Increasing intercultural competence and tolerance in multicultural schools: A Training Program and its effectiveness

This study reports the implementation of a Training of Intercultural Competence and Tolerance (TICT) for upper-secondary school students and the empirical evaluation of its effectiveness. The TICT program was developed to counteract increasing interethnic conflicts in the North Caucasus Federal District of Russia. It is based on the theoretical and empirical framework of social psychology and cross-cultural psychology. The training effectiveness was assessed by conducting pre- and post-surveys among the training participants. The results indicate that TICT contributes to the development of a positive ethnic identity and the formation of a civic identity among the participating youth. It also increases their optimism regarding the future of interethnic relations in Russia and the subjective level of intercultural competence of majority group youth towards minority cultures. Thus, the evaluation of the training effectiveness of the TICT has shown that the aims of the training have been achieved to a large extent and that the Training of Intercultural Competence and Tolerance can be effectively used to prevent interethnic conflicts and promote interethnic relations in multicultural schools. Suggestions for the practical implementation of the TICT as well as for future research on the training's effectiveness are discussed.

Mobile competence network for community health workers in rural Myanmar: a supportive information system that facilitates the improvement of health services.

The goal of this project is the development of international cooperation for fostering solutions to provide better access to basic healthcare services.

The orf13 T-DNA gene of Agrobacterium rhizogenes confers meristematic competence to differentiated cells

Plant infections by the soil bacterium Agrobacterium rhizogenes result in neoplastic disease with the formation of hairy roots at the site of infection. Expression of a set of oncogenes residing on the stably integrated T-DNA is responsible for the disease symptoms. Besides the rol (root locus) genes, which are essential for the formation of hairy roots, the open reading frame orf13 mediates cytokinin-like effects, suggesting an interaction with hormone signaling pathways. Here we show that ORF13 induced ectopic expression of KNOX (KNOTTED1-like homeobox) class transcription factors, as well as of several genes involved in cell cycle control in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). ORF13 has a retinoblastoma (RB)-binding motif and interacted with maize (Zea mays) RB in vitro, whereas ORF13, bearing a point mutation in the RB-binding motif (ORF13*), did not. Increased cell divisions in the vegetative shoot apical meristem and accelerated formation of leaf primordia were observed in plants expressing orf13, whereas the expression of orf13* had no influence on cell division rates in the shoot apical meristem, suggesting a role of RB in the regulation of the cell cycle in meristematic tissues. On the other hand, ectopic expression of LeT6 was not dependent on a functional RB-binding motif. Hormone homeostasis was only altered in explants of leaves, whereas in the root no effects were observed. We suggest that ORF13 confers meristematic competence to cells infected by A. rhizogenes by inducing the expression of KNOX genes and promotes the transition of infected cells from the G1 to the S phase by binding to RB.

Executive functioning, metacognition, and self-perceived competence in elementary school children: An explorative study on their interrelations and their role for school achievement

In the present study, associations between executive functioning, metacognition, and self-perceived competence in the context of early academic outcomes were examined. A total of 209 children attending first grade were initially assessed in terms of their executive functioning and academic self-concept. One year later, children’s executive functioning, academic self-concept, metacognitive monitoring and control, as well as their achievement in mathematics and literacy were evaluated. Structural equation modeling revealed that executive functioning was significantly related to metacognitive control, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, and that self-concept was substantially associated with metacognitive monitoring, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Individual differences in executive functioning and metacognitive control were significantly related to academic outcomes, with metacognitive control appearing to yield a more circumscribed influence on academic outcomes (only literacy) compared to executive functioning (literacy and mathematics).

A point mutation in cpsE renders Streptococcus pneumoniae nonencapsulated and enhances its growth, adherence and competence

BackgroundThe polysaccharide capsule is a major virulence factor of the important human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae. However, S. pneumoniae strains lacking capsule do occur.ResultsHere, we report a nasopharyngeal isolate of Streptococcus pneumoniae composed of a mixture of two phenotypes; one encapsulated (serotype 18C) and the other nonencapsulated, determined by serotyping, electron microscopy and fluorescence isothiocyanate dextran exclusion assay.By whole genome sequencing, we demonstrated that the phenotypes differ by a single nucleotide base pair in capsular gene cpsE (C to G change at gene position 1135) predicted to result in amino acid change from arginine to glycine at position 379, located in the cytoplasmic, enzymatically active, region of this transmembrane protein. This SNP is responsible for loss of capsule production as the phenotype is transferred with the capsule operon. The nonencapsulated variant is superior in growth in vitro and is also 117-fold more adherent to and more invasive into Detroit 562 human epithelial cells than the encapsulated variant.Expression of six competence pathway genes and one competence-associated gene was 11 to 34-fold higher in the nonencapsulated variant than the encapsulated and transformation frequency was 3.7-fold greater.ConclusionsWe identified a new single point mutation in capsule gene cpsE of a clinical S. pneumoniae serotype 18C isolate sufficient to cause loss of capsule expression resulting in the co-existence of the encapsulated and nonencapsulated phenotype. The mutation caused phenotypic changes in growth, adherence to epithelial cells and transformability. Mutation in capsule gene cpsE may be a way for S. pneumoniae to lose its capsule and increase its colonization potential.

Multilingualism and age:The consequences of retirement on multilingual competence

OBJECTIVES: The research question for this project mainly concentrates on the sociolinguistic aspects of a socalled “language related major life event” (De Bot, 2007): retirement. “Language related major life events” are events in the lifespan that are important for changes happening in the linguistic setting which influence the language development. In my paper I will explore changes happening around retirement in regard to multilingual competence. The focus will be on two groups: Italian migrants living in the city of Berne and Swissgerman-speakers, both at the age around retirement. The above mentioned changes can take place on two levels. (1) On the one hand, people have more time for curricular activities after retirement, which they can use in order to learn new languages or to improve their language skills. In this case we are dealing with the concept of “lifelong learning”. (2) On the other hand, language competence can be lost due to the (partial) loss of the retiree’s social network at their former workplace. METHODS: I will first examine these processes by using quantitative questionnaires in order to obtain general information on demographic data, the social situation, and a self-assessment of linguistic skills. Secondly, I will use qualitative interviews to gain in-depth information on the linguistic changes happening around retirement and their link to different factors, such as social networks, education, gender or the language biography. RESULTS: Since the project is still in its early stages of development, clear results can’t be mentioned yet. By May 2012 I will be able to present results of the quantitative study as well as a first glance into the results of the qualitative part of the project. CONCLUSION: The results of this project are meant to benefit the better insight into different aspects that haven’t been looked at in detail till this point. (1) What is the general and linguistic situation of Italian migrants who decided to remain in Switzerland after retirement and how can their linguistic skills affect their quality of living? (2) Who decides to learn a new language after retirement and how should language courses for older people be designed?

Competence-Mapping CDE : Resultate einer Umfrage im Herbst 2009

Anlässlich einer CDE Retraite im Frühjahr 2009 wurde die Frage der Entwicklung von Kompetenzen am CDE diskutiert. Eine Schlussfolgerung war, dass es notwendig sei, eine systematischeren Umgang mit diesem Thema zu entwickeln. Eine Arbeitsgruppe wurde eingesetzt, welche einen Vorschlag erarbeitete, wie ein Kompetenz-Mapping durchgeführt werden sollte. Im Herbst 2009 wurde entsprechend diesem Vorschlag unter den Mitarbeitenden des CDE eine Umfrage zur Erfassung des Ist-Zustandes betreffend Kompetenzen durchgeführt.

Bridging Research and Development : Partnership Actions for Mitigating Syndromes (PAMS) in the Swiss National Centre of Competence (NCCR) North-South - Capitalising on Experience

Within the framework of Switzerland’s international NCCR North-South research programme, Partnership Actions for Mitigating Syndromes (PAMS) are a practice-oriented component with a transdisciplinary approach. By linking research and development practice, they bring together researchers, practitioners and local communities in a common effort to test and evaluate research findings in concrete development contexts. They provide unique insights into innovative approaches and opportunities for promoting sustainable development in countries of the South and East. After an initial four-year phase, the PAMS projects implemented to date were evaluated in order to learn about their potentials and limits, as well as to decide on the direction of the component for the next phase of the programme. The present publication presents the results of this evaluation.

Meta-cognition about biological sex and gender-stereotypic physical appearance: Consequences for the assessment of leadership competence

Previous findings are inconsistent with regard to whether men are judged as being more or less competent leaders than women. However, masculine-relative to feminine-looking persons seem to be judged consistently as more competent leaders. Can this different impact of biological sex and physical appearance be due to the disparate availability of meta-cognitive knowledge about both sources? The results of Study 1 indicated that individuals possess meta-cognitive knowledge about a possible biasing influence of persons’ biological sex, but not for their physical appearance. In Study 2, participants judged the leadership competence of a male versus female stimulus person with either masculine or feminine physical appearance. In addition, the available cognitive capacity was manipulated. When high capacity was available, participants corrected for the influence of stimulus persons’ sex, but they fell prey to this influence under cognitive load. However, the effect of physical appearance was not moderated by cognitive capacity.