European Point Of View Research Articles

Ethical considerations in the use of scoring systems: The european point of view

Ethical considerations in the use of scoring systems: The european point of view

Learning English as an Additional Language in K-12 Schools

This special-topic issue of the TESOL Quarterly is dedicated to immigrant and native language minority learners worldwide who enter K-12 schools proficient in a language other than English and who bring with them linguistic, cultural, and social traditions that are often distinctly different from those assumed by the schools. Frequently English learners in English-speaking countries face a challenge and a prejudice that most English-speaking students rarely experience. Accordingly, our goal in this issue is to begin a new dialogue about ways language educators can collaborate with other school personnel to improve the educational experience of English learners worldwide. Exactly what changes schools need to make to accommodate linguistic and cultural diversity is an issue that involves linguicism, ethnocentrism, xenophobia, and the politics of language (see Bilingual Research Journal, 12 (1 & 2), 1992, and Skutnabb-Kangas, 1988, for discussions of these factors from U.S. and European viewpoints, respectively). We realize that a full and reasonable treatment of these matters is well

A common language for nursing practice: a persistent dilemma. A European viewpoint.

A common language for nursing practice: a persistent dilemma. A European viewpoint.

Process assessment: the ‘BOOTSTRAP’ approach

Disregarding its unquestionable merits, SEI's maturity assessment approach shows some weaknesses and deficiencies, which make it too hard to accept from a European viewpoint for a larger community of systems and software producers. From a new understanding that software technology transfer should not be performed as a market-push but rather a market-pull exercise, maturity assessments are ideal exercises to be applied in order to stimulate this demand. Shifting the pendulum of emphasis to the pull side is a movement for which the IT department of the European Commission (EC) are in favour. Against this background the BOOTSTRAP project was launched by the EC the goal of which was to provide an advanced process assessment methodology. The presentation will highlight two aspects of major interest: the idea ‘behind’ BOOTSTRAP and conclusions for future improvement of the methodology; the results from data collected so far and conclusions for the European Software Industry's improvement initiatives.

Appearance and Reality in Chinese Buddhist Metaphysics from a European Philosophical Point of View

Appearance and Reality in Chinese Buddhist Metaphysics from a European Philosophical Point of View

Street Names in Colonial Singapore

A street-name system based on European perception of landscape ordering and urban functioning officially existed in colonial Singapore. Con- currently, there existed alternative systems of street names that originated among the immigrant Asian communities. Emphases of purpose and function as well as linguistic origin were reflected in the applied street names. Singapore had a syncretic character, not the unified one inherent in the vision of the official street names. FROM the earliest days of settlement at Singapore, British East India Com- pany officials and, later, municipal authorities sought to impose a system of street names that reflected their vision of what a colonial city should be and how it should function. From a European viewpoint, such a system was essential to effect many activities, such as levying assessments and taxes, fighting fires, and counting the population as well as general surveillance of the city's inhabitants. Yet naming a place, whether as a deliberate act or informally, is also a social activity; it embodies some of the struggle for control over the means of symbolic production in the urban landscape. For example, place-names honoring public figures have been cited as indicators of nationalist feeling or community identity (Zelinsky 1983; Stump 1988). On the other hand, the renaming of streets in postcolonial societies can help to divest the landscape of its colonial associations and reinforce the legitimacy of the newly independent state. Establishment of a network of official street names not only introduces order and differentiation into an originally amorphous landscape but also reflects the mental images of the dominant culture. In colonial Singapore, official names were assigned at municipal meetings on the approval of the municipal commissioners. Once decided, notice of new or changed street names was advertised in the press, and the schedule was circulated among heads of various governmental departments, including the chief of police, the commissioner of lands, and the secretary of the Fire Insurance Associ- ation. The official naming process was strongly dominated by the opinions of municipal and governmental officers and, occasionally, those of influential property owners, but it was relatively impervious to the views of people who lived on or used the streets. Street nomenclature became a means by which the authorities were able to project onto the urban landscape their perceptions of what different areas in the city represented. Yet the actual naming of streets was far more complicated than the institutional procedure suggests. Although the authorities controlled the process insofar as the selection and application of names were concerned,

Methodology of measuring the efficacy of antidepressants--European viewpoint.

The 1988 Consensus Conference on the Methodology of Clinical Trials of Antidepressants developed a European viewpoint on the methodology of measuring the efficacy of antidepressants. Placebo-controlled, parallel group trials are necessary but problematic. To test the efficacy of a new antidepressant, only patients with recognized depressive disorder of at least moderate severity should be included. In double-blind trials comparing a novel antidepressant with a well known reference drug, effective doses of the reference drug should be used. Efficacy can best be demonstrated in non-treatment-resistant patients. The recommended length of trials for proof of antidepressant efficacy is at least 4 weeks.

The Development of African Historical Studies in East Germany; An Outline And Selected Bibliography

My main concern in this paper is to throw some light on the scope of the problem from the view of the development of African historical studies in East Germany after World War II. It is necessary first to discuss some negative and positive sides of German historical African studies before 1945. For several decades German research has demonstrated a startling lack of interest in the research problems of African history. In connection with the colonial conquests of the European powers, special institutes grew in social anthropology, colonial economics, and geography, although the historical development of the peoples of Africa was ignored. As an outward appearance of this development there grew in several German universities, departments for Oriental languages e.g., at the University of Berlin on the direct instruction of Bismarck, and in 1908 the Colonial Institute at Hamburg University.Leading German historians and Africanists of the past demonstrated their theoretical ignorance in relation to African history. They proceeded from the definition of Leopold von Ranke, who classed the African peoples with the “non-history possessing” peoples who have made no contribution to world culture. G. W. F. Hegel uttered only fatalistic and stereotyped ideas—for him Africa was “no historical part of the World, it has no movement or development to exhibit.” These fundamental conceptions penetrated in one degree or another, the majority of publications on Africa up to 1945. Even Dietrich Westerman, one of the best known Africanists, who published one major book on African history in the German language,Geschichte Afrikas, in 1952 made his studies in the old tradition of seeing sub-Saharan Africa predominantly from the European point of view and continuing the image of an African peoples' history that was not accomplished by the world moulding civilized mankind and has not contributed its share to it. In short, the theoretical foundation of colonialism was rooted in German research in a deep racialist ideology. Only a few explorers and scientists swam against the tide.

Entdeckung und Verdeckung des anderen. Zum 500-Jahr-Gedenken der europäischen Ankunft in Amerika

WenigeJahre vor der ersten Indienfahrt des Christoph Kolumbus verfaste der italienische Humanist Giovanni Pico della Mirandola seine beruhmte Rede uber die Wurde des Menschen (oratio de dignitate hominis), in der er das aus dem Geist der Renaissance geborene neuzeitliche Verstandnis der menschlichen Freiheit entwickelte. Der Mensch als Mas aller Dinge, vom hochsten Baumeister in die Mitte der Welt gestellt: (...) English The forthcoming ceremonies for the 'Quinta Centenario', for the five hundred year anniversary of the so-called discovery of Latin America are being discussed passionately and controversially. At the centre of the discussions is the argument about the painful experience concerning the violent clashes between the European and the indigenous cultures. Up until now the European point of view was marked by a Straightforward Euro-centricity which did not want to take seriously the foreignness and the inherent rights of other peoples and cultures. Essentially the essay deals in historical sequence with the images of the Indian from a European point of view. Columbus described the Indians as a heavenly creature whereas a little later Vespucci created the image of a cruel cannibal. Las Casas emphasized a new perspective in the sixteenth century which plays an important roJe in present day Latin-American theology: the Indians as the victims of Spanish oppression. The pictorial chronicle 'Nueva Cor6nica y Buen Gobierno' which was written about 1600 by the Peruvian Guaman Poma shows on the other hand the image which the Indian had of hirnself. This image had no chance to produce an historical impact in Europe. Finally five criteria are given for the necessary rediscovery of the otherness of the others in regard to the 'Quinta Centenario': change of perspective, rediscovery, self-identity, participation and communication.

Design Methods in Japan: Research, Education and Industrial Application from a European Viewpoint

SUMMARY Because of the language barrier, progress in design methodology research and application in Japan is seldom reported in Europe. The purpose of this paper is to review the present situation of design research, education and the application of methods in Japan. Machine design research in Japan is dominated by CAD systems development and the industrial design field is experimenting with mathematical methods for analyzing qualitative design trends. Some particular Japanese methods for problem solving have been developed and are well applied in industry. Japanese engineers learn most of their design skills in companies, not in universities. This paper concludes that Japanese industry does seem to prosper from design methodology research, but the most often applied methods do not belong to the fields of functional engineering design, which dominate in Europe.

Codes and Standards for Fast Breeder Reactor Components—A European Point of View

In 1984, five European governments (Belgium, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the Federal Republic of Germany) agreed to a coordinated program for FBR research, development, and construction. The ultimate outcome must be a common design code. The authors discuss how drawing up such a design code represents a major challenge in the field of international collaboration. It seems likely that the existing RCC-MR code will be used as the starting point for the development of European design rules. Recently, European manufacturers set up a committee with the object of amending and supplementing RCC-MR. The results of this committee are discussed.

What is EuroParc?

EuroPARC is a systems research laboratory supported by Rank Xerox Limited and allied with the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). The decision to create EuroPARC was announced in November of 1986, and the lab was officially dedicated in June of 1988. EuroPARC's research charter is human-computer interaction. The research program is coordinated with PARC's, but the goal is to combine PARC-style systems research with European points of view, issues, and approaches.

Foreign Language loss Research from a European Point of view

Foreign Language loss Research from a European Point of view

Reflections on FDA and WHO recommendations concerning clinical trials

SummaryWe are still confronted by numerous different nosographic models and problems concerning the objective evaluation of patients progress during treatment. It is interesting to consider the consequences of this situation in psychiatry which still involves a relative diversity of practical methods used in clinical trials. The recommendations of the USA Food and Drug Administration, on the one hand, constitute a highly structured and precise reference. The World Health Organization, on the other hand, promulgates general recommendations resulting from a compromise designed to satisfy the greatest number of clinicians.Despite the apparently diverse principles and the different practical methods they propose, both those sets of recommendations have been useful in inspiring clinicians to reflect upon these different methodological approaches. The qualities of the inclusion criteria used in the study of patients and the sensitivity of the different measuring instruments have allowed psychotropic drug users as well as producers to recognize the need for a certain rigour in clinical trials.The FDA and WHO guidelines have certainly improved the quality of clinical trials in psychopharmacology. However, they also represent a source of resistance to innovation.A series of consensus meetings to first reconcile US and European points of view and later to include new techniques in the recognized sets of methods would therefore be helpful.

Information for chemists — a European viewpoint

The chemical information marketplace is a truly international one, in which Europeans play a very important part, especially in the areas which I have selected for discussion. The last few years have seen a dramatic increase in the use of chemical information systems which employ topological coding — for example, CAS online, Telesystemes‐DARC and the Molecular Design suite of programs.

The past and the future of international collaboration in applied superconductivity - A European point of view

The past and the future of international collaboration in applied superconductivity - A European point of view

EARIE and the European Point of View in Industial Economics

EARIE and the European Point of View in Industial Economics

Following the Cycle: The Ethnic Pattern of Polish-American Literature

belles-lettres, how much emphasis should we put on aesthetic quality and on form? What makes an ethnic author ethnic? The whole subject bristles with questions that cannot yet be answered, but they must be asked if satisfactory answers are ever to become possible. This essay is thus no more than a tentative survey from a European point of view of how the first cycle of a pattern of ethnicity has developed in PolishAmerican literature from the 1870's to the present day. We might begin with the organic concept of literary history. Does the history of Polish-American literature fit Robert Spiller's model? Does it correlate with the evolution of Anglo-American writing, from paraliterary forms to sophisticated, avant-garde, experimental styles, from infancy to maturity? How far does it lead to symbolic illumination of the ethnic experience? It would be fatuous to expect a Polish-American Walt Whitman, a William Faulkner or a Thornton Wilder. No other than a Polish-American poet, MieczysAaw A. Niedzwiecki, warned not to look for masterpieces in Polonian writing. In a poem, Do przyjaci6o-poet6w i pisarz6w poAskoamerykanskich [To Polish-American fellow poets and writers], he laments their (and his own) creative impotence.' Niedzwiecki's lamentation seemed to have put some Polonian observers of the literary scene on critical alert against any claims to avant-gardism or highest poetic achievement. When such were attributed to Edmond Kowalewski's experiments with tone in his Deaf Walls, they earned him scorn.2 A historical survey of Polish-American poetry reveals that its evolution stopped at the rising genius level. Three generations of PolishAmerican poets defaulted on what some of us have been repeatedly told MELUS, Volume 12, No. 4 (Winter 1985.) 63

Motor vehicle noise measurements, regulations, and standards: A European viewpoint

The “measurement of noise emitted by passenger cars under conditions representative of urban driving” is the subject of a draft international standard prepared by Working Group 8 of ISO/TCA3/SC1. Balloting on DIS 7188.2 has now been completed and further action can be expected soon. The author of this paper will present a European viewpoint on motor noise standardization from his perspective as Chairman of WG8. He will also report on the progress of discussions in Brussels for EEC and in Geneva for ECE from his perspective as a Technical Expert for the French Government.

Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo from European Point of View

Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo from European Point of View