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Rooted in the rubrics of “Text and Reading,” this article correlates some of the new advances in the study of Ecclesiastes in the recent past. Employing four intentionally hammered out reading strategies—reading polyphonically; reading “cross the grains”; reading dialectically and reading narrativally, it seeks to demonstrate that the integration of four perspectival readings will enrich the meaning-significance of the book. Moreover, it aims at a proposal that would make some sense of this paradoxical book. https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2021/v34n3a14

The recent sociopolitical circumstances in Germany have led to the popularization of teaching German as a foreign language (Deutsch als Fremdsprache, DaF) within the country. To cater to the different needs or goals of learners, various DaF materials including those for specific occupational purposes have been designed. Assuming that dialogues in contemporary DaF textbooks constitute the important means of socializing learners into the use of the target language in real-life communication, this paper examined 29 conversations provided in an audio recording of a DaF textbook for non-physician healthcare workers. The healthcare sector was chosen because it is the profession in which DaF foreigners are often recruited. The major objective of the current research is to identify any pedagogic values of the dialogues. To this end, the utterances of the medical personnel in the dialogues were analyzed in accordance with Halliday’s (1975) model about the seven functions of language. Attention was also paid to how these functions are linguistically manifested for medical communication as well as the construction of professional identity. The findings underscore the different roles which healthcare employees play in their workplace. These roles include providing or gathering information, building up rapport and regulating patients’ behavior. Besides, the function-form correspondence is evident in the data. For instance, where the “instrumental” function is concerned, the healthcare workers tend to articulate their medical routine as a desire with ich möchte [I want to]. On the other hand, the “personal” function is typically realized by phrases like ich glaube [I believe], which preface the healthcare workers’ medical judgment or advice. Last but not least, the data offer insights into how healthcare workers perform their professional identity during communication. One example is the simultaneous use of medical jargon and its generic equivalent (e.g., Amlodipin [amlodipine] versus Blutdrucktabletten [blood pressure tablets]) to display their expertise without jeopardizing patients’ understanding. Given the findings of this study, DaF practitioners working in the field of Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP)are advised to use the dialogues in textbooks to systematically cultivate learners’ consciousness of how linguistic resources can be mobilized for communication in their profession.

This paper is a comparative analysis of the English language assessment of the university entrance examinations “la Selectividad” and “das Abitur” administered nationwide in Spain and Germany respectively. It is of particular interest to researchers and practitioners of English as a foreign language. The major objective of the current research is to identify any similarities and/or differences in the assessment of English as a foreign language for university admission between the two countries. To this end, the test papers used in 2015 for students in Madrid and Berlin were investigated qualitatively. In order for the analysis to be more systematic, the framework from Douglas (2000) was employed. The findings demonstrate that the two national tests share some similarities. First, the candidates of both tests are required to read the given textual input first before they can complete the writing tasks. Second, listening and speaking skills are not assessed in both tests. On the other hand, overt contrasts between the two tests were identified. The assessment designed for the German students takes longer to complete, and it contains a markedly larger amount of textual data. Furthermore, Spanish students are expected to give “selected response” or “limited response” most of the time while “extended response” to all questions is elicited from German candidates. The findings of this study are valuable because they have shown that the national assessment of English as a foreign language for university admission can vary greatly across non-English-speaking European countries. The assessment in Germany appears to be more challenging than the one in Spain, notwithstanding the very early start of English learning among Spanish children. Given the status of English as an international language, it is highly recommended that some measures be taken, at least among members of the European Union (e.g., via a committee modeling on the Bologna Process), to harmonize the assessment of English as a foreign language for the purpose of university admission

This article rejects the insider/outsider dichotomy as a framework for understanding researcher-researched relationship. It complicates the over-simplified, bounded and binary construct by underlining how insiderness-outsiderness is dynamic and multiple, highly contextualised in the specific space-time of interactions between the researcher and her "research subject". In particular, the article underlines the power of space, place and time in researchers' attempt to establish and manage relationship with the people they study. It puts forth the notion of "spatial-temporal reach" to make sense of the complex, dynamic, deeply situated and often unplannable relationalities between researchers and their research participants. Episodes from the author's journey as a "migrant researcher" illustrate how sensitivity to (socio)spatialities (as in insiderness-outsiderness) and temporalities (such as age, generation, life cycle, time and frequency of research contact) help us, as researchers, reflect on our positionalities, experiences and emotions in knowledge co-production with the people whom we study, that in turn, shape our understanding of our own identities and heritage. URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1502130

The civic mission of schools in nurturing political literature, critical thinking and participatory citizens has always been played down in Hong Kong schools. On one hand, teaching civic education has never been ranked high in the education agenda. On the other hand, because of the conservative nature of schools, students are rarely encouraged to participate in school governance for the enhancement of their citizenship development. Funded by the General Research Fund (GRF) in Hong Kong, the authors conducted a quantitative survey on students’ participation in school governance and their citizenship development in 2013 to explore 1) students’ conception of “good citizens”; 2) the level and scope of student participation in school governance; and 3) the facilitating and hindering factors influencing student participation. This paper is a report on the simple statistical results of the survey findings. With reference to Westheimer and Kahne’s typologies, the findings revealed that the students had an eclectic understanding of citizenship, with higher scores for Personally Responsible Citizen and lower scores for Participatory, Justice Oriented and Patriotic Citizen, reflecting a conservative orientation. Concerning the implementation of school civic mission through student participation in school governance, it was found that students were rarely allowed to engage in important school matters, such as formulation of school rules and discussion of the school development plan. Our findings also revealed that schools were more inclined to inform students and consult them rather than confer real participation and powers to them. The paper concludes that the current practice of student participation in school governance does not facilitate the nurturing of active participatory citizens, particularly of a Justice Oriented nature, and this is urgently needed for the democratic development of Hong Kong.

‘Now, of course, we live in Thatcher’s psyche if not her anus, in the world she made, of competition, consumerism, celebrity and guilt’s bastard son, charity: bingeing and debt.’ Hanif Kureishi (2008: 271) The hidden injuries of the neo-liberal University. In a recently published piece titled ‘Breaking the Silence: The Hidden Injuries of the Neoliberal University,’ Rosalind Gill reflects upon the experiences of academic work at Uk universities. Inspired by her text, we wish to ...

The recent case of Shayara Bano v Union of India heard before the Supreme Court of India provide helpful guidance for how a secular democratic regime with a multiplicity of religious, ethnic, and cultural communities can manage constitutional governance with an increasing number of seemingly irreconcilable tensions. Pluralist societies such as Canada and the United States grapple with a variety of delicate balancing acts: in such instance, the need to reconcile accommodation for religious and cultural minorities with the protection of gender rights on the other.

Objective: To establish a strategy for evaluating coolant effectiveness and to compare typical cooling conditions used in dental cutting. Materials and Methods: A test system comprising a resistive heat source and an array of four type K thermocouples was used to compare the cooling effectiveness of air alone, water stream alone, and an air-water spray, as delivered by representative air-turbine handpieces. Mean temperature change at the four sites was recorded for a range of water flow rates in the range 10 to 90 mLmin"1, with and without air, and with and without the turbine running. The thermal resistance of the system, R, was calculated as the temperature change per watt (KW-1). Results: For wet cooling (water stream and air-water spray), R was 5.1 to 11.5 KW-1, whereas for air coolant alone the range was 18.5 to 30.7 KW-1. R for air-water spray was lower than for water stream cooling at the same flow rate Conclusions: The thermal resistivity approach is a viable means of comparative testing of cooling efficacy in simulated dental cutting. It may provide a reliable means of testing handpiece nozzle design, thus enabling the development of more efficient cooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]