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Effective syllabus document design hinges on an alignment between learning objectives, teaching principles and curricular policy. Much of the work on syllabus design in the English Language Teaching (ELT) context focuses on the implementation of language teaching principles, such as those from the Communication Language Teaching (CLT) approach. Limited attention has been paid to this alignment, which is pivotal for ensuring the coherence and consistency between the intended outcomes, content selection and organisation, and assessment tasks. Employing qualitative document analysis (QDA), this study identifies the core syllabus elements and their alignment with current teaching approaches in twelve, localised ELT syllabuses. Utilising elements from Richards and Rodgers' (2014) methods analysis and Nunan's (1988) syllabus design, the analysis demonstrates that while CLT principles have been incorporated into the syllabuses, misalignments remain, such as those between intended objectives and assessment tasks. This paper offers an analytic framework to guide teachers in designing a more closely aligned syllabus and making visible its connections.

Capstone experiences function as a process in which students consolidate knowledge and skills throughout their degree programme and apply this understanding towards real-world contexts. This process is most often understood, in undergraduate programmes, as a transformation of identity, moving from "student" to "professional". However, for English teaching students at the graduate level, capstone experiences deepen existing professional knowledge and expertise. This process of self-assessment and reflection on teaching can transform and regenerate these experienced English language teachers and their teaching practices. Aiming to explore the value of graduate level capstone experiences in just these regenerative and transformative processes, this study employs a symbolic interactionist framework in analysing data collected from semi-structured interviews utilising a narrative frame approach with a group of experienced Japanese English teachers who have recently completed graduate capstones and returned to their teaching roles. Perceiving capstone experiences as objects through which these graduate students view their developing professional identities, the findings reveal that the reflective space afforded to students through the capstone enabled the students to discern a junction between theoretical principles from graduate courses and practical application. A discussion centring on the implications of graduate capstone experiences for teachers is given.

Purpose: We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention research studies focused on strengthening the social information-processing (SIP) skills of children. Methods: A systematic search and review process was employed to identify, screen, and summarize research on SIP-guided interventions. Results: The search recovered 183,184 citations published from 1997 to 2022. After screening, 42 articles were retained for a full-text review. Findings from the 15 studies using more rigorous designs [i.e., 8 individual-level randomized control trials (RCTs), 5 cluster-level RCTs, and 2 quasi-experimental studies with statistical controls for selectivity] suggest that SIP-focused interventions produced statistically significant treatment effects on cognitive skills, with mean effect sizes of 0.35 on encoding, 0.13 on hostile attribution bias, 0.13 on goal formulation, 0.16 on response decision, and—more behaviorally—0.37 on aggressive and disruptive comportment. Conclusions: SIP-focused interventions are effective. If widely implemented, they hold the potential to reduce aggressive behavior in childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in statistics provide new methods for analyzing practice data. These advances include person-centered methods (PCMs) that identify subgroups of research participants with similar characteristics. PCMs derive from a frame of reference that is similar to the risk factor perspective in practice. In practice, the delivery of services is often contingent on identifying at-risk populations and then providing interventions to groups based on shared risk profiles. PCMs use this perspective. Moreover, PCMs provide a means for identifying high-risk groups with a precision rarely afforded by routine variable-centered methods. This article describes a latent profile transition analysis (LPTA), one of several PCMs. To demonstrate LPTA, we estimate risk profiles and treatment effects using data from a cohort study of a school-based social skills training program. We define four steps in PCMs analysis, describe key statistical tests, and conclude with a discussion of the strengths and limitations of PCMs for practice research. [This article was published in "Journal of Community Psychology" (EJ955395).]

UnlabelledLipid-enveloped viruses replicate and bud from the host cell where they acquire their lipid coat. Ebola virus, which buds from the plasma membrane of the host cell, causes viral hemorrhagic fever and has a high fatality rate. To date, little has been known about how budding and egress of Ebola virus are mediated at the plasma membrane. We have found that the lipid phosphatidylserine (PS) regulates the assembly of Ebola virus matrix protein VP40. VP40 binds PS-containing membranes with nanomolar affinity, and binding of PS regulates VP40 localization and oligomerization on the plasma membrane inner leaflet. Further, alteration of PS levels in mammalian cells inhibits assembly and egress of VP40. Notably, interactions of VP40 with the plasma membrane induced exposure of PS on the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane at sites of egress, whereas PS is typically found only on the inner leaflet. Taking the data together, we present a model accounting for the role of plasma membrane PS in assembly of Ebola virus-like particles.ImportanceThe lipid-enveloped Ebola virus causes severe infection with a high mortality rate and currently lacks FDA-approved therapeutics or vaccines. Ebola virus harbors just seven genes in its genome, and there is a critical requirement for acquisition of its lipid envelope from the plasma membrane of the human cell that it infects during the replication process. There is, however, a dearth of information available on the required contents of this envelope for egress and subsequent attachment and entry. Here we demonstrate that plasma membrane phosphatidylserine is critical for Ebola virus budding from the host cell plasma membrane. This report, to our knowledge, is the first to highlight the role of lipids in human cell membranes in the Ebola virus replication cycle and draws a clear link between selective binding and transport of a lipid across the membrane of the human cell and use of that lipid for subsequent viral entry.

Scientific and professional developments in the coming decade will have profound implications for social work doctoral education and the research and academic careers doctoral students are preparing for. These developments include the knowledge explosion, corporatization of the university and related effects, and the emergence of the Grand Challenges for Social Work initiative delimiting key directions for social work research and practice. We consider potential effects of these developments on doctoral social work education and proffer curricular, pedagogic, and programmatic recommendations for improving doctoral education in the coming decade.

Curricular innovations in English language programs have placed increasing emphasis on providing opportunities for students to speak in the classroom, often through communicative group activities. However, despite decades of advocacy for small group talk, a rigorous conception of the quality of talk in these groups is lacking, particularly in the ways students productively use talk to meet curriculum objectives. This paper presents an analytic framework for characterizing the productive use of small group talk, exploring data collected from English language learning students in a South Korean university. Findings demonstrate the students' talk developed in the robustness of the talk repertoires, the collaborative nature, and the connections of their talk to course outcomes. This paper closes with a discussion exploring English language students' talk, challenging current understandings of students' talk abilities by pushing beyond simple communication in a foreign language and towards productive small group talk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical reflection writing in teacher education programmes is often undertaken without appropriate learning support despite the contribution it makes to informing meaningful changes in the early stages of their teaching careers. Students' attempts at writing critical reflections often lack discursive depth when connecting theory to practice. However, teaching academics may also need to develop conceptual knowledge of critical reflection as a genre of writing to better inform teaching practices. This paper reports on a small-scale action research project which draws on a cohort of student voices to guide the creation of learning resources focused on critical reflection writing. Narrative frame style surveys and focus group discussions were used to explore students' understanding of reflection, critical reflection, and ways learning resources assist development of critical reflection writing abilities The students' responses informed the development of targeted learning resources to support critical reflection writing, and to raise their conceptual knowledge of critical reflection that may inform effective teaching practices. An implication from this study is the need to explore further ways to embed critical reflection discourse throughout teacher education so both teaching academics and studentsdevelop a common understanding of this important concept and its role in teacher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the origins, conceptual bases, psychometric properties, and limitations of consumer satisfaction measures in social welfare and behavioral health. Based on a systematic review of research reports published between 2003 and 2013, we identify 58 consumer satisfaction measures. On average, these measures have acceptable reliability (mean Cronbach's a = 0.85). However, the research on the concurrent and predictive validity of consumer satisfaction is inconclusive. We identify the following three core aspects of consumer satisfaction: (a) satisfaction with alternative elements of service, (b) promotion or recommendation of a program based on a recent service experience, and (c) subjective appraisal of change or problem resolution related to participation in a service. Attrition bias, reactivity, and confounding of ratings with the image of service providers complicate and condition the interpretation of consumer satisfaction as an outcome measure.