Journal Name: Semiotica - Journal of the International Association for Semiotic Studies / Revue de l'Association Internationale de Sémiotique Volume: 2013 Issue: 196 Pages: 243-260.

This book explores the complex nexus of discourses, principles and practices within which educators mobilise school-based health education. Through an interrogation of the ideas informing particular models and approaches to health education, the authors provide critical insights into the principles and practices underpinning approaches to health education policy, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. Drawing on extensive literature and research, the book explores and considers what health education can and should do. Chapters examine the extent to which health education, past and present, (...) has attended to the needs and interests of young people in school environments, as well as assess common pedagogical approaches and whether the outcomes tally with expectations. By considering the problems in teaching health education, curriculum making, health education pedagogies and porous classrooms, the book offers a knowledge base from which educators can consider how theories and models can sit together to shape curriculum and influence practice. School Health Education in Changing Times will be of key interest to postgraduate students, researchers and academics in the field of health education. It will also be a valuable resource for teacher educators, current teachers, and those on professional development courses who want to navigate the moral minefield surrounding health education. (shrink)

School connectedness is the leading protective factor against multiple at-risk behaviors for adolescents. Its far-reaching influence, however, is not widely known. This book provides valuable information about school connectedness, including strategies on how to strengthen life-saving ties with students.

Polazeci od ideje solidarnosti u feministickom diskursu koji se bavi suocavanjem sa prosloscu u Srbiji, rad pokrece pitanje kako i zasto feminizam moze da promislja mnogostruke razlicitosti medju zenama u Srbiji. U radu se raspravlja o idejama solidarnosti, konceptu moralne odgovornosti i suocavanja sa prosloscu na koje referiraju i feministicke teorije i prakse u Srbiji. Rad otvara pitanje o solidarnosti kao o strateskom pojmu i ukazuje na politiku ukljucivanja/iskljucivanja mnogostrukih drugosti u okviru nacionalnog kolektiva. Posebna paznja usmerena je na rodne (...) kategorije i konstrukcije razlicitosti unutar njih koje su ukratko prikazane kroz rezultate analize narativa secanja dve grupe zena u Srbiji - medicinskih sestara i antiratnih aktivistkinja - koji sluze kao ilustracija razlicitosti kojima se problematizuje koncept solidarnosti. Pri tom, ukazano je da subjektiviteti, iskustva i rodne pozicije u medjusobnoj interakciji oblikuju secanja, razlicitosti, ali i odnos prema proslosti. PR Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 43007. (shrink)

Even though considerable resources have been allocated to the study of obesity, there is no consensus on its definition, causes, or solutions. Amidst ongoing debates over understandings of obesity, Obesity Canada (OC) was established to enhance the quality of life of Canadians with obesity through the advancement of anti-discrimination, policy change, and obesity prevention and treatment. Drawing upon a transdisciplinary social justice framework, we use critical thematic analysis to examine the OC website, which is the organization’s primary knowledge mobilization platform. (...) We will address the following research question: To what extent does OC serve social justice goals that promote the best interests of larger people? We argue that the social justice potential of OC ultimately falls short and conclude with some recommendations on how the site content could be enhanced with social justice principles. (shrink)

Even though considerable resources have been allocated to the study of obesity, there is no consensus on its definition, causes, or solutions. Amidst ongoing debates over understandings of obesity,...

Neurophysiological investigations of the past two decades have consistently demonstrated a deficit in sensory gating associated with schizophrenia. Phillips & Silverstein interpret this impairment as being consistent with cognitive coordination dysfunction. However, the physiological mechanisms that underlie sensory gating have not been shown to involve gamma-band oscillations or NMDA-receptors, both of which are critical neural elements in the cognitive coordination model.

This chapter focuses on the classical conceptions of justice and then examines the contemporary movements that arose to challenge these old concepts. It looks at Wakanda's record on justice. In the comics, the trial to become the Black Panther involves more than fighting, but ritual combat has always been the final and most glamorous test in Wakanda. The Wakandan philosopher Changamire quotes him in the 12‐issue run “A Nation Under Our Feet,” by Ta‐Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze. Changamire gathers not (...) just the powers that be (T'Challa the king and Aneka the rebel leader) but also ordinary citizens traumatized by the war, so that together they can navigate a path forward. Their interest is not retribution or reparation, but rather restorative justice. In the transformative justice movement, the work of justice is the work of building our capacity to take care of each other, as ordinary people in ordinary communities. (shrink)

The question of whether fluid intelligence can be differentiated from general intelligence in older adults is addressed. Data indicate that the developmental pattern of performance on fluid tasks differs from the pattern of general intelligence. These results suggest that it is important to identify changes in fluid cognitive functions associated with frontal lobe decline, as they may be early indicators of cognitive decline. (Published Online April 5 2006).

The associative theory of creativity states that creativity is associated with differences in the structure of semantic memory, whereas the executive theory of creativity emphasises the role of top-down control for creative thought. For a powerful test of these accounts, individual semantic memory structure was modelled with a novel method based on semantic relatedness judgements and different criteria for network filtering were compared. The executive account was supported by a correlation between creative ability and broad retrieval ability. The associative account (...) was independently supported, when network filtering was based on a relatedness threshold, but not when it was based on a fixed edge number or on the analysis of weighted networks. In the former case, creative ability was associated with shorter average path lengths and higher clustering of the network, suggesting that the semantic networks of creative people show higher small-worldness. (shrink)

Louis Althusser is the blemish on the field of political theory. His barely explored and partly forgotten contributions are nonetheless formative for contemporary critical thought. Interestingly, at their very core his interventions are based on his own extensive readings of early modern political thought. Therefore, this study traces Althusser's readings of Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Montesquieu and is the first to do so. Building on this, the study demonstrates how Althusser's new foundation of Marxism, which is very much alive (...) today, arises from this part of his work. Thereby, it becomes visible how the post-Marxist paradigm, which Althusser's many important students further developed, is formed through his readings of the classic thinkers of the bourgeois state. (shrink)

The scientific and literary achievements of Albrecht von Haller were never questioned, but there has been much disagreement on the issue whether he was able to bring his scientific, philosophical, and religious beliefs into a harmonius synthesis. The recent and most comprehensive book on Haller by Richard Toellner (1971) suggests that Haller's thought possessed such a unity, and this judgment has remained unchallenged. This article reopens the question by painting out discrepancies between the Cartesian, Lockean, and Newtonian strands in Haller's (...) philosophy of science, as evidenced particularly by his pivotal essay on irritability and sensibility. In opposition to vitalism Haller postulated forces innate to matter, but out of religious concerns he feared materialism and was anxious to limit the power of such innate forces. (shrink)

This article contains an analysis of Warren Neidich’s early photographic work of 1997 until 2002. These works are linked to the extensive theoretical production of the artists who connect them to the concepts of the dispositif and apparatus respectively. The article provides a close description of the parameters of four pivotal work groups of Neidich’s early practice, Brain Wash, Double Vision, Shot Reverse Shot and Law of Loci. These works were realized with the aid of low-tech devices stemming from neuro-ophthalmology, (...) marking the interface between current neuro-philosophical discourses such as the plasticity of the brain, the apparati of visual, i.e. analog and digital, culture and the philosophy of memory. It is suggested that Neidich, even though he intervenes and contributes importantly to these intermingling discourses in a broad manner, is particularly interested in the degraded and infirm implementations of human vision in order to explore new sensations and habits of perception. (shrink)

FROM THE ACTIVITIES OF THE INSTITUTE Olga Nikolić, Deana Jovanović i Igor Cvejić.

Background: The objective of this research was to review reporting of ethical concerns and community involvement in peer-reviewed systematic reviews or meta-analyses concerning American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian (AI/AN/NH) health. Methods: Text words and indexed vocabulary terms were used to query PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and the Native Health Database for systematic reviews or meta-analyses concerning AI/AN/NH health published in peer-reviewed journals, followed by a search through reference lists. Each article was abstracted by two independent reviewers; results were (...) discussed until consensus was reached. Results: We identified 107 papers published from 1986 through 2012 that were primarily about AI/AN/NH health or presented findings separately for AI/AN/NH communities. Two reported seeking indigenous reviewer feedback; none reported seeking input from tribes and communities. Approximately 7% reported on institutional review board (IRB) approval of included studies, 5% reported on tribal approval, and 4% referenced the sovereignty of AI/AN tribes. Approximately 63% used evidence from more than one AI/AN/NH population study, and 28% discussed potential benefits to communities from the synthesis research. Conclusions: Reporting of ethics and community involvement are not prominent. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses making community-level inferences may pose risks to communities. Future systematic reviews and meta-analyses should consider ethical and participatory dimensions of research. (shrink)

Progress in Neuroscience advances rapidly and promises to change some of the basic concepts we have about ourselves. The field of Neuroethics is concerned with the resulting ethical implications. In this paper, we propose a framework to systematize the questions and positions in this context. We start with the discussion of three concrete cases around the topics of treatment/enhancement, personhood and privacy. For each case, we get a set of axes along which standpoints may vary. Finally, we generalize the particular (...) axes of each case and arrive at a three-dimensional coordinate system spanned by the axes of “Liberty of Denial”, “Liberty of Use” and “Scepticism”. With this, we hope to provide a common language simplifying interdisciplinary dialogue and communication with the public. (shrink)

Zonulin is a physiological modulator of intercellular tight junctions, which upregulation is involved in several diseases like celiac disease (CeD). The polyQ gliadin fragment binds to the CXCR3 chemokine receptor that activates zonulin upregulation, leading to increased intestinal permeability in humans. Here, we report a general hypothesis based on the structural connection between the polyQ sequence of the immunogenic CeD protein, gliadin, and enteric coccidian parasites proteins. Firstly, a novel interaction pathway between the parasites and the host is described based (...) on the structural similarities between polyQ gliadin fragments and the parasite proteins. Secondly, a potential connection between coccidial infections as a novel environmental trigger of CeD is hypothesized. Therefore, this report represents a promising breakthrough for coccidian research and points out the potential role of coccidian parasites as a novel trigger of CeD that might define a preventive strategy for gluten‐related disorders in general. Also see the video abstract here: https://youtu.be/oMaQasStcFI. (shrink)