Voice onset time of voiceless bilabial and velar stops in 3-year-old bilingual children and their age-matched monolingual peers

This study investigates aspects of voice onset time (VOT) of voiceless bilabial and velar stops in monolingual and bilingual children. VOT poses a special challenge for bilingual Spanish- and English-speaking children because although this VOT distinction exists in both languages, the values differ for the same contrast across Spanish and English. Twenty-four 3-year-olds participated in this study (8 bilingual Spanish–English, 8 monolingual Spanish and 8 monolingual English). The VOT productions of /p/ and /k/ in syllable-initial stressed singleton position were compared across participants. Non-parametric statistical analyses were performed to examine differences (1) between monolinguals and bilinguals and (2) between English and Spanish. The main findings of the study were that monolingual and bilingual children generally differed on VOT in English, but not in Spanish. No statistically significant differences were found between the Spanish and the English VOT of the bilingual children, but the VOT values did differ significantly for monolingual Spanish- versus monolingual English-speaking participants. Our findings were interpreted in terms of Flege’s Speech Learning Model, finding possible evidence for equivalence classification.     

Evidence for a minimal competence core of consonant sounds in the speech of African American children: A preliminary study

Most studies have stressed those aspects of African American English (AAE) that differ from Standard English (SE) varieties. Therefore word‐ final consonant performance has been investigated most often. In contrast, this intensive study aimed to reveal whether a common core of initial consonants is used by typically developing AAE children at or close to the 3^rd birthday. More than 2000 phonetically transcribed utterances were extracted from the audiovisual archives of natural samples of speech for seven children. All seven children met the productivity criterion for a shared core of 15 sounds in their repertoire of correctly produced word‐initial consonants. The children also met the criterion for using word‐initial consonant clusters or blends that commonly included the stop+sonorant type. The results provided preliminary evidence for a minimal competence core of word‐initial consonants that is consistent with developmental data on typically developing speakers of SE and other languages besides English. Sample sizes of more than 50 spontaneous utterances were required to elicit these core features. Research and clinical implications of these results are discussed.     

中英文测试材料对正常青年人可接受噪声级影响的研究

目的：用难易程度不同的中文测试材料和英文测试材料进行可接受噪声级（acceptable noise level , ANL）测试,探讨不同测试材料对ANL测试的影响,为汉语普通话测试材料的研发提供参考。方法编制出汉语普通话白话文、文言文和英文三种测试材料,对54例听力正常青年人进行 A N L 测试,分别获得最舒适响度级（most comfortable loudness ,MCL）和最大背景噪声级（background noise level ,BNL）,根据ANL＝ MCL －BNL计算出ANL值,对汉语普通话白话文、文言文和英文三种测试材料测得的ANL值,ANL相关性,MCL、BNL与ANL的相关性及英语理解和表达能力与英文ANL的相关性分别进行统计学分析。结果汉语普通话白话文、文言文和英文三种测试材料测得的A N L值分别为2．61±3．65、1．85±3．69、0．31±3．71 dB ,白话文与文言文、白话文与英文、文言文与英文的ANL均存在统计学差异（均为 P＜0．05）;但三者间 ANL值的差值仅为0．76、2．3和1．54 dB ,均＜3 dB ,无临床意义。白话文与文言文、白话文与英文和文言文与英文测试材料测得的A N L值均呈现明显的相关趋势,r值分别为0．83、0．81和0．86（P＜0．05）。三种测试材料测得的MCL与ANL均无相关关系,r值分别为－0．11、－0．07和－0．08（均为 P＞0．05）,BNL 和 ANL均存在负相关关系,r值分别为－0．61、－0．54和－0．56（均为 P＜0．05）。英语理解能力、英语表达能力与英文A N L值均无相关关系,r值分别为0．04和－0．03（均为 P＞0．05）。结论汉语测试材料的难易程度对ANL值无影响;中文和英文测试材料对ANL值也无影响;受试者对英文的熟悉程度与ANL值无相关性;受试者接受背景噪声的能力越强,其ANL值越小;编制标准的汉语普通话ANL测试材料时需谨慎考虑测试材料的难易程度。     

Promoting normal birth and reducing caesarean section rates: An evaluation of the Rapid Improvement Programme

This paper evaluates the impact of the 2008 Rapid Improvement Programme that aimed at promoting normal birth and reducing caesarean section rates in the English National Health Service. Using Hospital Episode Statistics maternity records for the period 2001–2013, a panel data analysis was performed to determine whether the implementation of the programme reduced caesarean sections rates in participating hospitals. The results obtained using either the unadjusted sample of hospitals or a trimmed sample determined by a propensity score matching approach indicate that the impact of the programme was small. More specifically there were 2.3 to 3.4 fewer caesarean deliveries in participating hospitals, on average, during the postprogramme period offering a limited scope for cost reduction. This result mainly comes from the reduction in the number of emergency caesareans as no significant effect was uncovered for planned caesarean deliveries.     

The impact of NHS expenditure on health outcomes in England: Alternative approaches to identification in all‐cause and disease specific models of mortality

Several recent studies have estimated the responsiveness of mortality to English National Health Service spending. Although broadly similar, the studies differ in how they identify the outcome equation. One approach uses conventional socio‐economic variables as instruments for endogenous health care expenditure, whereas the other exploits exogenous elements in the resource allocation formula for local budgets. The former approach has usually been applied to specific disease areas (e.g., for cancer and circulatory disease), whereas the other has only been applied to all‐cause mortality. In this letter, we compare the two approaches by using them to estimate the direct all‐cause elasticity as well as disease‐specific elasticities. We also calculate the implied all‐cause elasticity associated with the disease‐specific results. We find that the “funding rule” approach to identification can be successfully replicated and applied to disease area models. This is important because disease area models reduce the danger of aggregation bias present in all‐cause analysis, and they offer the opportunity to link estimated mortality effects to more complete measures of health outcome that reflect what is currently known about the survival and morbidity disease burden in different programmes.     

专门用途英语视角下英语课程设置改革效果分析——以重庆医科大学为例

目的　分析专门用途英语（English for specific purposes,ESP）背景下重庆医科大学本科英语课程设置改革成效。方法　采用问卷法对重庆医科大学2018级护理本科生英语课程设置需求进行问卷调查。根据问卷调查结果制定改进措施,并在2019级护理本科生护理英语教学中实施1学期。通过问卷调查学生对英语课程设置改革的满意度。对收集到的数据用SPSS统计学软件统计各选项人数与占比。结果　2019级护理本科生对本校英语课程设置改革的满意度为56.78%（272/479）,对护理专业英语课程设置满意度达到88.1%（422/479）。结论　医学院校专门用途英语课程设置改革应充分考虑学习者的学习需求和职业目标需求,课堂教学中尽量为学习者提供口语和阅读训练的机会。另外,ESP教师团队成员可以通过集体备课提高其在专业英语教学方面的能力和信心。基于需求分析的课程设置有利于提高英语教学效果。     

提升医学编辑素质,提高临床研究质量--循证医学与医学杂志编辑高级研修班小结

分析并总结循证医学与医学杂志编辑高级研修班的师资、授课内容与方式、学员来源分布及此次培训所取得的近期成效,为提高医学期刊编辑业务素质,促进临床研究质量提高探索一条新思路.     

语用失误分析与大学英语教学应对策略

英语作为世界主要通用语言,已经得到大家广泛认可,但在不同的国度里,也会因其当地所处语言环境的不同,具有不同的含义。长期以来,我们的英语教学多偏重语言知识的灌输,忽视语用能力的培养,强调语言的内容学习,忽视语言的交际功能,强调语言学习的“准确性”,忽视语言运用的“得体性”。本文拟就英语“语用失误”概念提出、产生原因及英语教学应对策略,予以初步探讨。     

Share or perish: Social media and the International Journal of Mental Health Nursing

The impact of published research is sometimes measured by the number of citations an individual article accumulates. However, the time from publication to citation can be extensive. Years may pass before authors are able to measure the impact of their publication. Social media provides individuals and organizations a powerful medium with which to share information. The power of social media is sometimes harnessed to share scholarly works, especially journal article citations and quotes. A non‐traditional bibliometric is required to understand the impact social media has on disseminating scholarly works/research. The International Journal of Mental Health Nursing (IJMHN) appointed a social media editor as of 1 January 2017 to implement a strategy to increase the impact and reach of the journal's articles. To measure the impact of the IJMHN social media strategy, quantitative data for the eighteen months prior to the social media editor start date, and the eighteen months after that date (i.e.: from 01 July 2015 to 30 June 2018) were acquired and analysed. Quantitative evidence demonstrates the effectiveness of one journal's social media strategy in increasing the reach and readership of the articles it publishes. This information may be of interest to those considering where to publish their research, those wanting to amplify the reach of their research, those who fund research, and journal editors and boards.     

从医院管理视角谈医学英语教学能力培养

本文针对目前医学生在大学英语听说教学中存在的学习态度消极、口头表达受局限、思维过于单一等问题,从医院管理角度分析医学英语视听说课程对于医学生英语听说能力的培养,即听力材料的专业性对于听力能力的培养、听力输入的医用性对口语能力的培养,以及话题的医疗相关性对思辨能力的培养。