane Electrodes for the Simultaneous Determination of l-Lactate and d-Glucose
Authors: Mizuguchi Hitoshi , Sasaki Keiko , Ichinose Hirokazu , Seino Shota , Sakurai Jun , Iiyama Masamitsu , Kijima Tatsuro , Tachibana Kazuhiro , Nishina Tatsuo , Takayanagi Toshio , Shida Junichi
Published: August 2017

A new triple-electrode system was developed for the simultaneous determination of l-lactate and d-glucose by using track-etched microporous membrane electrodes, which enabled efficient electrolysis as electroactive substances passed through the electrode. The proposed biosensor was fabricated by alternate stacking of the electrodes and immobilized enzyme reactors along the flow direction of the sample solution. When the sample solution containing l-lactate and d-glucose flowed into the proposed biosensor, hydrogen peroxide was produced by each enzymatic reaction and detected individually by anodization at each detector-electrode positioned downstream of each enzyme reactor. The interfering substances, such as l-ascorbic acid and uric acid, were electrolyzed completely at the pre-reactor electrode that was positioned upstream of the enzyme reactors. As a result, the simultaneous detection of l-lactate and d-glucose was achieved with no other catalytic material such as peroxidase or an electron mediator in the presence of the interferents at physiological concentrations in human blood.
Super Partes? Assessing the Effect of Judicial Independence on Entry
Authors: Conti Raffaele , Valentini Giovanni
Published: August 2017

Incumbents can enjoy a cost advantage vis-à-vis new entrants and so deter new firm entry by establishing and leveraging connections with the judicial system. Connected firms may in fact avoid fully complying with the costly norms implied by a law, a regulation, or a contract. At the same time, they can also credibly threaten to sue new entrants. Therefore, a change in the institutional environment that diminishes the ability of incumbent firms to establish judicial connections—i.e., an increase in judicial independence—can promote entrepreneurship. Exploiting reforms that change the way in which U.S. state judges are selected, we confirm that this is the case, and we show that this effect is more salient in states and industries where the likelihood of entering into a business dispute is higher. The paper also sheds some light on the mechanisms behind this effect.

Data and the online appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2794 .

This paper was accepted by Toby Stuart, entrepreneurship and innovation.
Capacity Sharing Between Competitors
Authors: Guo Liang , Wu Xiaole
Published: August 2017

Market competition may lead to mismatch between supply and demand. That is, overpricing may give rise to underselling, and underpricing may yield stockout. Capacity sharing is a common practice to align excessive capacity with excessive demand. Yet, the strategic interaction between competition and capacity sharing has not been adequately addressed. In this paper, we investigate optimal strategies and firm profitability of capacity sharing between competing firms under both ex ante and ex post contracting, depending on whether the capacity-sharing price is determined before or after price setting in the buyer market. We show that, with symmetric capacity, committing to an overly high capacity-sharing price may not necessarily improve firm payoffs. Capacity sharing softens price competition under either contracting scheme, whereas the optimal capacity-transfer price and equilibrium profits may be nonmonotonically influenced by buyer loyalty. The equilibrium outcome under ex ante contracting is more sensitive to variations in market parameters than ex post contracting. As a result, ex ante contracting is more likely to be preferred when the endowed capacity is low or buyer loyalty is high. However, when firms’ capacity is asymmetric, capacity sharing may intensify equilibrium competition and hurt firm profitability through reversing the firms’ relative pricing aggressiveness.

The supplementary appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2796 .

This paper was accepted by Eric Anderson, marketing.
Regurgitating Futile Nonsensical Meanders Yell Politely Involuntarily Peering Into Depths of Your Mind (2015)
Authors: Shakespeare-Smyth Bryony
Published: August 2017

This piece is in the form of a graphic list of subconscious writings originally derived from a series of text messages that were deconstructed letter by letter and then reformed by assuming words from the displaced letters. The piece demonstrates how writing under a deliberate rule causes an uncommon textual disposition with an overall blurred meaning. The piece takes the shape of a horizontal line graph that acknowledges the ups and downs of the quotidian.
Wellness (January, 2017)
Authors: Worth Zara
Published: August 2017

This piece is in the form of a graphic suite of 31 digital collages for the 31 days of January, starting with ‘#wellness’ and ending with ‘#trump’. The piece is a meta-lexicon and cipher for the platform it takes as its medium. Hashtags and appropriated and subtly reworked images are collaged together, using the virtual platform they inhabit as a ground for détourned mingling. The artist plays a disassociation game with hashtags, using them as an unpredictable pathway to the next word or phrase. As the hashtags accumulate, each addition to the snaking words is combined with an image from the ‘Instaarchive’ to create new puns and misapprehensions.
Posh Man’s Pet (2014)
Authors: Potter Claire
Published: August 2017

Posh Man’s Pet was commissioned for How Not To Be Distant, a symposium concerning forms of vulnerability in art practice, with Matthew McQuillan, Adrian Rifkin and Nina Wakeford. The symposium accompanied the exhibition Concerning The Bodyguard, curated by Laura Morrison for The Tetley, Leeds in 2014.
Psycho-linguistic and socio-cultural approaches to language learning: A never ending debate
Authors: Cardenas Claros Monica Stella
Published: August 2017

This paper critically examines psycholinguistic and socio-cultural approaches for language learning. It provides a thorough discussion of the ontological positions where they originate, the methods they use, some relevant work under each perspective and most importantly criticisms that each perspective faces. The paper concludes that no approach is better than the other and advocates for collaboration projects nurtured from both perspectives.
Using storytelling with adult EFL learners: an enriching classroom experience
Authors: Vecino Adriana
Published: August 2017

Storytelling has obvious benefits in the development of speaking and listening skills, vocabulary andmemory abilities. It also nurtures reading and writing skills and offers learners opportunities to increase theirconfidence. Given the great value in employing storytelling as a support when learning a foreign language,I decided to use this technique with one of my adult EFL classrooms and observe the benefits and possibleconstraints. This paper presents the theoretical foundations that underlie my pedagogical innovation as wellas the results obtained from its implementation. In addition, valuable reflections invite teachers to integratestorytelling into their English lessons and explore their use with adult learners.
Preliminary Pages
Authors: Journal Colombian Applied Linguistics
Published: August 2017

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Preliminary Pages
Authors: Journal Colombian Applied Linguistics
Published: August 2017

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Preliminary pages
Authors: Linguistics Journal Colombian Applied
Published: August 2017

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Preliminary pages
Authors: Linguistics Journal Colombian Applied
Published: August 2017

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Reading the world as a literacy practi- ce: A teacherʼs reflection
Authors: Chapetón Claudia Marcela
Published: August 2017

This article attempts to share with the reader a reading club program that was developed for a group of adults in situation of displacement in Bogotá, Colombia. It is framed in the context of forced internal displacement which is a critical social situation our country has been suffering lately and it is somehow, shaping our current, local teaching practices. The reflections presented in this article are focused both, on the critical theories of pedagogy and on my experience as teacher researcher in the creation and development of a Reading Club at “Red de Solidaridad Social”, Bogotá.
Imbalanced literacy? How a US national educational policy has affected English learners and their teachers
Authors: Sharkey Judy
Published: August 2017

Learning and teaching are always affected by institutional contexts and their policies, ranging from the classroom policies that teachers establish or enact—tacitly or explicitly, to the larger rings of policy set by schools, organizations, districts, states, and/or country. How is policy enacted on a local level? How does such policy affect the needs and realities of students and teachers? How does listening to teacher concerns contribute to valid critiques of policy? This article addresses those questions as they pertain to the US education policy known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). It is told through the perspectives and experiences of six English language teachers in three public schools in one urban school district in the Northeastern United States. Although teachers’ concerns are often dismissed as anecdotal, they can offer valuable insights into the weaknesses of policiesand/or programs. In the often, dichotomous worlds of policy and practice, this story highlights the critical need to attend to both.
Articulating english to specific content areas at Pontificia Bolivariana University
Authors: Monsalve T María Isabel , Montoya E Patricia , Posada R Claudia , Serna D Héctor Manuel
Published: August 2017

The Pontificia Bolivariana University has decided to look for alternatives to make the study of English more relevant for studentsʼ professional practice. The authors of this article consider that Content Based Instruction (CBI) offers scenarios in which content and language learning can be developed in order to fulfill this goal. This article provides information in regards to the first stage of a five-phased project, designed for the Pontificia Bolivariana University. The first phase, which is described in this article, presents the context and background of the project, the CBI theoretical background intended to structure the CBI - Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB) model, the methodology developed to articulate content and language for this experience, the line of inquiry and some project implications.
Evaluating Students’ Autonomous Learning Through Their Uses of a Self-access Centre
Authors: Posada Ortiz Julia Zoraida
Published: August 2017

This article describes a small-scale project aimed at developing a systematic evaluation of a Self Access Centre (SAC) located at a private university in Bogotá. The objectives of the project were first, to identify the most common strategies used by the SAC’s users and find out if this SAC was enhancing autonomy. The second objective was to discover some of the strengths and weaknesses of the SAC. The results showed that students used indirect strategies which might show some autonomy, since these strategies are related to the management of our own language learning. The results also demonstrated that students need some counselling with both the language and technology.
Exploring gender differences in the EFL classroom
Authors: Durán Norma Constanza
Published: August 2017

This article aims to describe a case study which explores teacher and students` conceptions about gender in an EFL setting and the way they are manifested in their discourse patterns. This exploratory case study was carried out with a group of eleventh grade students and an English teacher at Liceo de la Universidad Católica high school in Bogotá Colombia. The data collected included direct observation of classroom interaction, audio and video recording of the teacher and students` interactions and interviews on the teacher’s and students` discourse. The analysis of the data revealed that in fact there are imbalances in relation to boys` and girls` participation during interaction, made manifest by verbal and nonverbal attitudes. There is also sound evidence of girls’ low self esteem in response to the lack of value and respect granted to their opinions by their male peers. Stereotypes are part of teachers’ and students’ conceptions regarding gender and thus they are maintained to a great extent. The teacher’s attitude in the classroom with respect to boys and girls also appeared to show inequality that favoured boys. The girls showed evidence of awareness of the teacher’s conscious or unconscious indifference towards them, which seemed to affect their autonomy and confidence as English language learners.
Teacher researchers as writers: A way to sharing findings
Authors: Cárdenas Melba Libia
Published: August 2017

A teacher development programme (TDP) for teachers of English at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá has incorporated the research element as a means to motivate practitioners to widen professional knowledge. Based on the assumption that research findings gain real value if shared with other people, teachers have been challenged to establish a dialogue with academic communities by writing formal reports required by the University and articles describing the research processes they have accomplished. This paper examines the experiences of teacher researchers as writers as revealed in a research project in progress. I start by providing some background information about the TDP and then refer to the criteria that helped us to complete the writing tasks. Difficulties and strategies used to overcome them are also pointed out. Finally, I mention the benefits teachers identified after publishing their research reports in the PROFILE journal as well as some pedagogical implications.
Teachers’ informed decision-making in evaluation: Corollary of ELT curriculum as a human lived experience
Authors: Quintero Polo Álvaro Hernán
Published: August 2017

This article characterizes informed decision-making as one important activity of evaluation in the English Language Teaching (ELT) curriculum. I emphasize on a distinction between human and technical approaches to evaluation. This emphasis is consequence of my reflection upon my and some in-service teachers’ perceptions about literature and small-scale research projects related to the area of evaluation. In this article, I also intend to contribute to an understanding of why educational processes need to be seen as a lived experience for which informed decision-making can be used as a sound practice in a process of evaluation. A practical academic experience illustrates the discussions in this article. I led the practical experience as a professor of a seminar on testing and evaluation in English language teaching (ELT), in the Master’s Program in Applied Linguistics to the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language at the Distrital University in Bogotá, Colombia.
Validation of an oral assessment tool for classroom use
Authors: Muñoz T. Ana , Álvarez Martha , Casals Sergi , Gaviria Sandra , Palacio Marcela
Published: August 2017

The purpose of this research study was to examine the rater reliability and the concurrent validity of the Language Center oral assessment rubric (LCR) with the KET (Key English Test) and PET (Preliminary English Test), Cambridge Examinations. Thirty two students from beginning and intermediate levels participated in the study. Validity estimations included both logical and empirical analyses. Results from logical analyses indicated that the rubric has construct validity. Empirical analyses were conducted by establishing patterns of correlations between the two sets of measures. Results showed low correlations between KET and LCR and from moderate to strong among LCR evaluators. Further, strong correlations between PET and LCR were found suggesting that both measure a similar construct. The results indicate the need to adjust the rubric to low level students and to develop teacher education programs where training toward consistency in evaluation will br conducted.
Analysis of pedagogical and cultural situations from the vantage point of discourse analysis
Authors: Murillo-Murgueítio Antonio José
Published: August 2017

This paper encompasses analyses of pedagogical and cultural situations from the perspective of some of the authors studied in our discourse analysis class. Cultural authenticity and cultural stereotypes are dealt with stemming from real issues and mirroring them through the lens of Kramsch ́s (1998) insights. McCarthy (1994) is referred to when a curricular principle, the familiar to unfamiliar principle is considered as a pedagogical approach in ESL teaching.
Using Video Game-Based Instruction in an EFL Program: Understanding the Power of Video Games in Education
Authors: Galvis Guerrero Héctor Alejandro
Published: August 2017

This small-scale action-research study examines the perceptions of four students in a military academy in Colombia undergoing the processof using a mainstream video game in their EFL classes instead of classic forms of instruction. The video game used served to approach EFL by means of language exploratory activities designed according to the context present in the video game and the course linguistic objectives. This study was conducted on the grounds that computer technology offers the possibility of enhancing EFL instruction by means of simulating and augmenting the target language context. The researcher’s belief is that video games offer a learning environment closely related to students’ experiences and preferences. Results from this study suggest that students were more entertained and attentive and demonstrated more engagement and disposition towards their English classes. Students also learned about matters related to the target language and culture, and were not only circumscribed to linguistic ones. Similarly, results from this study shed some light on the importance of offering access to technology to students before they advance to higher education that support video-gaming practices in the classroom.
A Study of the English Teaching Practice at a Language Institute
Authors: Posada Ortiz Julia Zoraida , Patiño Garzón Luceli
Published: August 2017

This study aims to describe the pedagogical practices that take place at the Language Institute of a university based on the observation of classes, questionnaires and interviews of teachers and students. In order to achieve the purpose of the project, the researchers adopted a qualitative approach and also combined an ethnographic perspective which denotes a constant reflection on the part of the teachers who participated as objects of the study. The results of the study demonstrate that most of the teachers employ the PPP (Presentation, Practice, and Production) model to language teaching and that the students make use of direct and indirect strategies in order to help themselves learning.
Self-assessment Practices: an empowering Tool in the teaching and learning EFL Processes
Authors: Rodríguez Ochoa Edgar Orlando
Published: August 2017

Evaluating the students’ language learning process requires a lot of analysis and reflection. Although some research has been conducted to observe the way teachers use assessment practices in diverse educational contexts, I consider there needs to be more research in order to examine how assessment practices are carried out in our educational context. This article presents a pedagogical project carried out in a higher education institution with EFL learners. It focuses on the implementation of self-assessment practices conducted in the context of the project followed by some preliminary results that I have encountered.
Reading Comprehension in Face-to-Face and Web-Based Modalities: Graduate Students’ Use of Reading and Language Learning Strategies in EFL1
Authors: Arismendi Gomez Fabio Alberto , Colorado López Doris , Grajales Marin Luisa Fernanda
Published: August 2017

Few studies in Colombia have explored and compared students’ reading comprehension processes in EFL, in different modalities ofinstruction. This article reports on some findings of a larger study in which two groups of graduate Law students took a reading comprehensioncourse in English, delivered in two different modalities of instruction: face-to-face and web-based. Both courses were served by an English teacherfrom the School of Languages at Universidad de Antioquia. The data gathered from class observations, in-depth interviews, questionnaires, tests,the teacher’s journal and data records in the platform provided insights about the students’ use of reading and language learning strategies inboth modalities. Findings suggest that students applied the reading strategies explicitly taught during the courses and some language learningstrategies for which they did not receive any instruction.
Narrative as resource for the display of self and identity: The narrative construction of an oppositional identity*
Authors: Guerrero Alba Lucy
Published: August 2017

Narrative is a system of understanding that we use to construct and express meaning in our daily lives. The stories we narrate are not justresources for the development and presentation of the individual self; they allow us to see how identity is constructed within social and culturalworlds (Bruner, 1990). Schools and communities play a powerful role in shaping students identities; the ways in which stories are told and theidentities they create are influenced by the environment in which they take place. In this paper, by using excerpts from a conversation I hadwith a High School student in an urban school in Bogotá, I will discuss how narrative analysis can be used to understand the way studentsconstruct their identities within their schools and communities. First, I will present the theoretical contexts linking narrative with self-construction.Next, I will discuss the methodological implications in the process of collecting and representing experiences highlighting the possibilities ofnarrative to make visible the construction of identities. Then pieces of a narrative told in a research interview will be analyzed illustrating differentapproaches of narrative analysis. The paper will conclude with a section that outlines the implications of using narrative in educational research.
Portfolios across the EFL Curriculum: Methodological Perspectives of their use in university settings
Authors: Clavijo Amparo
Published: August 2017

This article emerges from the experience that two EFL university professors have accumulated for several years working with portfolios intertiary education. Starting from the theoretical principles they have undertaken to guide their practices when using portfolios, they share theirmethodological procedures for ESP (English for Specific Purposes), academic literacy and teaching practicum courses. The authors describein detail how portfolios are structured in each setting, enhancing autonomous and collaborative learning as well as the reflective teachingof the foreign language. In addition, the manuscript discusses the benefits students perceive portfolios bring since they can approach theirliteracy development as a process, be more creative as learners and prospective teachers, find meaningful contexts to learn and increase theirmetacognitive skills, among others. The pedagogical implications involve suggestions in regards to how role dynamics and power relationsbuilt around these artifacts, the need for suitable peer monitoring structures and for the creation of solid pedagogical frameworks to encourageautonomy.
Asking about Content and Adding Content: two Patterns of Classroom Interaction
Authors: Batavia Edgar Lucero
Published: August 2017

This research project focuses on identifying and describing the interactional patterns and the speech acts that emerge and are maintainedthrough teacher-student interactions in a university-level EFL Pre-intermediate class. This work also analyzes how these patterns potentiallyinfluence the participants’ interactional behavior. This study then answers two questions: what interactional patterns emerge and how they arestructured in interactions between the teacher and the students in the EFL class? And, how can the utterances that compose the interactionalpatterns potentially influence both interactants’ interactional behavior in the EFL class? The description and analysis of the problem followethnomethodological conversation analysis. The findings show that there are two main interactional patterns in the EFL class observed for thisstudy: asking about content, and adding content. Both patterns present characteristic developments and speech acts that potentially influencethe teacher and students’ interactional behavior in this class. These findings serve as a reference and evidence for the interactional patterns thatemerge in EFL classroom interaction and the influence they have on the way both interactants use the target language in classroom interaction.
Children as subjects with rights in EFL textbooks
Authors: Herrera Torres Diana Marcela
Published: August 2017

This paper illustrates how a Colombian EFL textbooks’ series deals with the educational discourse of children as subjects with rights andthe new conception of childhood from a Rights Perspective, taking into account UNICEF’s conclusions on the current situation of children’srights in Colombia where children are being silenced, discriminated against, and exploited by social practices as such. Using Critical DiscourseAnalysis tools this paper identifies different discourse strategies related to an educational discourse of children as rights-bearing subjects.The results show three main discourse strategies that reveal the way EFL textbooks tend to portray children as members of society: genderand racial visibility, human being’s passivity, and value- system inclusion. Although the EFL textbooks address some of the principles thatsupport the educational discourse of children as subjects with rights, they still have the tendency to represent children as passive subjectsand non-right holders.
Female EFL teachers: shifting and multiple gender and language-learner identities
Authors: Rojas María Ximena
Published: August 2017

Gender studies have taken an important role within the academic community, and specifically in the field of second and foreign languagelearning. In this paper I use a Feminist Poststructuralist Discourse Analysis (FPDA) study to explore how emergent femininities construct genderidentities and power relations inside the EFL classroom setting through interaction. I argue that identities are multiple and shifting accordingto the way individuals position and reposition themselves through discourse(s). In doing so, gender identities can be identified and related tolearners’ identities in EFL contexts. I chose a Feminist Poststructuralist Discourse Analysis (FPDA) methodology (Baxter, 2003) in order toidentify telling cases (Mitchell, 1984) during interactions in which, female adult students from a private university in Bogotá, Colombia makeexplicit the exercising of power during classroom activities, such as debates (Castañeda- Peña, 2009) and disputes (Toohey, 2001) in foreignlanguage learning. I chose video recordings, transcripts and interviews as instruments to cope with the objectives of the study as well as toaccomplish the methodological suggestions. Findings suggest the importance of being aware of the multiplicity of gender identities that mayintervene when learning a language and how to deal with more egalitarian discourses and activities during classes that guarantee, to someextent, the empowerment of silent voices.
A Language-in-Use Study of EFL Students’ Social Discourses in Project-Based Learning
Authors: Bello Vargas Ingrid
Published: August 2017

This article is based on a qualitative research study that was conducted to explore students’ discourses as citizens in an English as aForeign Language (EFL) course. A pedagogical intervention was proposed in order to bridge the existing gap. The instructional design consistedof PBL sessions with a coeducational group of eighteen undergraduate students, who worked collaboratively to discuss social issues whilestudying the target language (TL). Student artifacts, transcriptions of project oral reports, and a conference with the participants were used togather the data. Following a discourse analysis approach, three main discourses were identified to show the learners’ social representations,their critical stand on topical issues, and their interest in social transformations. Overall, the findings suggest that the students’ views of socialreality are diverse, contradictory, and changing, and that the EFL class can become a site for citizenship education when the TL is presentedas a tool to facilitate self-expression and critical reflection.