International Background Research Articles

Educación musical, desarrollo infantil y adolescente y enfoque de derechos humanos: Una reseña bibliográfica

El siguiente documento surge de la indagación bibliográfica que realiza la autora de este artículo, para llevar a cabo su investigación en la Maestría Profesional en Derechos Humanos de la Niñez y la Adolescencia, del Programa de Estudios de Posgrado en Trabajo Social de la Universidad de Costa Rica. Para tal efecto, hace una revisión sobre los estudios relacionados con la temática a nivel nacional e internacional al momento de la investigación que abarca los siguientes tópicos: práctica pedagógica musical, educación musical y currículo escolar, música y síndrome de Down, inteligencias múltiples y desarrollo integral, expresión artística y desarrollo humano, enfoque de derechos y expresión artística, y los derechos humanos de las personas con discapacidad. El objetivo del estudio tiene como propósito comparar y contrastar dichos temas, vinculándolos con los derechos humanos, la educación musical, y su práctica en personas en condiciones asociadas o no con la discapacidad. La finalidad es compartir estos hallazgos con personas interesadas en esta temática. Como parte de las conclusiones, la búsqueda muestra que en Costa Rica no existen trabajos de educación musical relacionados con derechos humanos de la niñez y la adolescencia y, en la mayoría de los trabajos, la música se plantea desde las inteligencias múltiples.

Challenging stereotyping and misconceptions about international HCA education

The healthcare workforce is estimated to be strategically underpinned by the contribution of a vast number of HCAs who provide front line care to patients and their families and carers. Published statistics reveal that migrant workers constitute a considerable percentage of the HCA workforce. Because of this, the need to support their capacity to provide effective and high-quality care is of paramount importance to workforce development. Alongside this, within the context of educational provision, is the need to promote the avoidance of stereotyping how people from certain international and cultural backgrounds learn. This avoids homogenising international students indiscriminately in the context of learning and teaching where the individuality they bring to healthcare provision is neither acknowledged nor valued. The capacity for the vast majority of international students to develop professionally and personally is at present largely understated in the proposals to develop healthcare assistant education. By supporting international colleagues in their roles, their commitment and sense of belonging will increase, thus impacting on the capacity of the healthcare workforce to recruit and retain valuable people with valuable skills and the personal capacity to provide compassionate care. This paper provides an overview of the issues for consideration in supporting migrant healthcare workers and the benefits this can bring to the whole HCA workforce in practice.

Comparing Reported Classroom Practice in Public and Private Schools in the United Arab Emirates

This is a comparative study of science classroom practice in public and private schools in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The vast majority of science teachers in these schools are expatriates, specifically recruited from overseas to teach through the language medium of English. Since both groups of teachers come from a diversity of international backgrounds (though predominantly from ‘Western’ countries) it might be fair to hypothesize that the range of classroom practices of private and public teachers would be broadly similar, accounting for differences in individual school systems such as resources, class sizes, training opportunities etc. We surveyed 248 public school teachers and 66 private school teachers, and asked them to rate statements about their science classroom practices, such as whether they encouraged students to work collaboratively, employed inquiry based learning strategies, adopted hands-on student centred approaches to learning in science, applied science to real life and drew connections between science and other subjects. Contrary to our hypothesis, it was found that there were extremely significant differences between the responses of the private and public school teachers. We make some suggestions for why there might be such a chasm in reported practices of public and private school teachers.

Learning from African theologians and their hermeneutics: Some reflections from a German Evangelical theologian

This article shares some reflections on African theology from an outside perspective. Starting from personal experiences as a German Evangelical coming to South Africa, it basically takes a look at the book African theology on the way: Current conversations, edited by Diane B. Stinton. It wants to identify ways of looking at theology which could be considered in some way or another as �especially African�. The article then compares these findings with two other books, presenting two different ways of applied African theology: The Africana Bible, edited by Hugh R. Page, coming from a very international background and implementing also the views of African people living outside of Africa, and the Africa Bible Commentary (ABC), edited by Tokunboh Adyemo, featuring an evangelical view.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This research gives an outside view on African theology and hermeneutics from an European perspective. It challenges the one-way transfer of theological thinking from Europe to Africa, which for many centuries determined the relationship between the continents. It shows that European theologians indeed can learn much from African theologians and their way of reading the Bible.

Stress, burnout, and job satisfaction in 470 health professionals in 98 apheresis units in Italy: A SIdEM collaborative study.

In Italian and international background, there are no studies focusing on stress, burnout indicators, and job satisfaction in health professionals working in the apheresis units. This study aims to fill this void both for scientific and clinical reasons. The participants were 470 health professionals (220 physicians, 250 nurses), mostly female (73.4%), with an average age of 48.09 (with the 5° percentile under 32 years and the 95° percentile over 60), working in the Apheresis Units in the North (228), in the Center (131) and in the Southern-islands of Italy (111). The health professionals' years on the job were principally between one and 10 years (40.2%) or from 11 to 20 years (33.2%). The prevalent activity was therapeutic apheresis (48.5%). The self-report questionnaires were proposed electronically by a protected online site. Important stress levels were identified in the health professionals. Physicians principally showed medium (47.5%) and high (35.8%) stress levels. Stress levels of nurses were mostly low (57.7%) or medium (25.7%). Female gender in nurses [t(268) = -3.29; P = 0.001] and in physician professions [t(217) = -3.01; P = 0.03] was a risk factor for stress. Both job categories were placed at a high risk level for burnout syndrome comparing with normative scales, especially the health professionals working in the center of Italy for the scales "Emotional exhaustion" [F(2) = 4.39; P = 0.013] and "Professional inefficacy" [F(2) = 4.38; P = 0.013]. Health professionals working in the apheresis unit show high stress levels and burnout risk. New preventive programs and specific clinical interventions should be constructed.

Developing graduate student competency in providing culturally sensitive end of life care in critical care environments – A pilot study of a teaching innovation

BackgroundAustralia's immigration policy has generated a rich diverse cultural community of staff and patients in critical care environments. Many different cultural perspectives inform individual actions in the context of critical care, including the highly sensitive area of end of life care, with nurses feeling poorly prepared to provide culturally sensitive end of life care. PurposeThis article describes and evaluates the effectiveness of an educational innovation designed to develop graduate-level critical care nurses’ capacity for effective interpersonal communication, as members of a multi-disciplinary team in providing culturally sensitive end-of-life care. MethodsA mixed method pilot study was conducted using a curriculum innovation intervention informed by The Excellence in Cultural Experiential Learning and Leadership Program (EXCELL),1 which is a higher education intervention which was applied to develop the nurses’ intercultural communication skills. 12 graduate nursing students studying critical care nursing participated in the study. 42% (n=5) of the participants were from an international background. Information about students’ cultural learning was recorded before and after the intervention, using a cultural learning development scale. Student discussions of end of life care were recorded at Week 2 and 14 of the curriculum. The quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistical analysis and qualitative data was thematically analysed. ResultsStudents demonstrated an increase in cultural learning in a range of areas in the pre-post surveys including understandings of cultural diversity, interpersonal skills, cross cultural interactions and participating in multicultural groups. Thematic analysis of the end of life discussions revealed an increase in the levels of nurse confidence in approaching end of life care in critical care environments. ConclusionThe EXCELL program provides an effective and supportive educational framework to increase graduate nurses’ cultural learning development and competence to manage culturally complex clinical issues such as end of life care, and is recommended as a framework for health care students to learn the skills required to provide culturally competent care in a range of culturally complex health care settings.

Development Status and Measures of China’s Photovoltaic Power Industry under the International Background

Solar Photovoltaic Power (PV) has been considered as a significant kind of renewable energy in recent years. Developing PV power will not only optimize the energy structure of China, but also help to keep the development sustainable. The paper compared the development status of China with the developed countries, analyzed the existing problems in industry structure, relevant standards, management mechanisms and independent innovation. In the end, the paper put forward several corresponding measures to develop PV industry.

Ética y revistas científicas españolas de Comunicación, Educación y Psicología: la percepción editora

The increased activity in scientific publishing and its globalization have led to a complex problem related to the ethics of the publishing process. At the same time, the pressure on journal publishers, due to academic promotion processes and the international background of authors, requires agreement on how to act against the recurrent cases of ethical misconduct that occur in practice. The aim of this study was to discover the opinion of Spanish journal publishers in the fields of Communication, Education and Psychology regarding 16 types of improper conduct. Of the 203 publishers surveyed, 39.9% answered the online survey. The quantitative data obtained provide an understanding of the publishers’ level of concern regarding ethical aspects of scientific publication: the frequency of misconduct, the ease of identifying it, its perceived gravity and possible future trends.

Gendered career considerations consolidate from the start of medical education.

Objectives:To explore changes in specialty preferences and work-related topics during the theoretical phase of Dutch medical education and the role of gender.Methods:A cohort of medical students at Radboudumc, the Netherlands, was surveyed at start (N=612, 69.1% female) and after three years (N=519, 69.2% female), on specialty preferences, full-time or part-time work, motivational factors, and work-life issues. Chi square tests were performed to analyze gender-differences, and logistic regression to explore the influence of gender on considerations.Results:A total of 214 female and 78 male students completed both surveys. After three years, the male students remained highly interested in surgery, but the female students increasingly preferred gynecology. These initial preferences were predictive. Four out of five male students versus three out of five female students continued to show a full-time preference. Women increasingly preferred part-time work. After three years, the combination of work, care, and patient contact motivated female students more, whereas salary remained more important to male students. Female students indicated that their future careers would influence their family life; male students assumed having a family would only affect their partners’ careers.Conclusions:Against an international background of the feminization of medicine, our study shows that career considerations are reinforced early in medical studies. Women prefer to work fewer hours and anticipate care tasks more often. Students’ preferences reflect Dutch cultural norms about working men and women. Therefore, guidance in choice-making much earlier in medical education can create opportunities.

Migrant scientists and international networks

We examine collaboration patterns of foreign scientists working in one of 16 countries in 2011 and compare them to the collaboration patterns of nonmigrant scientists and scientists with some international experience who have returned. Data come from the GlobSci survey. Major findings are that both foreign-born scientists and returnees have larger international research networks than do native researchers who lack an international background. The higher incidence of international collaboration among migrants is driven primarily by those who did not get their PhD training in the destination country but rather came for a postdoctoral position or directly for employment. We also find that a sizeable share of foreign born collaborate with researchers located in their country of origin and that migrants are also likely to collaborate with individuals from their home country who are working or studying in a third country (diaspora effect). Finally, the relative strength of the origin country's science base matters in the sense that those who come from a relatively stronger base have superior networks compared to those coming from a relatively weaker science base.

Egy mű, avagy kettő?

Between 22 August and 19 December 1822 the weekly Budapesti Visszhang published a narrative entitled Remembrances in 13 installments. In 1853, Phantom Visions on the Soul’s Horizon by the same author, Zsigmond Kemény appeared as a full-length book. Are these two versions of the same work of fiction, or should they be read as different works? The earlier text has both thematic and structural closure. Although there is some continuity between the two texts, Phantom Visions is an elaboration on Remembrances. The focus is shifted to the consciousness of the characters, and an emphasis is put on the international background: a glance backward reveals the past of the hero’s father-in-law, detailing his role in the French revolution of 1789, his disillusionment at the way it developed, and his escape from his country. The new elements, including the portrayal of the tension between Hungarians and Romanians, make Phantom Visions a far more complex work than its predecessor.

The Analysis of Geographical Culture Reflected in the Local Landscape Design

Today's environmental landscape design is in the midst of internationalization and localization background. With the development of industrial production, the trends of city expansion and increasingly international commodity markets, and then, the regional of cultures have getting into precarious trouble. Based on the reality of urban planning and landscape design in the presence of this problem. We seek to strengthen the regional characteristics of the study of landscape design, establish landscape design of concept regional characteristics, the combination of geographical features landscape and the geographical culture aesthetic. How to put the geographical and cultural harmony into the local landscape design and create a viable method to make some sense of beauty.

Aufsichtsrechtliche Anforderungen an die Compliance – Status Quo und zukünftige Handlungsfelder

Zusammenfassung Stetig steigende Anforderungen an die Compliance in Kreditinstituten stellen die In­stitute vor neue Herausforderungen. Dieser Beitrag setzt sich mit der Frage auseinander, was eine gute Compliance ausmacht und beleuchtet die internationalen Hintergründe und die nationalen Rechtsgrundlagen (wie sie bei Redaktionsschluss, Februar 2014, galten). Zudem gibt der Beitrag Hinweise, wie auch kleine Kreditinstitute, darunter viele genossenschaftliche, ohne übermäßige organisatorische Hürden eine wirksame Compliance-Funktion einrichten können.

A post-graduate education in rehabilitation research methods for medical and allied health professionals

Objectives : This paper outlines the design, delivery and evaluation of a research methods topic specifically aimed at postgraduate health professionals. Methods : A topic was developed using adult learning principles to enhance the knowledge of health professionals in the field of rehabilitation research methods, as part of a Masters in Clinical Rehabilitation qualification. Fifty seven students from both Australian and International backgrounds enrolled in the topic over 3 separate semesters. The topic was delivered as a 3 day intensive to 14 students, as a traditional lecture based topic over a full semester to 10 students, and as an online topic over a full semester to 33 students. Students were asked to evaluate the course via a short feedback form at the end of the topic. Results : Twenty students completed the feedback form. There was a positive feedback response of 98% for the 3-day intensive students and 96% for the full semester students. To date 8 students have completed the full Masters course, 6 of whom have developed their clinical research project to papers for submission to peer reviewed journals. The first of these papers has been published. Conclusions : Health professionals benefit from a research methods topic based on adult learning principles that is grounded in their own clinical practice

Entrepreneurship research in three regions-the USA, Europe and China

During the last few decades the field of entrepreneurship has received increased scholarly attention all over the world. Nevertheless, against this internationalization background, little is known about how entrepreneurship research developed in different regions. In this study, we illustrate the development of entrepreneurship field not only in the USA and Europe but also in China. The study is based on co-citation analysis of entrepreneurship-related articles in the SSCI and Chinese Social Science Citation Index (CSSCI) databases. It appears that the development of entrepreneurship as a research field in China has followed a different path compared to the USA and Europe, where “contextual force” was the main driver in the early stage, but during the development process the external influence became weaker and that of “internal force” becomes stronger. In China, the main driver of entrepreneurship research is “internal force” while the “contextual force” has been downplayed. Similarities and differences in the development process across regions have also been identified.

The 2013 OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Kyiv: Addressing persistent dividing lines

Against the larger international relations background, this article analyses the outcomes of the 20th OSCE Ministerial Council (MC) meeting, which was held in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 5 and 6 December 2013. The political crisis – related to the non-signing by the Ukrainian government of the EU Association Agreement - which erupted in Ukraine in the days prior to the MC meeting is also taken into account. An analysis is made of adopted decisions in the three security dimensions as well as of drafts that failed to reach consensus. The main documents include declarations on the ‘Helsinki+40 process’ and the protracted conflicts as well as innovative cyber security measures.

De la ficción a la urgencia informativa: la matanza de Utoya y el análisis prospectivo de Stieg Larsson

La violenta irrupcion en todas las redacciones del atentado de Oslo y de la Matanza de Utoya llevo a la profesion periodistica a buscar una explicacion inmediata de los hechos. El analisis informativo habitual no alcanzaba a comprender las causas de lo acontecido y, los antecedentes internacionales remitian a otros conflictos ajenos a la situacion. La opinion publica internacional busco en la obra del escritor sueco Stieg Larsson, autor de la trilogia Millennium y director de la revista Expo, la explicacion profunda de los atentados. El analisis de las cronicas publicadas en la prensa espanola los dias posteriores al atentado, corrobora el agrio diagnostico politico y social, que se encuentra detras del exito de la novela negra escandinava actual.

The Management Countermeasures Exploration of Oversea Students under the Background of Internationalization

Nowadays, the management of oversea students’ education has become an important part of higher education in our country. To improve the effectiveness of the management, this paper analyzed the characteristics of oversea students and furthering enumerated the existing problems of the current management, and then put forward new management countermeasures such as establishing scientific management systems, improving "people-oriented" service consciousness, developing management team and constructing campus culture and so on.

Common visual representation protocol, a language independent protocol for websites

As websites are getting international in content and readership, a need for a language neutral and intuitive representation of common messages are needed for websites. We survey existing common communication standards and propose a common visual representation protocol based on sign language. Common phrase types and formation syntax for visual representation are presented. The proposed representation protocol is equally useful for mobile devices. Mobile devices are known to be characterised with users of international background, small screen, and mobile constraints. Our proposed common visual representation can be a good solution for these known challenges facing mobile devices.

Migrant Scientists and International Networks

We examine collaboration patterns of foreign scientists working in one of 16 countries in 2011 and compare them to the collaboration patterns of nonmigrant scientists and scientists with some international experience who have returned. Data come from the GlobSci survey. Major findings are that both foreign-born scientists and returnees have larger international research networks than do native researchers who lack an international background. The higher incidence of international collaboration among migrants is driven primarily by those who did not get their PhD training in the destination country but rather came for a postdoctoral position or directly for employment. We also find that a sizeable share of foreign born collaborate with researchers located in their country of origin and that migrants are also likely to collaborate with individuals from their home country who are working or studying in a third country (diaspora effect). Finally, the relative strength of the origin country’s science base matters in the sense that those who come from a relatively stronger base have superior networks compared to those coming from a relatively weaker science base.