The politics of curriculum reform in New Zealand

This article addresses the impact of neoliberal thought on curriculum reform in New Zealand. A new rhetoric of neutrality and fairness, grounded in a view of the market as a 'level playing field' for maximizing student choice, is identified. Particular attention is paid to allegations by a powerful lobby group, the New Zealand Business Roundtable (NZBR), of political correctness in The New Zealand Curriculum Framework. While NZBR critics have portrayed the curriculum reform process as a victory for the politically correct Left, the paper suggests that those on the Right have been far more influential in shaping the overall direction of education policy in New Zealand. It is argued that although some members of the NZBR advance a number of legitimate criticisms against The New Zealand Curriculum Framework, the Roundtable systematically ignores the political correctness inherent in its own view of the world.     

The molecular basis of mouse sperm-zona pellucida binding: a still unresolved issue in developmental biology

During murine fertilization, sperm bind to the specialized extracellular matrix of the egg, known as the zona pellucida (ZP). This matrix is composed of three major glycoproteins designated ZP1, ZP2, and ZP3. Three models for sperm-ZP binding are now under consideration. The domain-specific model posits that adhesion relies primarily on interactions between N-glycans located within the C-terminal domain of ZP3 and a lectin-like egg-binding protein in the sperm plasma membrane. However, this model does not explain recent results obtained in studies with ZP2(mut) mice. In the supramolecular structure model, sperm bind to a three-dimensional zona matrix that depends on the cleavage status of ZP2. This paradigm does not explain the potent inhibitory effect of specific carbohydrate sequences or a C-terminal glycopeptide (gp55) derived from ZP3. Recently, O-glycans linked at Thr(155) and Thr(162) of ZP3 were implicated as potential ligands that mediate initial sperm-ZP binding. This novel model will be reviewed. A major challenge is to develop an alternate model for sperm-ZP binding that fits as much of the data as possible. Such a model is presented in this review. This paradigm could explain how the inability to cleave ZP2(mut) in ZP2(mut) mice could result in continued sperm binding to two-cell stage embryos without the formation of a supramolecular binding complex. These novel insights should guide future experiments that will eventually determine the molecular basis underlying gamete binding in the mouse and other eutherian mammals.     

Race, Culture and Curriculum Development in the USA: a study of the process of introducing a multicultural dimension into the curriculum

This study, based on the writer's participation in a curriculum development programme in a large school district in a city in the north-east corner of the USA, examines the process by which groups described as minorities, particularly African-Americans, seek to impact on mainstream school curricula. The context against which the study works is that of an African-American community seeking to challenge the curriculum for the punitive effects it has on adolescents. The study is divided into three parts; it begins with a sociological profile of the city and its schools; a second part describes the key phases through which the consultation process of the Education Board moves; and a final part examines the issues which arise in the consultation. The paper argues that curriculum development in the USA, and the struggles which characterise such development, especially around the content of the curriculum, are emblematic of the contested nature of representation in the USA. How are the images and symbols purporting to stand for different groups constructed, and who controls the construction of such images? In focusing on process in curriculum development, the paper tries to show how dominant conceptions of multiculturalism which leave mainstream knowledge unproblematised, including its racial presumptions, have difficulty in engaging with the political and social context in which racism is produced. The outcomes, the paper argues, are accommodations which allow representations of excluded groups to be added to the dominant knowledge repertoire but which leave the social character of the repertoire itself unproblematised.     

New Zealand or Aotearoa ? The Battle for Nationhood in the English Curriculum

Raymond Williams argued that education was centrally concerned with establishing and transmitting a 'selective tradition'. He identified three discourses that shape these processes of selection. This paper argues for the existence of a fourth discourse - 'education for nationhood'. The author outlines the concept of national identity and, using the history of schooling in New Zealand, argues that historically this discourse has been important in shaping educational curricula and practices. The paper focuses particularly on the role of literature in English as a subject, tracing the debate over the literature component in the latest revision of the 6th and 7th Form (senior secondary school) English curriculum in Aotearoa/New Zealand and arguing that this debate provides insight into the struggle taking place over the construction of nationhood in Aotearoa/New Zealand.     

浅谈技改工作在企业发展中的作用

因地制宜,扬长避短,深入挖潜是企业立足的根本。各个企业应在市场开发与技改工作中敢于投入,以使各个企业以及我国整个非织造布行业出现全新的气象。     

会展设计在广东经济发展中的作用

会展业通过会议和展览实现商品、技术和信息的交流,带动商业、旅游业、交通运输业、信息服务业等多种产业发展,对国家和地区的经济增长产生了巨大的拉动作用,广东拥有中国第一展的广交会的品牌,借助地处泛珠三角核心经济圈的区位优势,通过开展会展设计,全力打造国际会展之都.使会展经济成为推动广东经济发展的一个新亮点.     

The Study of Curriculum Change in Botswana with Special Reference to Primary Science: an historical perspective

This paper traces historical events in the development of primary science in Botswana. It identifies changes that have taken place from 1969 to 1989. Prior to 1969, the word science in primary schools was non-existent. Primary pupils were taught nature study which emphasised hygiene and plants. The revised 1982 primary science curriculum coincided with the period of rapid industrial developments in Botswana. The purpose of including physical science concepts in the primary science curriculum was to prepare the nation for industrialisation. The purpose of including environmental concepts in the primary science curriculum was to raise the environmental awareness of the nation.     

The body as (in) curriculum: on wars, complexes and rides

In this article the author discusses what he considers to be an ultrastructure of Michel Foucault's pedagogisation of sex, which is the expanding normative imagination of bodies and sexualities as and in curricula. Here the author proposes an inclusive reading of 'curriculum' that departs from the specific scholastic definition, one that embraces the total cultural apparatus that prescribes bodies' chronologies. Body curricula are explored by their being implied in diverse pedagogical paradigms articulating a body's development, specifically its sexual development. As a test-case, he illustrates how alternating stories of 'first sexual experiences' correspond to alternating tales of the body in/as a curricular order, the order that renders bodies 'curricular' and, as such, subject to pedagogical praxis. In an attempt to open up such body curricula to an anthropological digestion, he describes three paradigms of storying virginity, alternatively plotted as a 'war', a 'complex' and a 'ride'.     

茶文化的社会功能及对产业经济发展的作用

随着时代的发展,人们对茶文化的认识越来越多,茶文化具有四个层次、五种属性和四个特点,这些内涵为茶文化的作用提供有力支点。茶文化主要有两大类作用,其一是社会作用,分别是以德为中心、人生挑战益友、有利新农村建设、提升物质精神内容及促进开放交流;其二是经济作用,分别是增加附加值、广告促销、丰富温情、促成名牌、推动茶馆业发展及开发茶文化旅游。两类作用相互补充,互为促进。分析表明应以茶文化为纽带,积极加强茶文化传播、弘扬、研究,更好促进茶产业全面、持续、有效发展。     

The Role of Muscle Proteases and Lipases in Flavor Development During the Processing of Dry-Cured Ham

The processing of dry-cured ham is very complex and involves numerous biochemical reactions that are reviewed in this article. Muscle proteins undergo an intense proteolysis, resulting in a great number of small peptides and high amounts of free amino acids. The enzymes responsible of these changes are proteinases (cathepsins B, D, H, and L and, to a less extent, calpains) and exopeptidases (peptidases and aminopeptidases). Muscle and adipose tissue lipids are also subject to intense lipolysis, generating free fatty acids by the action of lipases that, in a second stage, are transformed to volatiles as a result of oxidation. Sensory profiles of dry-cured ham are strongly affected by these enzymatic reactions. In addition, the activity levels of the muscle enzymes significantly depend on the properties of raw ham, such as age and crossbreeding as well as the process conditions such as temperature, time, water activity, redox potential, and salt content. Thus, the control of the muscle enzyme systems, mainly proteases and lipases, is essential for the standardization of the processing and/or enhancement of flavor quality of dry-cured ham.     

The Virginia Slims identity crisis: an inside look at tobacco industry marketing to women

Objectives: Because no prior studies have comprehensively analysed previously secret tobacco industry documents describing marketing female brands, the Virginia Slims brand was studied to explore how Philip Morris and competitors develop and adapt promotional campaigns targeting women.

Methods: Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents. The majority of the documents used were from Philip Morris.

Results: The key to Virginia Slims advertising was creating an aspirational image which women associated with the brand. Virginia Slims co-opted women's liberation slogans to build a modern female image from 1968 through to the 1980s, and its market share grew from 0.24% to 3.16% during that time period. Ironically, the feminist image that worked very well for the brand was also the reason for its subsequent problems. Philip Morris experienced unprecedented losses in market share in the early 1990s, with a decline in market share for four consecutive years from 3.16% to 2.26%; they attributed this decline to both the fact that the brand's feminist image no longer appealed to young women aged 18–24 years, and increased competition from more contemporary and lower priced competitors. Throughout the 1990s, attempts to reacquire young women while retaining Virginia Slims loyal (now older) smokers were made using a "King Size" line extension, new slogans, and loyalty building promotions.

Conclusions: Tobacco advertisers initially created distinct female brands with aspirational images; continued appeal to young women was critical for long term growth. The need for established brands to evolve to maintain relevance to young women creates an opportunity for tobacco counter-marketing, which should undermine tobacco brand imagery and promote aspirational smoke-free lifestyle images. Young women age 18–24 are extremely valuable to the tobacco industry and should be a focus for tobacco control programmes.

     

Brominated flame retardants in glaucous gulls from the Norwegian Arctic: more than just an issue of polybrominated diphenyl ethers

Several, unregulated, current-use brominated flame retardants (BFRs), including hexabromobenzene (HBB), 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE), pentabromoethylbenzene (PBEB), pentabromotoluene (PBT), and hexabromocyclododecane (as total-(alpha)-HBCD), were examined in egg yolk and plasma of male and female glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) from the Norwegian Arctic. Also examined were BDE209 and 38 tri- to nona-BDE congeners and brominated biphenyl (BB) 101. The HBB, BTBPE, PBEB, and PBT had high detection frequencies and variability in male and female plasma and egg yolk samples, and their concentrations ranged from nondetectable (< 0.02-0.27 ng/g wet wt) to 2.64 ng/g wet wt. The detection frequencies and range of concentrations of non-BDE BFRs were generally highest in plasma of males relative to females. Total-(alpha)-HBCD concentrations were highest among the non-PBDE BFRs (up to 6.12 and 63.9 ng/g wet wt in plasma and egg yolk, respectively). Next highest was HBB with concentrations within a range comparable to the minor PBDEs monitored (e.g., BDE28, 116 and 155). Sum (sigma)38PBDE concentrations ranged from 2.49 to 54.5 ng/g wet wt in plasma and 81.2 to 321 ng/g wet wt in egg yolk. The BDE209 was virtually nondetectable, whereas six octa-BDEs (i.e., BDE196, 197, 201, 202, 203, and 205), as well as three nona-BDEs (i.e., BDE206, 207, and 208, and potential BDE209 debromination products) were found sporadically in plasma and egg yolk. The results from this study suggestthat in addition to PBDEs, several current-use, non-BDE BFRs undergo long-range atmospheric transport and bioaccumulate at low levels in and are maternally transferred (to eggs) in glaucous gulls from the Norwegian Arctic.     

Color Development in a Model System During Frying: Role of Individual Amino Acids and Sugars

The color of fried potato products is limited by reducing sugars, but can be affected by free amino acids. Filter paper discs saturated with solutions of amino acids in combination with glucose, fructose and sucrose were fried in oil to investigate color formation. Four phases of color development were identified; equilibrium, lag, rapid and slow phase, corresponding to the water content of the system. Lysine, 7-aminobutyric acid and glycine produced most color and glutamic acid least. Fry color of glucose and fructose systems was very similar, but sucrose systems produced less color. Glucose and fructose systems were not affected by pH changes, but there was a slight effect on sucrose systems.     

中国粮油工业的基本情况及今后的发展趋势

中国的粮油工业遍及城乡，小型分散，发展趋向是企业的生产规模将进一步向大型化、规模化方向发展；粮油产品将向着安全、优质、营养、方便的方向发展；以发展粮油食品为重点的粮油深加工将进一步加快；杂粮、杂豆和特种油脂的开发利用将进一步引起重视；粮油加工的副产品综合利用将进一步发展；粮油工业企业的节能、环保将被高度重视。     

小包装鱿鱼丝精确称量工艺的研究

通过研究发现,在鱿鱼丝称量前,控制其拉丝细度,并对原料预先进行整理、疏散都能有效的提高称量精确率.采用定量初称+二次复秤补偿的方法能更进一步提高称量精度.通过正交实验,结果表明:称量小包装化鱿鱼丝时,堆料密度为0.75 g/cm2,物料均重介于1g与1.5 g之间,补偿量为10%,在此工艺条件下,所获得的称量精确率最高...     

The Role of an Independent Netherlands Laboratory in the Trade and Industry of Edible Oils and Fats

The task of an independent laboratory within the trade of edible oils and fats is to determine the quality of shipped goods. Samples of the cargo are taken upon loading and discharge of a vessel and tested for the contractual quality specifications. The testing is performed according to contractual agreed methods of analyses. The laboratory should be recognised by the trade organisations and be tested every year on its performance. Also there is an increasing demand for analyses on contaminants, e.g. pesticide residues. This is enforced by national and international legislation. Therefore, the laboratory should be equipped with the newest analytical instruments in order to detect the requested low levels of contaminants and should keep up with the latest methods of analyses. A brief introduction of the independent laboratory in the Netherlands, the main analytical indexes agreed in the contract in the oil and fat trade, the important quality parameters, the key pollutants(including pesticide residues, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, mineral oil, phthalate, dioxin, monochloropropane, etc.) are summarized in this paper, in order to make readers understand the quality control and technical progress of the goods in the oil and fat trade by the International Organization for Standardization(ISO) and the European Union(EU), provide some references for facilitating technology exchange.     

The Role of Folic Acid Fortification in Neural Tube Defects: A Review

The worldwide prevalence of neural tube defects (NTDs) has fallen noticeably during the past 30 years, but the specific etiology and causative mechanism of NTDs remain unknown. Since introduction of mandatory fortification of grains with folic acid, a further decrease in NTD prevalence has been reported in North America and other countries with large variations among ethnic subgroups. However, a significant portion of NTDs still persists. Population data suggest that women of childbearing age may not yet be adequately targeted, while the general population may be overfortified with folic acid. While an excessive folate intake may be associated with adverse effects, there remains uncertainty about the minimum effective folate intake and status required for NTD prevention, and the safe upper folate level. Besides folate, several other lifestyle and environmental factors as well as genetic variations may influence NTD development, possibly by affecting one-carbon metabolism and thus epigenetic events.

In conclusion, mandatory folic acid fortification plays a significant part in the reduction of NTD prevalence, but possibly at a cost and with a portion of NTDs remaining. More effective preventive strategies require better understanding of the etiology of this group of birth defects.