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1 – 10 of 463Yue-Juan Pan and Xia Li
The kindergarten curriculum in mainland China has evolved through four periods and the current reform began in the end of 1980s. The reform aimed to transform kindergarten…
Abstract
The kindergarten curriculum in mainland China has evolved through four periods and the current reform began in the end of 1980s. The reform aimed to transform kindergarten practice by shaping ideologies including respect for individual child, active learning, and play-based integrated curriculum. This review of research literatures shows that compared with the practice before the reform, many kindergarten teachers organize classrooms in learning centers, provide more play materials, pay time, and freedom for free play, and pay more attention to individuals. But indoor space organized in rice-seedling-bed model, teacher-led group instruction and teacher-controlled interactions are still often observed after three decades of reform efforts; there still exist great variations among kindergartens of different sponsoring bodies and in different regions. The problems resulted from the innate deficiencies of the top-down and value-priority reform, the conflicts between the advocated value and the traditional Chinese culture with emphasis on Ming-Fen, testing, and the value of children for the whole family and nation, and the unequal distribution of public resources decided by the educational institutions. Therefore, the curriculum reform is not a separate endeavor from other social changes, but a comprehensive and systematic change. To guarantee the success of the curriculum reform, the Chinese society needs cultural transformation and institutional reconstruction.
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This chapter investigates how and to which extent the European Union (EU)-related content is taught in Romania, by analyzing the school curricula and the teaching and learning…
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This chapter investigates how and to which extent the European Union (EU)-related content is taught in Romania, by analyzing the school curricula and the teaching and learning methods at undergraduate level (primary and secondary school). It distinguishes between formal and non-formal education on European issues and emphasizes the role of teaching and learning the EU in building European identity and the sense of belonging to the EU. Both textbooks (as traditional learning tools) and various educational activities and learning methods using digital technologies (digital platforms, databases, simulations, games, etc.) are taken into account. The examples of non-formal activities presented in this chapter help to better understand the EU, its regions, its institutions, and their functioning. This chapter suggests the need to focus more the school curricula on skills training, participatory learning, education of values and attitudes, and less on mechanical transmission of information. The examples of good practice presented show the role of the European education, whether classical education or that one based on the use of new communication technologies, in the formation of an European consciousness, in the better understanding of the present by learning the past and in the development of participatory attitudes.
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Tulsi Pawan Fowdur, Satyadev Rosunee, Robert T. F. Ah King, Pratima Jeetah and Mahendra Gooroochurn
In this chapter, a general introduction on artificial intelligence (AI) is given as well as an overview of the advances of AI in different engineering disciplines, including its…
Abstract
In this chapter, a general introduction on artificial intelligence (AI) is given as well as an overview of the advances of AI in different engineering disciplines, including its effectiveness in driving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). This chapter begins with some fundamental definitions and concepts on AI and machine learning (ML) followed by a classification of the different categories of ML algorithms. After that, a general overview of the impact which different engineering disciplines such as Civil, Chemical, Mechanical, Electrical and Telecommunications Engineering have on the UN SDGs is given. The application of AI and ML to enhance the processes in these different engineering disciplines is also briefly explained. This chapter concludes with a brief description of the UN SDGs and how AI can positively impact the attainment of these goals by the target year of 2030.
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Anna Visvizi, Mark Field and Marta Pachocka
“Teaching the European Union” is a term as elusive as the notions of “EU Studies” or “European Studies,” both discussed and debated by generations of scholars and practitioners…
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“Teaching the European Union” is a term as elusive as the notions of “EU Studies” or “European Studies,” both discussed and debated by generations of scholars and practitioners. The case of the EU, and of the art of teaching EU-related content, is one of the most striking examples, where the emphasis on values and principles cannot be passed by indifferently. What is being taught and how it is being taught have a direct impact on the trajectory of the European integration process today and in the years to come. The objective of this introductory chapter is to offer a brief insight into the book’s context and the book’s relevance. Against this backdrop this volume’s content is outlined. A few points for the readers to consider follow.
Nicola Petrosillo and Rok ivljak
The largest ever outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD), which began in December 2013, profoundly impacted not only the West African countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia…
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The largest ever outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD), which began in December 2013, profoundly impacted not only the West African countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, and to a lesser extent Nigeria, but also the rest of the world because some patients needed to be managed in high-resource countries. As of March 29, 2016, there were 28,616 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of EVD reported in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone during the outbreak, with 11,310 deaths (case fatality rate of 39.5%). An unprecedented number of healthcare workers and professionals, including physicians, nurses, logistic and administrative personnel, housekeepers, epidemiologists, statisticians, psychologists, sociologists, and ethics experts in many countries, were directly or indirectly involved in the care of EVD patients.
The provision of medical care to critically ill EVD patients would have been challenging in any setting but was especially so in the remote and resource-limited areas where patients were stricken by EVD. Limited health personnel, medical supplies, and equipment, along with inadequate knowledge and skills for minimizing the risks of transmission to healthcare workers, could have led to the de-prioritization of patient care. However, ethical considerations demanded aggressive patient care (intensive care, dialysis, central vascular catheter indwelling, etc.) to produce positive outcomes without increasing the risks to healthcare workers and caregivers.
A major ethical consideration was that healthcare workers have a double obligation: while providing the best medical care to improve EVD patient survival, with symptom relief and palliation as required, they must also protect themselves and minimize further transmission to others, including their colleagues. During the 2014–2015 EVD epidemic, another ethical and clinical problem arose in relation to the management of healthcare workers deployed in Africa who acquired EVD while caring for infected patients. As of June 24, 2015, a total of 65 individuals had been evacuated or repatriated worldwide from the EVD-affected countries, of whom 38 individuals were evacuated or repatriated to Europe. The need for evacuation and repatriation, together with associated ethical issues, is discussed in this chapter.
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Shreyas S. Limaye and Christina M. Mastrangelo
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a major cause of concern because of the high levels of associated morbidity, mortality, and cost. In addition, children and intensive…
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Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a major cause of concern because of the high levels of associated morbidity, mortality, and cost. In addition, children and intensive care unit (ICU) patients are more vulnerable to these infections due to low levels of immunity. Various medical interventions and statistical process control techniques have been suggested to counter the spread of these infections and aid early detection of an infection outbreak. Methods such as hand hygiene help in the prevention of HAIs and are well-documented in the literature. This chapter demonstrates the utilization of a systems methodology to model and validate factors that contribute to the risk of HAIs in a pediatric ICU. It proposes an approach that has three unique aspects: it studies the problem of HAIs as a whole by focusing on several HAIs instead of a single type, it projects the effects of interventions onto the general patient population using the system-level model, and it studies both medical and behavioral interventions and compares their effectiveness. This methodology uses a systems modeling framework that includes simulation, risk analysis, and statistical techniques for studying interventions to reduce the transmission likelihood of HAIs.
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Tim Kessler and Michael Stephan
As an answer for the limited growth potentials of diversification and internationalization, services became increasingly important for industrial firms in recent years. Based on…
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As an answer for the limited growth potentials of diversification and internationalization, services became increasingly important for industrial firms in recent years. Based on existing and established business concepts, companies explore new segments in their traditional value chains beyond traditional market penetration strategies: they pursue service transition strategies to open up new sources for growth, even in markets that do not promise great expansion potential. Our paper addresses the issue of economies of scope of service transition. In this context, we first explore the question, to what extent the insights about product diversification strategies from physical goods sectors can be transferred to the service sector. Using competence-based considerations on diversification we focus on dynamic economies of scope, whose central idea is exploration and development of new resources rather than the static exploitation of existing ones. Furthermore, we integrate the largely neglected issue of how the phenomenon of service diversification depends on the industry's life cycle stage. In a small empirical study of the German mechanical engineering industry we demonstrate that diversification steps into services require a shift in the resource and competence base of firms. Using a dynamic perspective, we construct a conceptual framework for analyzing and explaining the advantages of service transition strategies. The developed model describes a service diversification trajectory and points out that the establishment of a profitable service business requires the exploration and development of competences and adequate organizational structures.