Search results for: soft skills development

Authors: Robert Vanderburg, Nicholas Gibson

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Objectives: There has been an increased focus in education students’ mathematics skills in the last two years. Universities have, specifically, had problems teaching students struggling with mathematics. This paper focuses on the ability of a digital platform to significantly improve mathematics skills for struggling students. Methods: 32 students who demonstrated low scores on a mathematics test were selected to take part in a one-month tutorial program using a digital mathematics portal. Students were provided feedback for questions posted on the portal and a fortnightly tutorial session. Results: A pre-test post-test design was analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The analysis suggested that students improved skills in algebra, geometry, statistics, probability, ratios, fractions, and probability. Conclusion: Distance university students can improve their mathematics skills using a digital platform.

Keywords: digital education, distance education, higher education, mathematics education

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Authors: Ali Taher Othman Ali

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The aim of this research is to provide a draft proposal for the professional development of mathematics teachers in accordance with the orientation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics which is known by the abbreviation STEM, as a modern and contemporary orientation in the teaching and learning of mathematics and in order to achieve the objective of the research, the researcher used the theoretical descriptive method through the induction of the literature of education and the previous studies and experiments related to the topic. The researcher concluded by providing the proposal according to five basic axes, the first axe: professional development as a system, and its requirements include: development of educational systems, and allocate sufficient budgets to support the requirements of teaching STEM, identifying mechanisms for incentives and rewards for teachers attending professional development programs based on STEM; the second: development of in-depth knowledge content and its requirements include: basic sciences content development for STEM, linking the scientific understanding of teachers with real-world issues and problems, to provide the necessary resources to expand teachers' knowledge in this area; the third: the necessary pedagogical skills of teachers in the field of STEM, and its requirements include: identification of the required training and development needs and the mechanism of determining these needs, the types of professional development programs and the mechanism of designing it, the mechanisms and places of execution, evaluation and follow-up; the fourth: professional development strategies and mechanisms in the field of STEM, and its requirements include: using a variety of strategies to enable teachers to design and transfer effective educational experiences which reflect their scientific mastery in the fields of STEM, provide learning opportunities, and developing the skills of procedural research to generate new knowledge about the STEM; the fifth: to support professional development in the area of STEM, and its requirements include: support leadership within the school, provide a clear and appropriate opportunities for professional development for teachers within the school through professional learning communities, building partnerships between the Ministry of education and the local and international community institutions. The proposal includes other factors that should be considered when implementing professional development programs for mathematics teachers in the field of STEM.

Keywords: professional development, mathematics teachers, the orientation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)

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Authors: Kurotimi Maurice Fems, Abara Onu, Francis W. D. Poazi

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Scholars and development economists believe that the development of an economy depends largely on the creative and innovative ingenuity of its entrepreneurs. Others however, are of the opinion that the lack of entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial activities is not a constraint to economic development in any economy, particularly Nigeria. This paper sets out to explore the connectivity between entrepreneurship and economic development from a theoretical point of view, principally in Nigeria. A desk research approach was adopted where a conglomerate of literatures was reviewed on how entrepreneurship can spur economic growth or otherwise. The findings reveal that entrepreneurship is vital to the development of Nigeria and that, universities and other Higher Education Institutions must play the vital role of educating the people on entrepreneurship skills and competences. However, the problems and difficulties entrepreneurs face in Nigeria and the same problems suffocating the growth and development of its economy. Therefore, entrepreneurship cannot be said to be the sole cure for economic under-development in Nigeria but rather other factors such as empowering and granting the institutions autonomy and the provision of infrastructural capability, such as consistent electricity generation and supply, good system of transportation, implementing proposed economic policies in an effective and efficient manner etc., the cultural beliefs and mindset of the citizenry, was also found to be key in the development of any economy.

Keywords: economic underdevelopment, entrepreneurial, entrepreneurship, infrastructural under-development, oil boom, SMEs, unemployable

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Authors: Surasak Khamkhong

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This study aimed to investigate the use of the PISA reading literacy assessment framework (PRF) to improve EFL learners’ critical reading and thinking skills. The sample group, selected by the purposive sampling technique, included 36 EFL learners from a university in Northeastern Thailand. The instruments consisted of 8 PRF-based reading lessons, a 27-item-PRF-based reading test which was used as a pre-test and a post-test, and an attitude questionnaire toward the designed lessons. The statistics used for data analysis were percentage, mean, standard deviation, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The results revealed that before the intervention, the students’ English reading proficiency were low as is evident from their low pre-test scores (M=14.00). They did fairly well for the access-and-retrieve questions (M=6.11), but poorly for the integrate-and-interpret questions (M=4.89) and the reflect-and-evaluate questions (M=3.00), respectively. This means that the students could comprehend the texts but they could hardly interpret or evaluate them. However, after the intervention, they could do better as their post-test scores were higher (M=18.01). They could comprehend (M=6.78), interpret (M=6.00) and evaluate (M=5.25) well. This means that after the intervention, their critical reading skills had improved. In terms of their attitude towards the designed lessons and instruction, most students were satisfied with the lessons and the instruction. It may thus be concluded that the designed lessons can help improve students’ English critical reading proficiency and may be used as a teaching model for improving EFL learners’ critical reading skills.

Keywords: second language reading, critical reading and thinking skills, PISA reading literacy framework, English L2 reading development

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Authors: Hassnen M. Jafer, W. Atherton, F. Ruddock

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This paper represents the results of experimental work to investigate the suitability of a waste material (WM) for soft soil stabilisation. In addition, the effect of particle size distribution (PSD) of the waste material on its performance as a soil stabiliser was investigated. The WM used in this study is produced from the incineration processes in domestic energy power plant and it is available in two different grades of fineness (coarse waste material (CWM) and fine waste material (FWM)). An intermediate plasticity silty clayey soil with medium organic matter content has been used in this study. The suitability of the CWM and FWM to improve the physical and engineering properties of the selected soil was evaluated dependant on the results obtained from the consistency limits, compaction characteristics (optimum moisture content (OMC) and maximum dry density (MDD)); along with the unconfined compressive strength test (UCS). Different percentages of CWM were added to the soft soil (3, 6, 9, 12 and 15%) to produce various admixtures. Then the UCS test was carried out on specimens under different curing periods (zero, 7, 14, and 28 days) to find the optimum percentage of CWM. The optimum and other two percentages (either side of the optimum content) were used for FWM to evaluate the effect of the fineness of the WM on UCS of the stabilised soil. Results indicated that both types of the WM used in this study improved the physical properties of the soft soil where the index of plasticity (IP) was decreased significantly. IP was decreased from 21 to 13.64 and 13.10 with 12% of CWM and 15% of FWM respectively. The results of the unconfined compressive strength test indicated that 12% of CWM was the optimum and this percentage developed the UCS value from 202kPa to 500kPa for 28 days cured samples, which is equal, approximately 2.5 times the UCS value for untreated soil. Moreover, this percentage provided 1.4 times the value of UCS for stabilized soil-CWA by using FWM which recorded just under 700kPa after 28 days curing.

Keywords: soft soil stabilisation, waste materials, fineness, unconfined compressive strength

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Authors: Burak M. Gonultas

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Criminal investigation provides a practical contribution to this process while criminology provides a theoretical background in the apprehension of criminals arrest and clarification of crimes. However, studies on criminal investigation, which is a practical aspect of this process, are not sufficient. Every crime involves different dynamics in terms of investigation. But investigations of serious crimes are versatile and contains complex processes because of cases they are conducted. Therefore, professionals who conduct serious crime investigations differ in some aspects from others in the field. The most fundamental element of this differentiation is skills and abilities of these professionals. According to Eurostat data, Turkey is in an important position in terms of homicide rates. Therefore, in Turkey practice of serious crime investigation is specialized. The present study aims to research the skills and abilities expected from professionals in conducting an effective serious criminal investigation in Turkey and so aims to offer a number of suggestions. 25 emerged ability and skills collected from literature were asked to professionals (n=289) with semi-structured form according to 5 provinces with the highest and 2 provinces with the lowest number of serious crime cases. Three data categories were collected during experience: 1- Five most important skills and abilities, 2- The most important skills for knowledge and inquiry management and 3- Ability and skills that stand out for five stages of serious criminal investigation. The most rated skills and abilities are investigative skill (13%, n=134), planning/designing (9,2%, n=95) and interpersonal relations/communication (8,8%, n=91) in 1010 skills and abilities. While the 1st and 2nd suggest elections of these professionals, the 3rd also suggests how and what type of training will be given to these professionals. This practice differs from other studies in the area in terms of separately addressing the skills and abilities expected in stages of investigation and in terms of selected methodology.

Keywords: ability, criminal investigation, criminology, homicide, serious crimes, skill, Turkey

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Authors: Faride Hashemiannejad, Shima Oloomi

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Imagination is one of the important elements of creative thinking which as a skill needs attention by the educational system. Although most students learn reading, writing, and arithmetic skills well, they lack high level thinking skills like creative thinking. Therefore, in the information age and in the beginning of entry to knowledge-based society, the educational system needs to think over its goals and mission, and concentrate on creativity-based curriculum. From among curriculum elements-goals, content, method and evaluation “method” is a major domain whose reform can pave the way for fostering imagination and creativity. The purpose of this study was examining the relationship between creativity development and curriculum. Research questions were: (1) is there a relationship between the cognitive-emotional structure of the classroom and creativity development? (2) Is there a relationship between the environmental-social structure of the classroom and creativity development? (3) Is there a relationship between the thinking structure of the classroom and creativity development? (4) Is there a relationship between the physical structure of the classroom and creativity development? (5) Is there a relationship between the instructional structure of the classroom and creativity development? Method: This research is a applied research and the research method is Correlational research. Participants: The total number of participants in this study included 894 students from High school through 11th grade from seven schools of seven zones in Mashad city. Sampling Plan: Sampling was selected based on Random Multi State. Measurement: The dependent measure in this study was: (a) the Test of Creative Thinking, (b) The researcher-made questionnaire includes five fragments, cognitive, emotional structure, environmental social structure, thinking structure, physical structure, and instructional structure. The Results Show: There was significant relationship between the cognitive-emotional structure of the classroom and student’s creativity development (sig=0.139). There was significant relationship between the environmental-social structure of the classroom and student’s creativity development (sig=0.006). There was significant relationship between the thinking structure of the classroom and student’s creativity development (sig=0.004). There was not significant relationship between the physical structure of the classroom and student’s creativity development (sig=0.215). There was significant relationship between the instructional structure of the classroom and student’s creativity development (sig=0.003). These findings denote if students feel secure, calm and confident, they can experience creative learning. Also the quality of coping with students’ questions, imaginations and risks can influence on their creativity development.

Keywords: imagination, creativity, curriculum, bioinformatics, biomedicine

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Authors: Oloniyo Kemisola Eunice, Odere Oladunni Oluwafeyikemi

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Technological change and globalization have created a new global economy with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) occupying a complex position in relation to globalization. The emergence of this new global economy has serious implications on the nature and purpose of educational institutions. The paper is basically a theoretical discourse. Data for analysis were obtained from secondary sources. The paper found that significant challenges confront the integration of ICTs in education in the areas of educational policy and planning, infrastructure, language and content, capacity building and financing in Nigeria. The paper concluded that business education needs to be well equipped to anticipate and respond to opportunities created by ICTs in order to participate productively and equitably in an increasingly technology-rich and knowledge-driven world. The paper recommended, among others, that the investments in ICTs should be used to promote the development of basic skills, problem-solving and communication skills and the professional development of teachers.

Keywords: information, communication, technology, business, education

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Authors: L. Miranda

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The requirements of the engineering education are nowadays very broad and demand a set of skills which demands not only technical knowledge but also the ability to lead and innovate and personal and interpersonal skills. A framework for the assessment of a potential curricular change is necessary to guide the analysis of the program with respect to the stakeholders and the legislation of the country, in order to develop appropriate learning outcomes. A Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate (CDIO) approach was chosen for an evaluation conducted in a mechanical engineering degree in Brazil. The work consisted in the application of a survey with students and professors and a literature review of the legislation and studies that raised the required competences and skills for the modern engineer. The results show a great potential for a CDIO set of skills in engineering degrees in Brazil and reveal the frequent demands of stakeholders before a curricular change.

Keywords: curriculum change, conceive design implement operate, accreditation, personal and interpersonal skills

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Authors: Bill Wang, Paul Childerhouse, Yuanfei Kang

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Purpose: The research is to extend resource orchestration theory (ROT) into supply chain management (SCM) area to investigate the dyadic relationships at both individual and organizational levels in supply chain integration (SCI). Also, we try to explore the interaction mechanism between inter-personal relationships (IPRs) and inter-organizational (IORs) during the whole SCI process. Methodology/approach: The research employed an exploratory multiple case study approach of four New Zealand companies. The data was collected via semi-structured interviews with top, middle, and lower level managers and operators from different departments of both suppliers and customers triangulated with company archival data. Findings: The research highlights the important role of both IPRs and IORs in the whole SCI process. Both IPRs and IORs are valuable, inimitable resources but IORs are formal and exterior while IPRs are informal and subordinated. In the initial stage of SCI process, IPRs are seen as key resources antecedents to IOR building while three IPRs dimensions work differently: personal credibility acts as an icebreaker to strengthen the confidence forming IORs, and personal affection acts as a gatekeeper, whilst personal communication expedites the IORs process. In the maintenance and development stage, IORs and IPRs interact each other continuously: good interaction between IPRs and IORs can facilitate SCI process while the bad interaction between IPRs can damage the SCI process. On the other hand, during the life-cycle of SCI process, IPRs can facilitate the formation, development of IORs while IORs development can cultivate the ties of IPRs. Out of the three dimensions of IPRs, Personal communication plays a more important role to develop IORs than personal credibility and personal affection. Originality/value: This research contributes to ROT in supply chain management literature by highlighting the interaction of IPRs and IORs in SCI. The intangible resources and capabilities of three dimensions of IPRs need to be orchestrated and nurtured to achieve efficient and effective IORs in SCI. Also, IPRs and IORs need to be orchestrated in terms of breadth, depth, and life-cycle of whole SCI process. Our study provides further insight into the rarely explored inter-personal level of SCI. Managerial implications: Our research provides top management with further evidence of the significance roles of IPRs at different levels when working with trading partners. This highlights the need to actively manage and develop these soft IPRs skills as an intangible competitive resource. Further, the research identifies when staff with specific skills and connections should be utilized during the different stages of building and maintaining inter-organizational ties. More importantly, top management needs to orchestrate and balance the resources of IPRs and IORs.

Keywords: case study, inter-organizational relationships, inter-personal relationships, resource orchestration, supply chain integration

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Authors: Muneerah Jeludin, V. Sivakumar

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Numerous laboratory-based research studies on the behavior of ground improved with granular columns with respect to bearing capacity have been well-documented. However, information on its settlement performance is still scarce. Laboratory model study on the settlement behavior of soft clay reinforced with granular columns was conducted and results are presented. The investigation uses a soft kaolin clay sample of 300 mm in diameter and 400 mm in length. The clay samples were reinforced with single and multiple granular columns of various lengths using the displacement and replacement installation method. The results indicated that that no settlement reduction was achieved for a short single floating column. The settlement reduction factors reported for L/d ratios of 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 are in the range of 1 to 2. The findings obtained in this research showed that the reduction factors are considerably less and that load-sharing mechanism between columns and surrounding clay is complex, particularly for column groups and is affected by other factors such as negative skin friction.

Keywords: ground improvement, model test, reinforced soil, settlement

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Authors: Mustapha Abdulkadir Gana, Jibrin Attahiru Alhassan, Adamu Musa Baba

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The exponential growth of information sources, resources and the continued Communication Technology (ICT) sophistication of libraries all over the world call for capable and ICT compliant librarians in Nigeria, this article assesses the digital literacy skills of librarians in tertiary institutions in Niger state. The survey research method was applied in the study using a random sampling technique to draw the sample. Fifty-eight copies of the questionnaire were administered while forty-nine copies were completed, returned, and used in the study, which represents 84% of the response rate. Two research questions were answered, and data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The finding uncovered that the librarians lack the requisite digital literacy skills to access the wealth of digital information resources available. The study recommends some steps to turn around the situations amongst; librarians must be empowered with all necessary digital literacy skills, embark on rigorous training and retraining programs, workshops, conferences, and seminars, there should also be a coherent training policy for the librarians on a sustainable basis to increase their requisite digital literacy skills.

Keywords: digital, information, literacy, skills

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Authors: Beaudoin Marie-Joelle, Poirier Nathalie

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Introduction: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to lack socio-emotional skills (e.g., emotional regulation and theory of mind). Eisenberg’s theoretical model on emotion-related socialization behaviors suggests that mothers of children with ASD could play a central role in fostering the acquisition of socio-emotional skills by engaging in frequent educational conversations about emotions. Although, mothers’ perceptions of their own emotional skills and their child’s personality traits and social deficits could mitigate the benefit of their educative role. Objective: Our study aims to explore the association between mother-child conversations about emotions and the socio-emotional skills of their children when accounting for the moderating role of the mothers’ perceptions. Forty-nine mothers completed five questionnaires about emotionally related conversations, self-openness to emotions, and perceptions of personality and socio-emotional skills of their children with ASD. Results: Regression analyses showed that frequent mother-child conversations about emotions predicted better emotional regulation and theory of mind skills in children with ASD (p < 0.01). The children’s theory of mind was moderated by mothers’ perceptions of their own emotional openness (p < 0.05) and their perceptions of their children’s openness to experience (p < 0.01) and conscientiousness (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Mothers likely play an important role in the socio-emotional education of children with ASD. Further, mothers may be most helpful when they perceive that their interventions improve their child’s behaviors. Our findings corroborate those of the Eisenberg model, which claims that mother-child conversations about emotions predict socio-emotional development skills in children with ASD. Our results also help clarify the moderating role of mothers’ perceptions, which could mitigate their willingness to engage in educational conversations about emotions with their children. Therefore, in special needs' children education, school professionals could collaborate with mothers to increase the frequency of emotion-related conversations in ASD's students with emotion dysregulation or theory of mind problems.

Keywords: autism, parental socialization of emotion, emotional regulation, theory of mind

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Authors: Pui-sze Yeung, Connie Suk-han Ho, David Wai-ock Chan, Kevin Kien-hoa Chung

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Background: Recent findings have shown that transcription skills play a unique and significant role in Chinese word reading and spelling (i.e. word dictation), and written composition development. The interrelationships among component skills of transcription, word reading, word spelling, and written composition in Chinese have rarely been examined in the literature. Is the contribution of component skills of transcription to Chinese written composition mediated by word level skills (i.e., word reading and spelling)? Methods: The participants in the study were 249 Chinese children in Grade 1, Grade 3, and Grade 5 in Hong Kong. They were administered measures of general reasoning ability, orthographic knowledge, stroke sequence knowledge, word spelling, handwriting fluency, word reading, and Chinese narrative writing. Orthographic knowledge- orthographic knowledge was assessed by a task modeled after the lexical decision subtest of the Hong Kong Test of Specific Learning Difficulties in Reading and Writing (HKT-SpLD). Stroke sequence knowledge: The participants’ performance in producing legitimate stroke sequences was measured by a stroke sequence knowledge task. Handwriting fluency- Handwriting fluency was assessed by a task modeled after the Chinese Handwriting Speed Test. Word spelling: The stimuli of the word spelling task consist of fourteen two-character Chinese words. Word reading: The stimuli of the word reading task consist of 120 two-character Chinese words. Written composition: A narrative writing task was used to assess the participants’ text writing skills. Results: Analysis of covariance results showed that there were significant between-grade differences in the performance of word reading, word spelling, handwriting fluency, and written composition. Preliminary hierarchical multiple regression analysis results showed that orthographic knowledge, word spelling, and handwriting fluency were unique predictors of Chinese written composition even after controlling for age, IQ, and word reading. The interaction effects between grade and each of these three skills (orthographic knowledge, word spelling, and handwriting fluency) were not significant. Path analysis results showed that orthographic knowledge contributed to written composition both directly and indirectly through word spelling, while handwriting fluency contributed to written composition directly and indirectly through both word reading and spelling. Stroke sequence knowledge only contributed to written composition indirectly through word spelling. Conclusions: Preliminary hierarchical regression results were consistent with previous findings about the significant role of transcription skills in Chinese word reading, spelling and written composition development. The fact that orthographic knowledge contributed both directly and indirectly to written composition through word reading and spelling may reflect the impact of the script-sound-meaning convergence of Chinese characters on the composing process. The significant contribution of word spelling and handwriting fluency to Chinese written composition across elementary grades highlighted the difficulty in attaining automaticity of transcription skills in Chinese, which limits the working memory resources available for other composing processes.

Keywords: orthographic knowledge, transcription skills, word reading, writing

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Authors: Md Kamrul Hassan

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Adaptation interventions are the common response to manage the vulnerabilities of climate change. The nature of adaptation intervention depends on the degree of vulnerability and the capacity of a society. The coping interventions can take the form of hard adaptation – utilising technologies and capital goods like dykes, embankments, seawalls, and/or soft adaptation – engaging knowledge and information sharing, capacity building, policy and strategy development, and innovation. Hard adaptation is quite capital intensive but provides immediate relief from climate change vulnerabilities. This type of adaptation is not real development, as the investment for the adaptation cannot improve the performance – just maintain the status quo of a social or ecological system, and often lead to maladaptation in the long-term. Maladaptation creates a two-way loss for a society – interventions bring further vulnerability on top of the existing vulnerability and investment for getting rid of the consequence of interventions. Hard adaptation is popular to the vulnerable groups, but it focuses so much on the immediate solution and often ignores the environmental issues and future risks of climate change. On the other hand, soft adaptation is education oriented where vulnerable groups learn how to live with climate change impacts. Soft adaptation interventions build the capacity of vulnerable groups through training, innovation, and support, which might enhance the resilience of a system. In consideration of long-term sustainability, soft adaptation can contribute more to resilience than hard adaptation. Taking a developing society as the study context, this study aims to investigate and understand the effectiveness of the adaptation interventions of the coastal community of Sundarbans mangrove forest in Bangladesh. Applying semi-structured interviews with a range of Sundarbans stakeholders including community residents, tourism demand-supply side stakeholders, and conservation and management agencies (e.g., Government, NGOs and international agencies) and document analysis, this paper reports several key insights regarding climate change adaptation. Firstly, while adaptation interventions may offer a short-term to medium-term solution to climate change vulnerabilities, interventions need to be revised for long-term sustainability. Secondly, soft adaptation offers advantages in terms of resilience in a rapidly changing environment, as it is flexible and dynamic. Thirdly, there is a challenge to communicate to educate vulnerable groups to understand more about the future effects of hard adaptation interventions (and the potential for maladaptation). Fourthly, hard adaptation can be used if the interventions do not degrade the environmental balance and if the investment of interventions does not exceed the economic benefit of the interventions. Overall, the goal of an adaptation intervention should be to enhance the resilience of a social or ecological system so that the system can with stand present vulnerabilities and future risks. In order to be sustainable, adaptation interventions should be designed in such way that those can address vulnerabilities and risks of climate change in a long-term timeframe.

Keywords: adaptation, climate change, maladaptation, resilience, Sundarbans, sustainability, vulnerability

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Authors: Yeganeh Faraji, Ned Faraji

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The aim of the present study is to search for the effects of training on improving fine hand skills in children with autistic spectrum disorder through the case study statistic method. The sample group was selected by the available sampling method and included four participants. The methodology of this research was a single-subject semi-experimental of AB design. The data were gathered by natural observation. In the next stage, the data were recorded on data record sheets and then presented on diagrams. The sample group was evaluated by an assessment which the researcher created based on Lincoln-Oseretsky’ motor development scale in two pre-test and post-test phases. In order to promote fingers’ fine movement, the Montessori method was applied. Collecting and analyzing data which were shown by the data presentation method and diagrams, proved that it had no significant effect on improving fingers’ fine movement. Therefore, based on the current research findings, it is suggested that future researchers can apply various teaching methods and different tests for improving fine hand skills or increasing the period of training.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, Montessori method, fine motor skills, Lincoln-Oseretsky assessment

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Authors: Konstantina Georgali

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The present study explores Greek teachers’ understandings of typical language development and of language difficulties. Its core aim was to highlight that teachers need to have a thorough understanding of educational linguistics, that is of how language figures in education. They should also be aware of how language should be taught so as to promote language development for all students while at the same time support the needs of children with language difficulties in an inclusive ethos. The study, thus argued that language can be a dynamic learning mechanism in the minds of all children and a powerful teaching tool in the hands of teachers and provided current research evidence to show that structural and morphological particularities of native languages- in this case, of the Greek language- can be used by teachers to enhance children’s understanding of language and simultaneously improve oral language skills for children with typical language development and for those with language difficulties. The research was based on a Sequential Exploratory Mixed Methods Design deployed in three consecutive and integrative phases. The first phase involved 18 exploratory interviews with teachers. Its findings informed the second phase involving a questionnaire survey with 119 respondents. Contradictory questionnaire results were further investigated in a third phase employing a formal testing procedure with 60 children attending Y1, Y2 and Y3 of primary school (a research group of 30 language impaired children and a comparison group of 30 children with typical language development, both identified by their class teachers). Results showed both strengths and weaknesses in teachers’ awareness of educational linguistics and of language difficulties. They also provided a different perspective of children’s language needs and of language teaching approaches that reflected current advances and conceptualizations of language problems and opened a new window on how best they can be met in an inclusive ethos. However, teachers barely used teaching approaches that could capitalize on the particularities of the Greek language to improve language skills for all students in class. Although they seemed to realize the importance of oral language skills and their knowledge base on language related issues was adequate, their practices indicated that they did not see language as a dynamic teaching and learning mechanism that can promote children’s language development and in tandem, improve academic attainment. Important educational implications arose and clear indications of the generalization of findings beyond the Greek educational context.

Keywords: educational linguistics, inclusive ethos, language difficulties, typical language development

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Authors: Noha Desouky Aly, Maged Makram Habib

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Given the imperative role educational institutions have in the creation of a motivational learning community that develops and engages their students, the influence of evoking the same environment for their teachers needs to be examined. Teachers and their role lie at the core of the efficiency of the learning experience. One exigent aspect in the process of providing professional development to teachers is to involve them in this process, and the best manner would be through creating a learning community in which they are directly engaged and responsible for their own learning. An educational institution that thinks first of its teachers learning and growth would achieve its goals in providing an effective education for its students. The purpose of this research paper is to examine the effect of engaging teachers in a learning community in which they are responsible for their own learning through conducting and providing the material required for the training on their self efficacy, engagement, and perceived autonomy. The sample includes twenty instructors at the German University in Cairo teaching Academic skills at the Department of English and Scientific Methods. The courses taught at the department include Academic skills, writing argumentative essays, critical thinking, communication and presentation skills, and research paper writing. Procedures for the duration of eight weeks will entail pre-post measures to include The Teachers Self Efficacy Scale and an interview. During the weekly departmental meeting, teachers are to share resources and experiences or research and present a topic of their choice that contributes to their professional development. Results are yet to be found.

Keywords: learning community, self- efficacy, teachers, learning experience

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Authors: Jakub Stelina, Janina Ciechanowicz-McLean

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Fifty years of existence and development of international environmental law brought a deep disappointment with efficiency and effectiveness of traditional command and control mechanisms of environmental regulation. Agenda 21 agreed during the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro 1992 was one of the first international documents, which explicitly underlined the importance of public participation in environmental protection. This participation includes also the initiatives undertaken by business corporations in the form of private environmental standards setting. Twenty years later during the Rio 20+ Earth Summit the private sector obligations undertaken during the negotiations have proven to be at least as important as the ones undertaken by the governments. The private sector has taken the leading role in environmental standard setting. Among the research methods used in the article two are crucial in the analysis. The comparative analysis of law is the instrument used in the article to analyse the practice of states and private business companies in the field of sustainable development. The article uses economic analysis of law to estimate the costs and benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility Projects in the field of environmental protection. The study is based on the four premises. First is the role of social dialogue, which is crucial for both Corporate Social Responsibility and modern environmental protection regulation. The Aarhus Convention creates a procedural environmental human right to participate in administrative procedures of law setting and environmental decisions making. The public participation in environmental impact assessment is nowadays a universal standard. Second argument is about the role of precaution as a principle of modern environmental regulation. This principle can be observed both in governmental regulatory undertakings and also private initiatives within the Corporate Social Responsibility environmental projects. Even in the jurisdictions which are relatively reluctant to use the principle of preventive action in environmental regulation, the companies often use this standard in their own private business standard setting initiatives. This is often due to the fact that soft law standards are used as the basis for private Corporate Social Responsibility regulatory initiatives. Third premise is about the role of ecological education in environmental protection. Many soft law instruments underline the importance of environmental education. Governments use environmental education only to the limited extent due to the costs of such projects and problems with effects assessment. Corporate Social Responsibility uses various means of ecological education as the basis of their actions in the field of environmental protection. Last but not least Sustainable development is a goal of both legal protection of the environment, and economic instruments of companies development. Modern environmental protection law uses to the increasing extent the Corporate Social Responsibility. This may be the consequence of the limits of hard law regulation. Corporate Social Responsibility is nowadays not only adapting to soft law regulation of environmental protection but also creates such standards by itself, showing new direction for development of international environmental law. Corporate Social Responsibility in environmental protection can be good investment in future development of the company.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, environmental CSR, environmental justice, stakeholders dialogue

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Authors: M. Naveed Akhter, Jawad Aslam, Omer Gillani

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To aid and rehabilitate increasing number of patients suffering from spinal cord injury (SCI) and stroke, a lightweight, wearable, and 3D printable exoskeletal glove has been developed. Unlike previously developed metal or fabric-based exoskeletons, this research presents the development of soft exoskeletal glove made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). The drive mechanism consists of a single motor-driven antagonistic tendon to perform extension or flexion of middle and index finger. The tendon-based differential drive has been incorporated to allow for grasping of irregularly shaped objects. The design features easy 3D-printability with TPU without a need for supports. The overall weight of the glove and the actuation unit is approximately 500g. Performance of the glove was tested on a custom test-bench with integrated load cells, and the grip strength was tested to be around 30N per finger while grasping objects of irregular shape.

Keywords: 3D printable, differential drive, exoskeletal glove, rehabilitation, single motor driven

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Authors: Vakhtang Charaia, Mariam Lashkhi

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Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays a vital role in global business. It provides firms with new markets and advertising channels, cheaper production facilities, admission to new technology, products, skills and financing. FDI can provide a recipient country/company with a source of new technologies, capital, practice, products, management skills, and as such can be a powerful drive for economic development. It is one of the key elements of stable economic development in many countries, especially in developing ones. Therefore the size of FDI inflow is one of the most crustal factors for economic perfection in small economy countries (like, Georgia), while most of developed ones are net exporters of FDI. Since, FDI provides firms with new markets; admission to new technologies, products and management skills; marketing channels; cheaper production facilities, and financing opportunities. It plays a significant role in Georgian economic development. Increasing FDI inflows from all over the world to Georgia in last decade was achieved with the outstanding reforms managed by the Georgian government. However, such important phenomenon as world financial crisis and Georgian-Russian war put its consequence on the over amount of FDI inflow in Georgia in the last years. It is important to mention that the biggest investor region for Georgia is EU, which is interested in Georgia not only from the economic points of view but from political. The case studies from main EU investor countries show that Georgia has a big potential of investment in different areas, such as; financial sector, energy, construction, tourism industry, transport and communications. Moreover, signing of Association Agreement between Georgia and EU will further boost all the fields of economy in Georgia in both short and long terms. It will attract more investments from different countries and especially from EU. The last, but not least important issue is the calculation of annual FDI inflow to Georgia, which it is calculated differently by different organizations, based on different methodologies, but what is more important is that all of them show significant increase of FDI in last decade, which gives a positive signal to investors and underlines necessity of further improvement of investment climate in the same direction.

Keywords: foreign direct investment (FDI), Georgia, investment development path, investment climate

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Authors: Abdu Feroz Maluleke

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Digital literacy skills among first-year university students has been under scrutiny in recent years. This is largely due to the pressure faced by the South African higher education sector as the battle to integrate educational technologies into the teaching curriculum. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the digital literacy skills of first-year students at the Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa. A positivism quantitative research methodology will be employed to collect data from 468 first-year students at a higher education institution through a validated questionnaire. Descriptive analyses, T-tests, ANOVA, and Spearman's correlation will be conducted using SPSS. Anticipated findings suggest that various demographic factors, such as previous school, self-efficacy, and age, significantly influence learners' digital literacy competency. Furthermore, the projected findings highlight the importance of rural secondary schools adopting and implementing technological pedagogies in their curriculum. This research aims to make a substantial contribution to the development of ICT adoption guidelines for the secondary school curriculum, which would aid the basic educational sector in South Africa.

Keywords: technology acceptance model, digital literacy skills, secondary schools, south africa

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Authors: Vaikunthan Rajaratnam

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Intro: Motor imagery (MI) and mental practice (MP) can be an alternative to acquire mastery of surgical skills. One component of using this technique is the use of a mental script. The aim of this study was to design and develop a mental script for basic micro suturing training for skill acquisition using a low-fidelity rubber glove model and to describe the detailed methodology for this process. Methods: This study was based on a design and development research framework. The mental script was developed with 5 expert surgeons performing a cognitive walkthrough of the repair of a vertical opening in a rubber glove model using 8/0 nylon. This was followed by a hierarchal task analysis. A draft script was created, and face and content validity assessed with a checking-back process. The final script was validated with the recruitment of 28 participants, assessed using the Mental Imagery Questionnaire (MIQ). Results: The creation of the mental script is detailed in the full text. After assessment by the expert panel, the mental script had good face and content validity. The average overall MIQ score was 5.2 ± 1.1, demonstrating the validity of generating mental imagery from the mental script developed in this study for micro suturing in the rubber glove model. Conclusion: The methodological approach described in this study is based on an instructional design framework to teach surgical skills. This MP model is inexpensive and easily accessible, addressing the challenge of reduced opportunities to practice surgical skills. However, while motor skills are important, other non-technical expertise required by the surgeon is not addressed with this model. Thus, this model should act a surgical training augment, but not replace it.

Keywords: mental script, motor imagery, cognitive walkthrough, verbal protocol analysis, hierarchical task analysis

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Authors: Luigina Mortari, Alessia Bevilacqua, Roberta Silva

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The experience presented in this paper aims to understand how educational research can support the introduction and optimization of teaching innovations in legal education. In this increasingly complex context, a strong need to introduce paths aimed at acquiring not only professional knowledge and skills but also transversal such as reflective, critical, and problem-solving skills emerges. Through a peer observation intertwined with an analysis of discursive practices, researchers and the teacher worked together through a process of participatory and transformative accompaniment whose objective was to promote the active participation and engagement of students in learning processes, an element indispensable to work in the more specific direction of strengthening key competences. This reflective faculty development path led the teacher to activate metacognitive processes, becoming thus aware of the strengths and areas of improvement of his teaching innovation.

Keywords: legal education, teaching innovation, peer observation, discursive analysis, faculty development

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Authors: Vesna Vulić

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Croatia has made large steps forward in the development of higher education over the past 10 years. Purposes and objectives of the tertiary education system are focused on the personal development of young people so that they obtain competences for employment on a flexible labour market. The most frequent tensions between the tertiary institutions and employers are complaints that the current tertiary education system still supplies students with an abundance of theoretical knowledge and not enough practical skills. Polytechnics and schools of professional higher education should deliver professional education and training that will satisfy the needs of their local communities. The 21^st century sets demand on undergraduates as well as their lecturers to strive for the highest standards. The skills students acquire during their studies should serve the needs of their future professional careers. In this context, teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) presents an enormous challenge for teachers. They have to cope with teaching the language in classes with a large number of students, limitations of time, inadequate equipment and teaching material; most frequently, this leads to focusing on specialist vocabulary neglecting the development of skills and competences required for future employment. Globalization has transformed the labour market and set new standards a perspective employee should meet. When knowledge of languages is considered, new generic skills and competences are required. Not only skillful written and oral communication is needed, but also information, media, and technology literacy, learning skills which include critical and creative thinking, collaborating and communicating, as well as social skills. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the needs of two groups of ESP first year Undergraduate Professional Administrative Study students taking ESP as a mandatory course: 47 first-year Undergraduate Professional Administrative Study students, 21 first-year employed part-time Undergraduate Professional Administrative Study students and 30 graduates with a degree in Undergraduate Professional Administrative Study with various amounts of work experience. The survey adopted a quantitative approach with the aim to determine the differences between the groups in their perception of the four language skills and different areas of law, as well as getting the insight into students' satisfaction with the current course and their motivation for studying ESP. Their perceptions will be compared to the results of the questionnaire conducted among sector professionals in order to examine how they perceive the same elements of the ESP course content and to what extent it fits into their working environment. The results of the survey indicated that there is a strong correlation between acquiring work experience and the level of importance given to particular areas of law studied in an ESP course which is in line with our initial hypothesis. In conclusion, the results of the survey should help lecturers in re-evaluating and updating their ESP course syllabi.

Keywords: English for Specific Purposes (ESP), language skills, motivation, needs analysis

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Authors: Terada Pinyo

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This study is a survey research designed to evaluate the quality of graduate students and factors influencing their quality. The sample group consists of 240 students. The data are collected from stratified sampling and are analyzed and calculated by instant computer program. Statistics used are percentage, mean, standard deviation, Pearson correlation coefficient, Cramer’s V and logistic regression analysis. It is found that the graduate students’ opinions regarding their characteristics according to the Thai Qualifications Framework for Higher Education (TQF) are at high score range both overall and specific category. The top categories that received the top score are interpersonal skills and responsibility, ethics and morals, knowledge, cognitive skills, numerical analysis with communication and information technology skills, respectively. On the other hand, factors affecting the quality of graduate students are cognitive skills, numerical analysis with communication and information technology, knowledge, interpersonal skills and responsibility, ethics and morals, and career regarding sales/business, respectively.

Keywords: student quality evaluation, Thai qualifications framework for higher education, graduate school, cognitive skills

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Authors: Saifurahman Fayiz

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overall, India had friendly relation with different governments in Afghanistan except for the Taliban regime amongst the years 1996 to 2001. The terrorist attack in the United States provided India a chance to follow its strategy in Afghanistan. India support Afghanistan since 9\11. The objectives of this study to study India’s strategy towards Afghanistan and its implication to neighbor countries. The research method conducted based on qualitative research method with descriptive. The research findings propose that; India has chosen a soft power policy to implement its strategy in Afghanistan.

Keywords: strategy, policy, soft power, Afghanistan

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Authors: Aliya K. Salahova

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Scientific thinking is a fundamental cognitive skill that plays a crucial role in preparing young minds for an increasingly complex world. This study explores the connection between scientific thinking and the ability to ask questions in children aged 5-9. The research aims to identify and assess how questioning ability serves as an indicator of scientific thinking development in this age group. A longitudinal investigation was conducted over a span of 240 weeks, involving 72 children from diverse backgrounds. The participants were divided into an experimental group, engaging in weekly STEM activities, and a control group with no STEM involvement. The development of scientific thinking was evaluated through a comprehensive assessment of questioning skills, hypothesis formulation, logical reasoning, and problem-solving abilities. The findings reveal a significant correlation between the ability to ask questions and the level of scientific thinking in children aged 5-9. Participants in the experimental group exhibited a remarkable improvement in their questioning ability, which positively influenced their scientific thinking growth. In contrast, the control group, devoid of STEM activities, showed minimal progress in questioning skills and subsequent scientific thinking development. This study highlights the pivotal role of questioning ability as a key indicator of scientific thinking in young children. The results provide valuable insights for educators and researchers, emphasizing the importance of fostering and nurturing questioning skills to enhance scientific thinking capabilities from an early age. The implications of these findings are crucial for designing effective educational interventions to promote scientific curiosity and critical thinking in the next generation of scientific minds.

Keywords: scientific thinking, education, STEM, intervention, psychology, pedagogy, collaborative learning, longitudinal study

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Authors: Yakup Sahin, Naim Suleyman Ting, Ismail Aksoy

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In this paper, a single phase soft switched Zero Voltage Transition and Zero Current Transition (ZVT-ZCT) Power Factor Correction (PFC) boost converter is proposed. In the proposed PFC converter, the main switch turns on with ZVT and turns off with ZCT without any additional voltage or current stresses. Auxiliary switch turns on and off with zero current switching (ZCS). Also, the main diode turns on with zero voltage switching (ZVS) and turns off with ZCS. The proposed converter has features like low cost, simple control and structure. The output current and voltage are controlled by the proposed PFC converter in wide line and load range. The theoretical analysis of converter is clarified and the operating steps are given in detail. The simulation results of converter are obtained for 500 W and 100 kHz. It is observed that the semiconductor devices operate with soft switching (SS) perfectly. So, the switching power losses are minimum. Also, the proposed converter has 0.99 power factor with sinusoidal current shape.

Keywords: power factor correction, zero-voltage transition, zero-current transition, soft switching

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Authors: Siti Aisyah binti Jumpaan

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21ˢᵗ century skills (PAK-21) integration has made its way into Malaysian curriculum when Ministry of Education introduce its implementation since 2016. This study was conducted to explore pre-service teachers’ readiness in integrating 21st century skills in the classroom via the digital storytelling (DST) method and to find gaps between theory and practice that can be integral towards pre-service teachers’ professional growth. Qualitative research method was used in this research involving six respondents who were selected using a purposive sampling method. Their response from interviews and lesson plan analysis were analysed using narrative analysis. The findings showed that pre-service teachers showed a moderate level of readiness in integrating 21st century skills using DST. Pre-service teachers demonstrated high level of preparedness in writing their lesson plan, but their interview revealed that they faced struggles in implementation due to several factors, such as lack of technology and failure to obtain students’ participation. This study further strengthens the need for specialised curriculum for pre-service teachers in teaching 21st century skills via DST.

Keywords: digital storytelling, 21ˢᵗ century skills, preservice teachers, teacher training

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