Ready to Learn White Paper on Early Childhood Education

The purpose of this White Paper is to set out Government policy on all issues relating to early childhood education. An essential starting point is to define what we mean by early childhood education. The Department of Education and Science�s mission is to support the development of a high quality education system which will enable individuals to develop to their full potential as persons and to participate fully as citizens in Ireland�s social and economic development. For many years, it was considered that education began when children went to school and ended when students left the formal education system at the end of first, second or third level. There is growing recognition of the importance of lifelong learning and the idea that children learn from the earliest moment and continue to learn throughout their lives. Education is concerned with all the phases of life, including the very early childhood phase.

White Paper on Adult Education Learning for Life

This is Ireland’s first White Paper on Adult Education and marks the adoption of lifelong learning as the governing principle of educational policy. The Paper reflects on the role of adult education in society, builds on the consultation process following publication of the Green Paper, and sets out the Government’s policies and priorities for the future development of the sector. It does not aim to provide a policy blueprint for the training sector given that this work is being advanced through the National Employment Action Plans and previous publications, and the work of the Task Force on Lifelong Learning recently established by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Rather, it seeks to ensure that there is a fit and complementarity between education and training provision, so as to ensure that learners can move progressively and incrementally within an over-arching co-ordinated and learner-centred framework.

This white line will affect the way you see this one

This poster raises awareness about the danger of taking drugs and driving. The message on the poster is 'Drugs affect your driving - Never take drugs and drive.' It also provides contact details for the National Drugs Helpline. Tel: 0800 776600.

Representing diffusion MRI in 5D for segmentation of white matter tracts with a level set method.

We present a method for segmenting white matter tracts from high angular resolution diffusion MR. images by representing the data in a 5 dimensional space of position and orientation. Whereas crossing fiber tracts cannot be separated in 3D position space, they clearly disentangle in 5D position-orientation space. The segmentation is done using a 5D level set method applied to hyper-surfaces evolving in 5D position-orientation space. In this paper we present a methodology for constructing the position-orientation space. We then show how to implement the standard level set method in such a non-Euclidean high dimensional space. The level set theory is basically defined for N-dimensions but there are several practical implementation details to consider, such as mean curvature. Finally, we will show results from a synthetic model and a few preliminary results on real data of a human brain acquired by high angular resolution diffusion MRI.

Wolves in sheep's clothing: SDO asymmetrically predicts perceived ethnic victimization among White and Latino students across three years

Dominant groups have claimed to be the targets of discrimination on several historical occasions during violent intergroup conflict and genocide.The authors argue that perceptions of ethnic victimization among members of dominant groups express social dominance motives and thus may be recruited for the enforcement of group hierarchy. They examine the antecedents of perceived ethnic victimization among dominants, following 561 college students over 3 years from freshman year to graduation year. Using longitudinal, cross-lagged structural equation modeling, the authors show that social dominance orientation (SDO) positively predicts perceived ethnic victimization among Whites but not among Latinos, whereas victimization does not predict SDO over time. In contrast, ethnic identity and victimization reciprocally predicted each other longitudinally with equal strength among White and Latino students. SDO is not merely a reflection of contextualized social identity concerns but a psychological, relational motivation that undergirds intergroup attitudes across extended periods of time and interacts with the context of group dominance.

Morphological and biochemical characterization of the aetiological agents of white piedra

The Trichosporon genus is constituted by many species, of which Trichosporon ovoides and Trichosporon inkin are the causative agents of white piedra. They can cause nodules in genital hair or on the scalp. At present, Brazilian laboratory routines generally do not include the identification of the species of Trichosporon genus, which, although morphologically and physiologically distinct, present many similarities, making the identification difficult. The aim of this study was to identify the aetiological agents at the species level of white piedra from clinical specimens. Therefore, both the macro and micro morphology were studied, and physiological tests were performed. Trichosporon spp. was isolated from 10 clinical samples; T. ovoides was predominant, as it was found in seven samples, while T. inkin was identified just in two samples. One isolate could not be identified at the species level. T. inkin was identified for the first time as a white piedra agent in the hair shaft on child under the age of 10.

Pathophysiology and classification of the vibration white finger.

Skin, arteries and nerves of the upper extremities can be affected by vibration exposure. Recent advances in skin and vascular biology as well as new investigative methods, have shown that neurovascular symptoms may be due to different vascular and neurological disorders which should be differentiated if proper management is to be evaluated. Three types of vascular disorder can be observed in the vibration white finger: digital organic microangiopathy, a digital vasospastic phenomenon and arterial thrombosis in the upper extremities. An imbalance between endothelin-1 and calcitonin-gene-related peptide is probably responsible for the vasospastic phenomenon. Moreover, paresthesiae can be due to either a diffuse vibration neuropathy or a carpal tunnel syndrome. A precise diagnosis is then necessary to adapt the treatment to individual cases. A classification describing the type and severity of the vascular lesions is presented. Asymptomatic lesions are included for adequate epidemiological studies and risk assessment of vibrating tools. Monitoring of vibration exposed workers should include not only a questionnaire about symptoms, but also a clinical evaluation including diagnostic tests for the screening of early asymptomatic neurovascular injuries.

Taula rodona entorn de les 'Regles de esquivar vocables i mots grossers o pagesívols': Intervenció d'Albert Rossich

Intervenció lliure d’Albert Rossich en la taula rodona entorn de les 'Regles de esquivar vocables i mots grossers o pagesívols', què va tenir lloc el 15 de gener de 2004 a la Sala de Graus de la Facultat de Filologia de la Universitat de Barcelona. Aquesta taula rodona se situa en el marc d’un Seminari de Cultura Catalana i Moderna coordinat per Lola Badia i Eulàlia Duran, del Departament de Filologia Catalana de la mateixa Universitat. Hi van participar Antoni Maria Badia i Margarit, Germà Colón, Antoni Ferrando i Mariàngela Vilallonga ; Agustí Alcoberro hi va actuar de moderador

La Sociedad Geográfica de Madrid y el colonialismo español en Marruecos (1876-1956)

L’objectiu central de l’article és analitzar l’actitud que es manifestà a la Sociedad Geogràfica de Madrid en relació amb l’acció colonial espanyola al Marroc, des del 1876 —any de creació de la Societat— fins al 1956 —independència del Marroc i consegüent finalització del protectorat espanyol—. Així mateix, s’examinen les actuacions que dugué a terme per impulsar l’esmentat procés, els mecanismes que utilitzà per influir en la política exterior i en la societat espanyoles i les repercussions de la seva activitat

Piette, Albert: L'acte d'exister, préface de Fabrice Clément, postface de Laurence Kaufmann, 2009

L'ensemble de l'oeuvre d'Albert Piette pourrait être défini comme une anthropologie du détail. L'acte d'exister semble clore un cycle initié par Le mode mineur de la réalité (1992) et poursuivi notamment dans l'Être humain. Une question de détails (2007). En effet, l'ouvrage constitue une boîte à outils épistémologiques, méthodologiques, pratiques et critiques de l'étude descriptive de « l'homme, un être vivant parmi d'autres, un détail comme tous ceux-ci, à l'échelle planétaire et évolutionnaire, mais un détail singulier capable de savoir ».