Search results for: starting school

Authors: Ramesh Chand Chauhan, Sanjay Kumar Rai, Shashi kant, Rakesh Lodha, Nand Kumar

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Background: With a better understanding of HIV pathogenesis and availability of antiretroviral therapy more children are growing and entering in teenage group; informing children of their own HIV status has become an important aspect of long-term disease management. There is little evidence of how and when this type of disclosure takes place in a resource-limited setting. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2010 to May 2011 among a dyads of 156 HIV-infected children and their caregivers, those were visiting pediatric clinic at a tertiary care hospital in Delhi, India. The study protocol was approved by the Institute Ethics Committee. After taking written informed consent; pretested structured questionnaire was administered to caregivers during routine clinic visits. Information regarding socio-demographic characteristics, awareness of HIV infection status among children and their perception regarding disclosure was collected. Mean and frequencies were calculated and chi-square and logistic regression test were applied. Results: The mean age of children was 8.4 ±3.45 years. Among them 73.7% were male and 39.1% were orphans. Among 156 enrolled children, 74.4% (n=116) were of ≥ 6 years and were assessed for disclosure. Only 18.1% (n=21) children had been informed of their HIV status. Of those under 9 years, 6.4% knew their status, whereas 18.4% of 9-11 years and 35.5% of 12-14 years children knew they had HIV. Awareness among males (23.3%) was higher than females (3.3%). Both age and sex of child were significantly (p<0.01) associated with disclosure status. Other factors favoring disclosure were orphan-hood, non-perinatal mode of transmission (OR = 4.32; 95% CI 1.01-7.12), ART initiation (OR = 4.21; 95% CI 1.03-6.98), and caregiver educated beyond primary level (OR = 1.89; 95% CI 1.03-3.26). Repeated enquiry regarding the visit to clinic was the most common reason (66.6%) for disclosure. In 52.4% children disclosure was done with the involvement of other family members. 82.5% caregivers felt the age of > 10 years is appropriate for disclosing the HIV infection status to the child. Conclusion: Detailed guidelines on disclosure are required focusing on children of school-going age with perinatal infection who are not on ART and with caregivers of low educational status.

Keywords: HIV, children, India, disclosure

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Authors: Charles U. Eze, Joy Johnbest Egbo

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The study investigated the effect of Context-Based Instructional Strategy (CBIS) on students’ achievement in chemistry. CBIS was used as an experimental group and expository method (EM) as a control group, sources showed that students poor achievement in chemistry is from teaching strategy adopted by the chemistry teachers. Two research questions were answered, and two null hypotheses were formulated and tested. This strategy recognizes the need for student-centered, relevance of tasks and students’ voice; it also helps students develop creative and critical learning skills. A quasi-experimental (non-equivalent, pretest, posttest control group) design was adopted for the study. The population for the study comprised all senior secondary class one (SSI) students who were offering chemistry in co-education schools in Agbani Education zone. The instrument for data collection was a self-developed Basic Chemistry Achievement Test (BCAT). Relevant data were collected from a sample of SSI chemistry students using purposive random sampling techniques from two co-education schools in Agbani Education Zone of Enugu State, Nigeria. A reliability co-efficient was obtained for the instrument using Kuder-Richardson formula 20. Mean and standard deviation scores were used to answer the research questions while two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses. The findings showed that the experimental group taught with context-based instructional strategy (CBIS) obtained a higher mean achievement score than the control group in the post BCAT; male students had higher mean achievement scores than their female counterparts. The difference was significant. It was recommended, among others, that CBIS should be given more emphasis in the training and re-training program of secondary school chemistry teachers.

Keywords: context-based instructional strategy, expository strategy, student-centered

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Authors: Ambissah Asah Brigitte

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This research is guided by observations in the types of education offered at the secondary level in Cameroon. The secondary education system in Cameroon comprises two types of education, including General Education and Technical and Vocational Education. Although General Education and, Technical and Vocational Education are given equal importance by public authorities, General Education remains on the thriving trend, enjoying the greatest enrolment. In the meantime, Technical and Vocational Education is still to reach the adequate momentum expected to fostering the country’s full-fledged development, as specified in the National Development Strategy, which is the blue print of State policies in Cameroon for the 2020-2030 decade. Vocational Education is credited for its ability to foster a country’s development, since it teaches students the precise skills and knowledge needed to carry out a specific craft, technical skill or trade. Yet, formal training on Vocational Education for teachers offers a pale face in secondary education. This limits the ability of the educational system to nurture vocations and provide the country’s economy with the manpower necessary to achieving development goals. This article seeks to analyse how concretely does the institutional framework spur vocational skills in secondary school teachers. It overviews the instruments instituting Vocational Education at the secondary level in Cameroon, then assesses their effective implementation on the ground. Questionnaires addressed to both active teachers and vocational education policy-makers serve to collect data which are analysed using descriptive statistics. The final objective is to contribute in the debate urging to rethink the role of teachers in bolstering Vocational Education, which is the cornerstone of industrial development. This is true everywhere in the world. In Cameroon and in Africa in general, teachers must be empowered in this field with specific sets of competencies they will need to pass on to learners. They equally need to be given opportunities to acquire and adapt their knowledge and teaching skills accordingly.

Keywords: vocational education, cameroon, institutional framework, national development, competencies and skills

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Authors: Warangkana Juangjandee

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The rapidly increasing number of population in the limited area creates an effect on the idea of the improvement of the area to suit the environment and the needs of people. Faculty of architecture Chiang Mai University is also expanding in both variety fields of study and quality of education. In 2020, the new department will be introduced in the faculty which is Department of Landscape Architecture. With the limitation of the area in the existing building, the faculty plan to renovate some parts of its school for anticipates the number of students who will join the program in the next two years. As a result, the old wooden workshop area is selected to be renovated as student studio space. With such condition, it is necessary to study the restriction and the distinctive environment of the site prior to the improvement in order to find ways to manage the existing space due to the fact that the primary functions that have been practiced in the site, an old wooden workshop space and the new function, studio space, are too different. 72.9% of the annual times in the room are considered to be out of the thermal comfort condition with high relative humidity. This causes non-comfort condition for occupants which could promote mould growth. This study aims to analyze thermal comfort condition in the Landscape Learning Studio Area for finding the solution to improve indoor air quality and respond to local conditions. The research methodology will be in two parts: 1) field gathering data on the case study 2) analysis and finding the solution of improving indoor air quality. The result of the survey indicated that the room needs to solve non-comfort condition problem. This can be divided into two ways which are raising ventilation and indoor temperature, e.g. improving building design and stack driven ventilation, using fan for enhancing more internal ventilation.

Keywords: relative humidity, renovation, temperature, thermal comfort

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Authors: Flex Anim

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The financial system is a decentralized studies system that was put into place in Ghana as a grassroots financial studies approach. Its main goal is to give people the precise knowledge, abilities, and training required for a given trade, business, profession, or occupation. In this essay, the question of how the financial studies system's devolution to local businesses results in responsible and responsive representation as well as long-term company learning is raised. It centers on two case studies, Asekwa Municipal and Oforikrom. The next question posed by the study is how senior high school students are rebuilding their livelihoods and socioeconomic well-being by creating new curriculum and social practices related to the finance and business studies system. The paper here concentrates on Kumasi District and makes inferences for the other two examples. The paper demonstrates how the financial studies system's establishment of representative groups creates the democratic space required for the successful representation of community goals. Nonetheless, the interests of a privileged few are advanced as a result of elite capture. The state's financial and business training programs do not adhere to the financial studies system's established policy procedures and do not transfer pertinent and discretionary resources to local educators. As a result, local educators are unable to encourage representation that is accountable and responsive. The financial studies system continues to pique the interest of rural areas, but this desire is skewed toward getting access to financial or business training institutions for higher education. Since the locals are not actively involved in financial education, the financial studies system serves just to advance the interests of specific populations. This article explains how rhetoric and personal benefits can be supported by the public even in the case of "failed" interventions.

Keywords: financial studies system, financial studies' devolution, local government, senior high schools and financial education, as well as community goals and representation

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Authors: Iva Trako, Maris Micaela Sviatschi, Guadalupe Kavanaugh

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Domestic violence is a major concern in developing countries, with important social, economic and health consequences. However, institutions do not usually address the problems facing women or ethnic and religious minorities. For example, the police do very little to stop domestic violence in rural areas of developing countries. This paper exploits the introduction of women’s justice centers (WJCs) in Peru to provide causal estimates on the effects of improving access to justice for women and children. These centers offer a new integrated public service model for women by including medical, psychological and legal support in cases of violence against women. Our empirical approach uses a difference in difference estimation exploiting variation over time and space in the opening of WJC together with province-by-year fixed effects. Exploiting administrative data from health providers and district attorney offices, we find that after the opening of these centers, there are important improvements on women's welfare: a large reduction in femicides and female hospitalizations for assault. Moreover, using geo-coded household surveys we find evidence that the existence of these services reduces domestic violence, improves women's health, increases women's threat points and, therefore, lead to household decisions that are more aligned with their interests. Using administrative data on the universe of schools, we find large gains on human capital for their children: affected children are more likely to enroll, attend school and have better grades in national exams, instead of working for the family. In sum, the evidence in this paper shows that providing access to justice for women can be a powerful tool to reduce domestic violence and increase education of children, suggesting a positive inter-generational benefit.

Keywords: access to justice, domestic violence, education, household bargaining

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Authors: Daniel Sava, Dragos Gudovan, Iulia Alexandra Gudovan, Ioana Ardelean, Maria Sonmez, Denisa Ficai, Laurentia Alexandrescu, Ecaterina Andronescu

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Graphene and graphene oxide have been intensively studied due to the very good properties, which are intrinsic to the material or come from the easy doping of those with other functional groups. Graphene and graphene oxide have known a broad band of useful applications, in electronic devices, drug delivery systems, medical devices, sensors and opto-electronics, coating materials, sorbents of different agents for environmental applications, etc. The board range of applications does not come only from the use of graphene or graphene oxide alone, or by its prior functionalization with different moieties, but also it is a building block and an important component in many composite devices, its addition coming with new functionalities on the final composite or strengthening the ones that are already existent on the parent product. An attempt to improve the mechanical properties of polyamide elastomers by compounding with graphene oxide in the parent polymer composition was attempted. The addition of the graphene oxide contributes to the properties of the final product, improving the hardness and aging resistance. Graphene oxide has a lower hardness and textile strength, and if the amount of graphene oxide in the final product is not correctly estimated, it can lead to mechanical properties which are comparable to the starting material or even worse, the graphene oxide agglomerates becoming a tearing point in the final material if the amount added is too high (in a value greater than 3% towards the parent material measured in mass percentages). Two different types of tests were done on the obtained materials, the hardness standard test and the tensile strength standard test, and they were made on the obtained materials before and after the aging process. For the aging process, an accelerated aging was used in order to simulate the effect of natural aging over a long period of time. The accelerated aging was made in extreme heat. For all materials, FT-IR spectra were recorded using FT-IR spectroscopy. From the FT-IR spectra only the bands corresponding to the polyamide were intense, while the characteristic bands for graphene oxide were very small in comparison due to the very small amounts introduced in the final composite along with the low absorptivity of the graphene backbone and limited number of functional groups. In conclusion, some compositions showed very promising results, both in tensile strength test and in hardness tests. The best ratio of graphene to elastomer was between 0.6 and 0.8%, this addition extending the life of the product. Acknowledgements: The present work was possible due to the EU-funding grant POSCCE-A2O2.2.1-2013-1, Project No. 638/12.03.2014, code SMIS-CSNR 48652. The financial contribution received from the national project ‘New nanostructured polymeric composites for centre pivot liners, centre plate and other components for the railway industry (RONERANANOSTRUCT)’, No: 18 PTE (PN-III-P2-2.1-PTE-2016-0146) is also acknowledged.

Keywords: graphene, graphene oxide, mechanical properties, dopping effect

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Authors: Emilia A. Campayo-Munoz, Alberto Cabedo-Mas

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Music students have to face the challenges of musical practice -such as discipline in study, competitiveness, or performance anxiety- that require good emotional management to enable successful performance. However, few rigorous implementations focused on studying the influence of emotional skills in student's musical performance. Responding to this gap in the literature, this study aims to explore the relationship between emotional skills and musical performance in the context of elementary music education in conservatoires. Given the individual nature of the instrumental studies and the difficult availability of teachers to be trained in emotional education, it was decided to conduct a multiple case study in a Spanish music conservatoire. Author 1 carried out the implementation of the research with three 10-year-old students who were selected from her piano class. All of them attended the third year of their piano studies. The research processes consisted of the implementation of a set of specific and cross-sectional activities designed 'ad hoc' to be articulated in the subjects of individual instrument -piano- and ensemble in parallel to the contents of musical nature. The CE-360º questionnaire was used to measure different aspects of the students' emotional skills from a multi-angle perspective, each of the questionnaires being responded by oneself, three teachers and three peers, before and after the implementation. The data from the questionnaire were compared with the grades that the students obtained during the first and last quarter of the school year in the attended subjects. Acknowledging the complexity of emotional development, the results indicate possible relations between emotional skills and musical performance in music education in conservatoires. The results show that for the cases explored; there exists a relationship between emotional skills and musical performance. Although generalizations cannot be made, this study reinforces the need to further explore emotional development in instrumental teaching and suggest the importance of inviting teachers to reflect on the pedagogical practices extended in the conservatoires and to develop and implement those that promote the work of the students' emotions.

Keywords: conservatoires, emotional skills, music education, musical performance

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Authors: Hanwei Cheng, Chengbei Xu, Yijie Wang

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More and more college students are accustomed to surfing the Internet everyday. As community members, college students have ability to express opinions and participate in social affairs, they not only accept information passively, but also voice their concerns on the Internet. We interpret the online discourses featured with anonymization, so it helps us more effectively and conveniently understand the behaviors and thoughts of college students, and educators can thus grasp the scales and directions in guiding online language. We analyzed online comments in both content and form aspects in one student forum (named Dandan, the BNU’s campus forum), and through methods of literature review and interview, we found that in term of content, college students pay attention to practical information online, emphasize on personal development and pursue hot issues; in term of form, college students' online language displays cross-border quality sometimes under the general feature of normative, and they often explore a certain topic in the form of question or discussion, and they like to show feelings in ironic and stream-of-consciousness ways. It is argued that college students intend to establish a community to facilitate personal development and meet emotional needs through the student forum, and by making comments at the forum they are also able to get involved in public affairs. We should pay attention to problems of college students' online discourse, such as boundary issues (like informal advertisement and information authenticity), emotional issues and the spread of gossip. Some possible solutions to solving online discourse problems can be applied, like we can improve access systems of student forum, clarify principles of Internet langue use, change oversimplified management approaches and use some other tactics, in order to form a mechanism of student self-regulation, also deepen the trust and cooperation between school administrators and students.

Keywords: online language, youth discourse, content and form, implication and strategy

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Authors: Yakup Ulusu, Faruk Ozel, Numan Eczacioglu, Abdurrahman Ozen, Sabriye Acikgoz

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GFP discovered in the mid-1970s, has been used as a marker after replicated genetic study by scientists. In biotechnology, cell, molecular biology, the GFP gene is frequently used as a reporter of expression. In modified forms, it has been used to make biosensors. Many animals have been created that express GFP as an evidence that a gene can be expressed throughout a given organism. Proteins labeled with GFP identified locations are determined. And so, cell connections can be monitored, gene expression can be reported, protein-protein interactions can be observed and signals that create events can be detected. Additionally, monitoring GFP is noninvasive; it can be detected by under UV-light because of simply generating fluorescence. Moreover, GFP is a relatively small and inert molecule, that does not seem to treat any biological processes of interest. The synthesis of GFP has some steps like, to construct the plasmid system, transformation in E. coli, production and purification of protein. GFP carrying plasmid vector pBAD–GFPuv was digested using two different restriction endonuclease enzymes (NheI and Eco RI) and DNA fragment of GFP was gel purified before cloning. The GFP-encoding DNA fragment was ligated into pET28a plasmid using NheI and Eco RI restriction sites. The final plasmid was named pETGFP and DNA sequencing of this plasmid indicated that the hexa histidine-tagged GFP was correctly inserted. Histidine-tagged GFP was expressed in an Escherichia coli BL21 DE3 (pLysE) strain. The strain was transformed with pETGFP plasmid and grown on LuiraBertoni (LB) plates with kanamycin and chloramphenicol selection. E. coli cells were grown up to an optical density (OD 600) of 0.8 and induced by the addition of a final concentration of 1mM isopropyl-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) and then grown for additional 4 h. The amino-terminal hexa-histidine-tag facilitated purification of the GFP by using a His Bind affinity chromatography resin (Novagen). Purity of GFP protein was analyzed by a 12 % sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The concentration of protein was determined by UV absorption at 280 nm (Varian Cary 50 Scan UV/VIS spectrophotometer). Synthesis of GFP-Polymer composite nanofibers was produced by using GFP solution (10mg/mL) and polymer precursor Polyvinylpyrrolidone, (PVP, Mw=1300000) as starting materials and template, respectively. For the fabrication of nanofibers with the different fiber diameter; a sol–gel solution comprising of 0.40, 0.60 and 0.80 g PVP (depending upon the desired fiber diameter) and 100 mg GFP in 10 mL water: ethanol (3:2) mixtures were prepared and then the solution was covered on collecting plate via electro spinning at 10 kV with a feed-rate of 0.25 mL h-1 using Spellman electro spinning system. Results show that GFP-based nano-fiber can be used plenty of biomedical applications such as bio-imaging, bio-mechanic, bio-material and tissue engineering.

Keywords: biomaterial, GFP, nano-fibers, protein expression

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Authors: George Kassar, Phillip A. Cartwright

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Based on data collected from The Jones Learning Center (JLC), University of the Ozarks, Arkansas, U.S., this study explores the impact of inclusive classroom practices on neuro-diverse college students’ and their consequent academic performance having participated in integrative therapies designed to support students who are intellectually capable of obtaining a college degree, but who require support for learning challenges owing to disabilities, AD/HD, or ASD. The purpose of this study is two-fold. The first objective is to explore the general process, special techniques, and practices of the (JLC) inclusive program. The second objective is to identify and analyze the effectiveness of the processes, techniques, and practices in supporting the academic performance of enrolled college students with learning disabilities following integration into mainstream university learning. Integrity, transparency, and confidentiality are vital in the research. All questions were shared in advance and confirmed by the concerned management at the JLC. While administering the questionnaire as well as conducted the interviews, the purpose of the study, its scope, aims, and objectives were clearly explained to all participants prior starting the questionnaire / interview. Confidentiality of all participants assured and guaranteed by using encrypted identification of individuals, thus limiting access to data to only the researcher, and storing data in a secure location. Respondents were also informed that their participation in this research is voluntary, and they may withdraw from it at any time prior to submission if they wish. Ethical consent was obtained from the participants before proceeding with videorecording of the interviews. This research uses a mixed methods approach. The research design involves collecting, analyzing, and “mixing” quantitative and qualitative methods and data to enable a research inquiry. The research process is organized based on a five-pillar approach. The first three pillars are focused on testing the first hypothesis (H1) directed toward determining the extent to the academic performance of JLC students did improve after involvement with comprehensive JLC special program. The other two pillars relate to the second hypothesis (H2), which is directed toward determining the extent to which collective and applied knowledge at JLC is distinctive from typical practices in the field. The data collected for research were obtained from three sources: 1) a set of secondary data in the form of Grade Point Average (GPA) received from the registrar, 2) a set of primary data collected throughout structured questionnaire administered to students and alumni at JLC, and 3) another set of primary data collected throughout interviews conducted with staff and educators at JLC. The significance of this study is two folds. First, it validates the effectiveness of the special program at JLC for college-level students who learn differently. Second, it identifies the distinctiveness of the mix of techniques, methods, and practices, including the special individualized and personalized one-on-one approach at JLC.

Keywords: education, neuro-diverse students, program effectiveness, Jones learning center

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Authors: Stehr Melanie

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The availability of apposite information is essential for the decision-making process of organizational buyers. Due to the constraints of the Covid-19 crisis, information channels that emphasize face-to-face contact (e.g. sales visits, trade shows) have been unavailable, and usage of digitally-driven information channels (e.g. videoconferencing, platforms) has skyrocketed. This paper explores the question in which areas the pandemic induced shift in the use of information channels could be sustainable and in which areas it is a temporary phenomenon. While information and buying behavior in B2C purchases has been regularly studied in the last decade, the last fundamental model of organizational buying behavior in B2B was introduced by Johnston and Lewin (1996) in times before the advent of the internet. Subsequently, research efforts in B2B marketing shifted from organizational buyers and their decision and information behavior to the business relationships between sellers and buyers. This study builds on the extensive literature on situational factors influencing organizational buying and information behavior and uses the economics of information theory as a theoretical framework. The research focuses on the German woodworking industry, which before the Covid-19 crisis was characterized by a rather low level of digitization of information channels. By focusing on an industry with traditional communication structures, a shift in information behavior induced by an exogenous shock is considered a ripe research setting. The study is exploratory in nature. The primary data source is 40 in-depth interviews based on the repertory-grid method. Thus, 120 typical buying situations in the woodworking industry and the information and channels relevant to them are identified. The results are combined into clusters, each of which shows similar information behavior in the procurement process. In the next step, the clusters are analyzed in terms of the post and pre-Covid-19 crisis’ behavior identifying stable and dynamic information behavior aspects. Initial results show that, for example, clusters representing search goods with low risk and complexity suggest a sustainable rise in the use of digitally-driven information channels. However, in clusters containing trust goods with high significance and novelty, an increased return to face-to-face information channels can be expected after the Covid-19 crisis. The results are interesting from both a scientific and a practical point of view. This study is one of the first to apply the economics of information theory to organizational buyers and their decision and information behavior in the digital information age. Especially the focus on the dynamic aspects of information behavior after an exogenous shock might contribute new impulses to theoretical debates related to the economics of information theory. For practitioners - especially suppliers’ marketing managers and intermediaries such as publishers or trade show organizers from the woodworking industry - the study shows wide-ranging starting points for a future-oriented segmentation of their marketing program by highlighting the dynamic and stable preferences of elaborated clusters in the choice of their information channels.

Keywords: B2B buying process, crisis, economics of information theory, information channel

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Authors: Policarpio Jr. Joves

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Physicians in most teaching hospitals are commonly promoted into managerial roles, yet their training is mostly in clinical and scientific skills but not in leadership competencies. When they shift into roles of physician leadership, the majority hold on to their primary identity of physicians. These conflicting roles affect their identity and eventually their work. The physician leaders also face additional challenges related to academics which include incorporation of new knowledge into the existing curriculum, use of technology in the delivery of teaching, the need to train medical students outside of hospital wards, etc. The study aims to explore how physician leaders in teaching hospitals of private medical schools enact their leadership roles and how they face the challenges as physician leaders. The study setting shall be teaching hospitals of three private medical schools situated in the National Capital Region, Philippines. A multiple case study design shall be adopted in this research. Physicians shall be eligible to participate in the study if they are practicing clinicians limited to the five major clinical specialty: Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology. They must be teaching in the College of Medicine prior to their appointments as physician leaders in both medical school and teaching hospital. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews shall be utilized as a means of data collection, with open-ended questions, enabling physician leaders to present narratives about their identity, role enactment, conflicts, reaction of colleagues, and the challenges encountered in their day-to-day work as physician leaders. Interviews shall be combined with observations and review of records to gain more insights into how the physician leaders are 'doing' management. Within-case analysis shall be done initially followed by a thematic analysis across the cases, referred to as cross–case analysis or cross-case synthesis.

Keywords: academic leaders, academic managers, physician leaders, physician managers

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Authors: Shane-Anthony Smith

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Teachers across grade levels and content areas face a myriad of challenges in the classroom. From inconsistent attendance to disruptive behaviors, these challenges can have a dire impact on the educational space, untimely leading to a loss of instructional time and student disenfranchisement from learning. While these challenges are not new to the educational landscape, the post-COVID classroom has, in many instances, been more severely impacted by behaviors that are not conducive to learning. Despite the mounting challenges, the role of the teacher remains unchanged - that is, to create and maintain a safe environment that is conducive to learning and promotes successful learning outcomes. Accomplishing this feat is no easy task. Yet, there are steps teachers can - indeed, must - take to better set themselves and their students up for success. The key to achieving this success is effective classroom transitions. This paper presents a four-step approach for teachers to engage in successful classroom transitions to promote meaningful student engagement and active positive learning outcomes. The transition strategy I will explore is called PREP (Pause, Reset, Establish Expectations, and Proceed). I developed this strategy in my work as a Residency Director for my university’s teacher residency program. In this role, I am tasked with coaching emerging teachers and their in-service teaching mentors in the field, as well as providing mentorship to special education resident teachers pursuing teaching degrees in the program. As a teacher educator, being in Middle and High school classrooms provides an intricate and critical understanding of the challenges, opportunities, and possibilities in the classroom. For this paper, I will explore how teachers can optimize the opportunities PREP provides to keep students engaged and, thus, improve student achievement. I will describe the approach, explain its use, and provide case-study examples of its classroom application.

Keywords: classroom management, teaching strategies, student engagement, classroom transition

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Authors: Louis Hickman

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Stakeholder theory is a powerful conception of the firm based on the notion that a primary focus on shareholders is inadequate and, in fact, detrimental to the long-term health of the firm. As such it represents a departure from prevalent business school teachings with their focus on accounting and cost controls. Herein, it is argued that stakeholder theory can be better conceptualized as a critical theory, or one which represents a fundamental change in business behavior and can transform the behavior of businesses if accepted. By arguing that financial interests underdetermine the success of the firm, stakeholder theory further democratizes business by endorsing an increased awareness of the importance of non-shareholder stakeholders. Stakeholder theory requires new, non-financial, measures of success that provide a new consciousness for management and businesses when conceiving their actions and place in society. Thereby, stakeholder theory can show individuals through self-reflection that the capitalist impulses to generate wealth cannot act as primary drivers of business behavior, but rather, that we would choose to support interests outside ourselves if we made the decision in free discussion. This is due to the false consciousness embedded in our capitalism that the firm’s finances are the foremost concern of modern organizations at the expense of other goals. A focus on non-shareholder stakeholders in addition to shareholders generates greater benefits for society by improving the state of customers, employees, suppliers, the community, and shareholders alike. These positive effects generate further positive gains in well-being for stakeholders and translate into increased health for the future firm. Additionally, shareholders are the only stakeholder group that does not provide long-term firm value since there are not always communities with qualified employees, suppliers capable of providing the quality of product needed, or persons with purchasing power for all conceivable products. Therefore, the firm’s long-term health is benefited most greatly by improving the greatest possible parts of the society in which it inhabits, rather than solely the shareholder.

Keywords: capitalism, critical theory, self-reflection, stakeholder theory

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Authors: Roberta Martino, Viviana Ventre

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Every day we face choices whose consequences are deferred in time. These types of choices are the intertemporal choices and play an important role in the social, economic, and financial world. The Discounted Utility Model is the mathematical model of reference to calculate the utility of intertemporal prospects. The discount rate is the main element of the model as it describes how the individual perceives the indeterminacy of subsequent periods. Empirical evidence has shown a discrepancy between the behavior expected from the predictions of the model and the effective choices made from the decision makers. In particular, the term temporal inconsistency indicates those choices that do not remain optimal with the passage of time. This phenomenon has been described with hyperbolic models of the discount rate which, unlike the linear or exponential nature assumed by the discounted utility model, is not constant over time. This paper explores the problem of inconsistency by tracing the decision-making process through the concept of impatience. The degree of impatience and the degree of decrease of impatience are two parameters that allow to quantify the weight of emotional factors and cognitive limitations during the evaluation and selection of alternatives. In fact, although the theory assumes perfectly rational decision makers, behavioral finance and cognitive psychology have made it possible to understand that distortions in the decision-making process and emotional influence have an inevitable impact on the decision-making process. The degree to which impatience is diminished is the focus of the first part of the study. By comparing consistent and inconsistent preferences over time, it was possible to verify that some anomalies in the discounted utility model are a result of the combination of cognitive bias and emotional factors. In particular: the delay effect and the interval effect are compared through the concept of misperception of time; starting from psychological considerations, a criterion is proposed to identify the causes of the magnitude effect that considers the differences in outcomes rather than their ratio; the sign effect is analyzed by integrating in the evaluation of prospects with negative outcomes the psychological aspects of loss aversion provided by Prospect Theory. An experiment implemented confirms three findings: the greatest variation in the degree of decrease in impatience corresponds to shorter intervals close to the present; the greatest variation in the degree of impatience occurs for outcomes of lower magnitude; the variation in the degree of impatience is greatest for negative outcomes. The experimental phase was implemented with the construction of the hyperbolic factor through the administration of questionnaires constructed for each anomaly. This work formalizes the underlying causes of the discrepancy between the discounted utility model and the empirical evidence of preference reversal.

Keywords: decreasing impatience, discount utility model, hyperbolic discount, hyperbolic factor, impatience

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Authors: Manish Madappa, Madhavi Gayathri Raman

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The primary vehicle of human communication is language. A breakdown occurring in any aspect of communication may lead to frustration and isolation among the learners and the teachers. Over seven percent of the population in the world currently experience limitations and those children who exhibit a deviant/deficient language acquisition curve even when being in a language rich environment as their peers may be at risk of having a language disorder or language impairment. The difficulty may be in the word level [vocabulary/word knowledge] and/or the sentence level [syntax/morphology) Children with SLI appear to be developing normally in all aspects except for their receptive and/or expressive language skills. Thus, it is utmost importance to identify children with or at risk of SLI so that an early intervention can foster language and social growth, provide the best possible learning environment with special support for language to be explicitly taught and a step in providing continuous and ongoing support. The present study looks at Kannada English bilingual children and works towards identifying children at risk of “specific language impairment”. The study was conducted through an exploratory study which systematically enquired into the narratives of young Kannada-English bilinguals and to investigate the data for story structure in their narrative formulations. Oral narrative offers a rich source of data about a child’s language use in a relatively natural context. The fundamental objective is to ensure comparability and to be more universal and thus allows for the evaluation narrative text competence. The data was collected from 10 class three students at a primary school in Mysore, Karnataka and analyzed for macrostructure component reflecting the goal directed behavior of a protagonist who is motivated to carry out some kind of action with the intention of attaining a goal. The results show that the children exhibiting a deviation of -1.25 SD are at risk of SLI. Two learners were identified to be at risk of Specific Language Impairment with a standard deviation of more the 1.25 below the mean score.

Keywords: bilingual, oral narratives, SLI, macrostructure

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Authors: Mohamed Karodia

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Accountancy as a subject is one of the sciences that for many years has been perceived as a difficult subject to study and teach. Yet, it continuously attracts scholars graduating from school and entering Higher Education Institutions as a subject of choice and career. The teaching and learning of this subject have not been easy and has evolved and progressed over the past few decades however students still find it difficult to study and this has resulted in poor student achievement. In search of solutions, this study has considered the effect and efficacy that study skills have on the performance of Accountancy students and in particular students studying Second Year Diploma in Accountancy at the University of Johannesburg. These students appear to have a lack of appropriate study skills and as a result of these impacts on their performance in the courses, they are studying. This study also focuses on strategies to enhance Second Year Diploma Accountancy students’ academic performance. A literature review was conducted to investigate what scholarly literature suggests about study skills, in general, and in particular for Accountancy to be successful. In order to determine what study skills Second Year Accountancy students are applying when they learn and why they are failing the Accountancy examinations and formal class tests, the study adopted the quantitative research method. A questionnaire addressing various aspects of study skills, studying accountancy and studying, in general, was provided to 800 students studying Second Year Diploma in Accountancy at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto Campus. The quantitative data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics in the form of proportions, frequencies, means, and standard deviations, t-tests to compare differences between two groups as well as correlations between variables. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that students are provided with courses in time management, procrastination, reading, note taking and writing, test preparation techniques as well as study attitude. Lecturers spend more time teaching students how to study in general as well as accountancy specifically preferably at the first-year level before proceeding to the second year. It is also recommended that the University implements a study skills course to assist the students with studying.

Keywords: accountancy, skills, strategies, study

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Authors: Fabrizio Ascione, Martina Borrelli, Rosa Francesca De Masi, Silvia Ruggiero, Giuseppe Peter Vanoli

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The Directive 2010/31/EC 'Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 may 2010 on the energy performance of buildings' moved the targets of the previous version toward more ambitious targets, for instance by establishing that, by 31 December 2020, all new buildings should demand nearly zero-energy. Moreover, the demonstrative role of public buildings is strongly affirmed so that also the target nearly zero-energy buildings is anticipated, in January 2019. On the other hand, given the very low turn-over rate of buildings (in Europe, it ranges between 1-3%/yearly), each policy that does not consider the renovation of the existing building stock cannot be effective in the short and medium periods. According to this proposal, the study provides a novel, holistic approach to design the refurbishment of educational buildings in colder cities of Mediterranean regions enabling stakeholders to understand the uncertainty to use numerical modelling and the real environmental and economic impacts of adopting some energy efficiency technologies. The case study is a university building of Molise region in the centre of Italy. The proposed approach is based on the application of the cost-optimal methodology as it is shown in the Delegate Regulation 244/2012 and Guidelines of the European Commission, for evaluating the cost-optimal level of energy performance with a macroeconomic approach. This means that the refurbishment scenario should correspond to the configuration that leads to lowest global cost during the estimated economic life-cycle, taking into account not only the investment cost but also the operational costs, linked to energy consumption and polluting emissions. The definition of the reference building has been supported by various in-situ surveys, investigations, evaluations of the indoor comfort. Data collection can be divided into five categories: 1) geometrical features; 2) building envelope audit; 3) technical system and equipment characterization; 4) building use and thermal zones definition; 5) energy building data. For each category, the required measures have been indicated with some suggestions for the identifications of spatial distribution and timing of the measurements. With reference to the case study, the collected data, together with a comparison with energy bills, allowed a proper calibration of a numerical model suitable for the hourly energy simulation by means of EnergyPlus. Around 30 measures/packages of energy, efficiency measure has been taken into account both on the envelope than regarding plant systems. Starting from results, two-point will be examined exhaustively: (i) the importance to use validated models to simulate the present performance of building under investigation; (ii) the environmental benefits and the economic implications of a deep energy refurbishment of the educational building in cold climates.

Keywords: energy simulation, modelling calibration, cost-optimal retrofit, university building

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Authors: Bibiana Hlebova

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The Slovak Republic is a democratic and plural society consisting of people differing in language and culture, and its citizens should already be well prepared for the coexistence of multiple nations, nationalities or ethnic groups. Reflection on culture, art and literature of the Roma minority has taken on a new dimension in Slovakia in the past two decades when it comes to social, cultural and arts integration of this ethnic group with the plural society. Non-Roma view Roma as a specific ethnic group with their own culture, language, customs and traditions, social norms and coexistence that has retained archetypal qualities of Roma identity (romipen) in their real lives as well as in the literary world. Roma characters in works of art are specific and distinguishable from other literary characters simply by being Roma, that is, of a different origin and social status, they represent a different way of life, a distinctive hierarchy of values. The portrayal of Roma and the life of Roma ethnic group in the most dominant genre of Roma literature for children and youth, a Roma fairy tale (paramisi), can work as a suitable means to learn about, accept and tolerate the otherness of Roma in the conditions of school inclusion of students coming from the Roma ethnic group, and to support their identification with their own ethnic group and its cultural traditions. The paper aims to point out not only the specific nature of Roma identity (romipen) through the selected Roma fairy tale (paramisa) – Children of the Sun, but also the diversity of its uses in the educational process within primary education of pupils at elementary schools, advocating the philosophy of inclusive education. Through the suggestions of multi-cultural, emotional, and language and communication education of pupils through the work with the selected Roma fairy tale (paramisa), the author is exploring ways to overcome the issues stemming from the coexistence of Roma and Non-Roma pupils, which are burdened with prejudice, intolerance, aggression and racism on both sides, in the education process.

Keywords: inclusive education, otherness, Roma, Roma fairy tale, Roma identity

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Authors: Vacharee Svamivastu

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This research investigates the application of geometrical relationship to the ancient religious assembly hall (Vihara) housing a reclining Buddha statue of Thailand's Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park. The study utilizes the archaeological and wooden roof structure remains of the Vihara as the prima facie evidence, supplemented with evidence from other active archaeological sites with architectural kinship as well as Buddhist ideology. At present, the wooden roofs of the Vihara fell prey to the elements and there remain only the base, columns and enclosing walls. Unlike typical Viharas whose floor plan are of rectangular shape, the floor plan of the Vihara housing the reclining Buddha is of square configuration of 25x25m. Further observation has revealed the utilization of large laterite boulders as the principal construction material of the assembly hall (Vihara) columns. The laterite columns are of square shape (1x1m) and various heights (H), ranging from 3.50m to 5.50m. The erection of the Vihara required a total of 36 laterite columns. The pattern of columns arrangement is of two rows of inner columns, two rows of outer columns and two rows of verandah columns. The space between pairs of the verandah columns was stacked with laterite blocks of varying sizes to form the Vihara walls with small openings for ventilation. Upon applying the geometrical relationship-grid system to the Vihara, the results reveal that the placement of the columns was deliberately and masterfully undertaken such that the center of the square-shaped Vihara is conspicuously spacious so as to accommodate the sacred reclining Buddha statue. The elegance of the Vihara demonstrates the ingenious application of geometrical relationship to transforming a space into a structure (i.e. Vihara) of architectural and religious significance.

Keywords: geometrical relationship, the religious assembly hall, Vihara, Kamphaeng Phet School of Master Builder

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Authors: Sundaram Chandrasekaran, Seung Hyun Hur

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Exploring strategies for oxygen vacancy engineering under mild conditions and understanding the relationship between dislocations and photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell performance are challenging issues for designing high performance PEC devices. Therefore, it is very important to understand that how the oxygen vacancies (VO) or other defect states affect the performance of the photocatalyst in photoelectric transfer. So far, it has been found that defects in nano or micro crystals can have two possible significances on the PEC performance. Firstly, an electron-hole pair produced at the interface of photoelectrode and electrolyte can recombine at the defect centers under illumination of light, thereby reducing the PEC performances. On the other hand, the defects could lead to a higher light absorption in the longer wavelength region and may act as energy centers for the water splitting reaction that can improve the PEC performances. Even if the dislocation growth of ZnO has been verified by the full density functional theory (DFT) calculations and local density approximation calculations (LDA), it requires further studies to correlate the structures of ZnO and PEC performances. Exploring the hybrid structures composed of graphene oxide (GO) and ZnO nanostructures offer not only the vision of how the complex structure form from a simple starting materials but also the tools to improve PEC performances by understanding the underlying mechanisms of mutual interactions. As there are few studies for the ZnO growth with other materials and the growth mechanism in those cases has not been clearly explored yet, it is very important to understand the fundamental growth process of nanomaterials with the specific materials, so that rational and controllable syntheses of efficient ZnO-based hybrid materials can be designed to prepare nanostructures that can exhibit significant PEC performances. Herein, we fabricated various ZnO nanostructures such as hollow sphere, bucky bowl, nanorod and triangle, investigated their pH dependent growth mechanism, and correlated the PEC performances with them. Especially, the origin of well-controlled dislocation-driven growth and its transformation mechanism of ZnO nanorods to triangles on the GO surface were discussed in detail. Surprisingly, the addition of GO during the synthesis process not only tunes the morphology of ZnO nanocrystals and also creates more oxygen vacancies (oxygen defects) in the lattice of ZnO, which obviously suggest that the oxygen vacancies be created by the redox reaction between GO and ZnO in which the surface oxygen is extracted from the surface of ZnO by the functional groups of GO. On the basis of our experimental and theoretical analysis, the detailed mechanism for the formation of specific structural shapes and oxygen vacancies via dislocation, and its impact in PEC performances are explored. In water splitting performance, the maximum photocurrent density of GO-ZnO triangles was 1.517mA/cm-2 (under UV light ~ 360 nm) vs. RHE with high incident photon to current conversion Efficiency (IPCE) of 10.41%, which is the highest among all samples fabricated in this study and also one of the highest IPCE reported so far obtained from GO-ZnO triangular shaped photocatalyst.

Keywords: dislocation driven growth, zinc oxide, graphene oxide, water splitting

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Authors: Pei-Chen Wu

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Both preexisting cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of personality-depression relationship have suffered from one main limitation: they ignored the stability of the construct of interest (e.g., personality and depression) can be expected to influence the estimate of the association between personality and depression. To address this limitation, the Trait-State-Occasion (TSO) modeling was adopted to analyze the sources of variance of the focused constructs. A TSO modeling was operated by partitioning a state variance into time-invariant (trait) and time-variant (occasion) components. Within a TSO framework, it is possible to predict change on the part of construct that really changes (i.e., time-variant variance), when controlling the trait variances. 750 high school students were followed for 4 waves over six-month intervals. The baseline data (T1) were collected from the senior high schools (aged 14 to 15 years). Participants were given Beck Depression Inventory and Big Five Inventory at each assessment. TSO modeling revealed that 70~78% of the variance in personality (five constructs) was stable over follow-up period; however, 57~61% of the variance in depression was stable. For personality construct, there were 7.6% to 8.4% of the total variance from the autoregressive occasion factors; for depression construct there were 15.2% to 18.1% of the total variance from the autoregressive occasion factors. Additionally, results showed that when controlling initial symptom severity, the time-invariant components of all five dimensions of personality were predictive of change in depression (Extraversion: B= .32, Openness: B = -.21, Agreeableness: B = -.27, Conscientious: B = -.36, Neuroticism: B = .39). Because five dimensions of personality shared some variance, the models in which all five dimensions of personality were simultaneous to predict change in depression were investigated. The time-invariant components of five dimensions were still significant predictors for change in depression (Extraversion: B = .30, Openness: B = -.24, Agreeableness: B = -.28, Conscientious: B = -.35, Neuroticism: B = .42). In sum, the majority of the variability of personality was stable over 2 years. Individuals with the greater tendency of Extraversion and Neuroticism have higher degrees of depression; individuals with the greater tendency of Openness, Agreeableness and Conscientious have lower degrees of depression.

Keywords: assessment, depression, personality, trait-state-occasion model

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Authors: A. M. Andriano, M. Lombardi, A. Lopolito, M. Prosperi, A. Stasi, E. Iannuzzi

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In according to the scientific debate on the definition of Social Innovation (SI), the present paper identifies SI as new ideas (products, services, and models) that simultaneously meet social needs and create new social relationships or collaborations. This concept offers important tools to unravel the difficult condition for the agricultural sector in marginalized areas, characterized by the abandonment of activities, low level of farmer education, and low generational renewal, hampering new territorial strategies addressed at and integrated and sustainable development. Models of SI in agriculture, starting from bottom up approach or from the community, are considered to represent the driving force of an ecological and digital revolution. A system based on SI may be able to grasp and satisfy individual and social needs and to promote new forms of entrepreneurship. In this context, Vazapp ('Go Hoeing') is an emerging SI model in southern Italy that promotes solutions for satisfying needs of farmers and facilitates their relationships (creation of network). The Vazapp’s initiative, considered in this study, is the Contadinners ('Farmer’s dinners'), a dinner held at farmer’s house where stakeholders living in the surrounding area know each other and are able to build a network for possible future professional collaborations. The aim of the paper is to identify the evolution of farmers’ relationships, both quantitatively and qualitatively, because of the Contadinner’s initiative organized by Vazapp. To this end, the study adopts the Social Network Analysis (SNA) methodology by using UCINET (Version 6.667) software to analyze the relational structure. Data collection was realized through a questionnaire distributed to 387 participants in the twenty 'Contadinners', held from February 2016 to June 2018. The response rate to the survey was about 50% of farmers. The elaboration data was focused on different aspects, such as: a) the measurement of relational reciprocity among the farmers using the symmetrize method of answers; b) the measurement of the answer reliability using the dichotomize method; c) the description of evolution of social capital using the cohesion method; d) the clustering of the Contadinners' participants in followers and not-followers of Vazapp to evaluate its impact on the local social capital. The results concern the effectiveness of this initiative in generating trustworthy relationships within the rural area of southern Italy, typically affected by individualism and mistrust. The number of relationships represents the quantitative indicator to define the dimension of the network development; while the typologies of relationships (from simple friendship to formal collaborations, for branding new cooperation initiatives) represents the qualitative indicator that offers a diversified perspective of the network impact. From the analysis carried out, Vazapp’s initiative represents surely a virtuous SI model to catalyze the relationships within the rural areas and to develop entrepreneurship based on the real needs of the community.

Keywords:

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Authors: Aleksandra Zieminska-Stolarska, Ireneusz Zbicinski

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Introduction: The objective of the present work was to develop and validate a 3D CFD numerical model for simulating flow through 17 kilometers long dam reservoir of a complex bathymetry. In contrast to flowing waters, dam reservoirs were not emphasized in the early years of water quality modeling, as this issue has never been the major focus of urban development. Starting in the 1970s, however, it was recognized that natural and man-made lakes are equal, if not more important than estuaries and rivers from a recreational standpoint. The Sulejow Reservoir (Central Poland) was selected as the study area as representative of many lowland dam reservoirs and due availability of a large database of the ecological, hydrological and morphological parameters of the lake. Method: 3D, 2-phase and 1-phase CFD models were analysed to determine hydrodynamics in the Sulejow Reservoir. Development of 3D, 2-phase CFD model of flow requires a construction of mesh with millions of elements and overcome serious convergence problems. As 1-phase CFD model of flow in relation to 2-phase CFD model excludes from the simulations the dynamics of waves only, which should not change significantly water flow pattern for the case of lowland, dam reservoirs. In 1-phase CFD model, the phases (water-air) are separated by a plate which allows calculations of one phase (water) flow only. As the wind affects velocity of flow, to take into account the effect of the wind on hydrodynamics in 1-phase CFD model, the plate must move with speed and direction equal to the speed and direction of the upper water layer. To determine the velocity at which the plate will move on the water surface and interacts with the underlying layers of water and apply this value in 1-phase CFD model, the 2D, 2-phase model was elaborated. Result: Model was verified on the basis of the extensive flow measurements (StreamPro ADCP, USA). Excellent agreement (an average error less than 10%) between computed and measured velocity profiles was found. As a result of work, the following main conclusions can be presented: •The results indicate that the flow field in the Sulejow Reservoir is transient in nature, with swirl flows in the lower part of the lake. Recirculating zones, with the size of even half kilometer, may increase water retention time in this region •The results of simulations confirm the pronounced effect of the wind on the development of the water circulation zones in the reservoir which might affect the accumulation of nutrients in the epilimnion layer and result e.g. in the algae bloom. Conclusion: The resulting model is accurate and the methodology develop in the frame of this work can be applied to all types of storage reservoir configurations, characteristics, and hydrodynamics conditions. Large recirculating zones in the lake which increase water retention time and might affect the accumulation of nutrients were detected. Accurate CFD model of hydrodynamics in large water body could help in the development of forecast of water quality, especially in terms of eutrophication and water management of the big water bodies.

Keywords: CFD, mathematical modelling, dam reservoirs, hydrodynamics

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Authors: Felix Olajide Ibikunle

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Introductory Statement: Sustainable participation of teenagers in sport requires deliberate and concerted plan and managerial policy rooted in the “philosophy of catch them young”. At risk, teenagers need proper integration into societal aspiration: This direction will go a long way to streamline them into the security breach and attractive nuisance free lifestyles. Basic Methodology: The population consists of children within 13-19 years old. A proportionate sampling size technique of 60% was adopted to select seven zones out of 11 geo-political zones in the Ibadan metropolis. Qualitative information and interview were used to collect needed information. Majority of the teenagers were out of school, street hawkers, motor pack, touts, and unserious vocation apprentices. These groups have the potentials of security breaches in the metropolis and beyond. Five hundred and thirty-four (534) respondents were used for the study. They were drawn from Ojoo, Akingbile, and Moniya axis = 72, Agbowo, Ajibode, and Apete axis = 74; Akobo, Basorun, and Idi-ape axis 79; Wofun, Monatan, and Iyana-Church axis = 78; Molete, Oke-ado and Oke-Bola axis = 75; Beere, Odinjo, Elekuro axis = 77; Eleyele, Ologuneru, and Alesinloye axis = 79. Major Findings: Multiple regression was used to analyze the independent variables and percentage. The respondents average age was 15.6 years old, and with 100% male. The instrument(questionnaire) used yielded; sport preference (r = 0.72); intervention (r = 0.68) and the sustainable participation (r = 0.70).The relative contributions of sport preference on participation of at risk teenagers was (F-ratio = 1.067); Intervention contribution of sport on participation of at risk teenagers = produced (F-ratio of 12.095) was significant while sustainable participation of at risk teenager produced (F-ratio = 1.062) was significant. Closing Statement: The respondents’ sport preference stimulated their participation in sport. The intervention exposed at risk-teenagers to coaching, which activated their interest and participation in sport. While sustainable participation contributed positively to evolve at risk teenagers participation in their preferred sport.

Keywords: sport, preference, intervention, teenagers, sustainable, participation and risk teenagers

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Authors: Tahmina Huq

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Action research equips teachers with the skills needed to work on a particular situation in their classroom. This paper aims to introduce a strategy, visual dialogue between student and teacher, used by the researcher to help autistic students with intellectual disabilities to regulate their immediate emotions to achieve their academic goals. This research has been conducted to determine whether teaching self-regulation strategies can be effective instead of segregating them. The researcher has identified that visual dialogue between the student and teacher is a helpful technique for teaching self-regulation. For this particular research, action research suits the purpose as the findings can be applied immediately in the classroom. Like many autistic students, the teacher had two 15 years old autistic students with intellectual disabilities in class who had difficulty in controlling their emotions and impulses. They expressed their emotions through aggressive behavior, such as shouting, screaming, biting teachers or any adult who was in their sight, and destroying school property. They needed two to four hours to recover from their meltdowns with the help of a psychologist. The students missed the classes as they were often isolated from the classroom and stayed in the calming room until they calmed down. This negatively affected their learning. Therefore, the researcher decided to implement a self-regulation strategy, a visual dialogue between students and teachers, instead of isolating them to recover from the meltdown. The data was collected through personal observations, a log sheet, personal reflections, and pictures. The result shows that the students can regulate their emotions shortly in the classroom (15 to 30 minutes). Through visual dialogue, they can express their feelings and needs in socially appropriate ways. The finding indicates that autistic students can regulate their emotions through visual dialogues and participate in activities by staying in the classroom. Thus it positively impacted their learning and social lives. In this paper, the researcher discussed the findings of exploring how teachers can successfully implement a self-regulation strategy for autistic students in classroom settings. The action research describes the strategy that has been found effective for managing the emotions of autistic students with intellectual disabilities.

Keywords: action research, self-regulation, autism, visual communication

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Authors: Attahiru Sifawa Ahmad

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The media; electronic, print, and social, is playing very significant roles towards promoting political awareness and stability of any nation. However, for the media to play its role effectively, a clear and sound grasp of the language of communication is necessary. Otherwise, there is the tendency of the media spreading wrong and, or, misinterpreted information to the public, capable of generating rancour and political instability. One such clear misinterpretation or misrepresentation of information was the Hausa metaphorical expression, Kare Jinni Biri Jinni quoted from the statement made by Rtd. General Muhammadu Buhari, sometimes in April, 2013, while addressing his supporters from Niger State. In the political presentation of the term Kare - Jini Biri – Jini, quoted and translated by many print media in Nigeria, it was interpreted to mean; ‘The Dog and the Baboon will be soaked in blood’, denoting bloodshed and declaration of war. However, the term Kare - jini Biri - Jini, literally; the Dog with blood and the Baboon with blood, or, the Dog is bleeding the Baboon is bleeding, or, both the Dog and the Baboon sustained injuries. It is a metaphorical expression denoting a hot competition, and serious struggle, between two competing parties that are closer in strength and stamina. The expression got its origin among the hunting communities in traditional Hausa Societies. From experience, it was always not easy to wrestle and hunt Baboon by the Hunter’s Dog. In many instances, it ended a futile exercise, and even at instances whereby the latter hunted the former, it would be after a serious struggle with both two sustaining injuries. This paper seeks to highlight the poverty of vocabulary, and poor grasp of Nigerian languages among Journalists and young citizens in the country. The paper, therefore, advocated for the retention and effective teaching of the indigenous languages in primary and secondary school’s curriculums in Nigeria. The paper equally analysed the political origin of the print media in Nigeria, how since its first appearance, the print Media is being assigned very important political role by political elites in the country.

Keywords: Baboon, dog, media, politics

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Authors: Wee Tong Liaw, Elaine Wong Yee Sing

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Since 2001, many companies in Singapore have voluntarily participated in the bi-annual Singapore HEALTH Award initiated by the Health Promotion Board of Singapore (HPB). The Singapore HEALTH Award (SHA), is an industry wide award and assessment process. SHA assesses and recognizes employers in Singapore for implementing a comprehensive and sustainable health promotion programme at their workplaces. The rationale for implementing a sustained health promoting workplace and participating in SHA is obvious when company management is convinced that healthier employees, business productivity, and profitability are positively correlated. However, performing research or empirical studies on the impact of a sustained health promoting workplace on stock returns are not likely to yield any interests in the absence of a systematic and independent assessment on the comprehensiveness and sustainability of a health promoting workplace in most developed economies. The principles of diversification and mean-variance efficient portfolio in Modern Portfolio Theory developed by Markowitz (1952) laid the foundation for the works of many financial economists and researchers, and among others, the development of the Capital Asset Pricing Model from the work of Sharpe (1964), Lintner (1965) and Mossin (1966), and the Fama-French Three-Factor Model of Fama and French (1992). This research seeks to support the rationale by studying whether there is a significant relationship or impact of a sustained health promoting workplace on the performance of companies listed on the SGX. The research shall form and test hypotheses pertaining to the impact of a sustained health promoting workplace on company’s performances, including stock returns, of companies that participated in the SHA and companies that did not participate in the SHA. In doing so, the research would be able to determine whether corporate and fund manager should consider the significance of a sustained health promoting workplace as a risk factor to explain the stock returns of companies listed on the SGX. With respect to Singapore’s stock market, this research will test the significance and relevance of a health promoting workplace using the Singapore Health Award as a proxy for non-diversifiable risk factor to explain stock returns. This study will examine the significance of a health promoting workplace on a company’s performance and study its impact on stock price performance and beta and examine if it has higher explanatory power than the traditional single factor asset pricing model CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model). To study the significance there are three key questions pertinent to the research study. I) Given a choice, would an investor be better off investing in a listed company with a sustained health promoting workplace i.e. a Singapore Health Award’s recipient? II) The Singapore Health Award has four levels of award starting from Bronze, Silver, Gold to Platinum. Would an investor be indifferent to the level of award when investing in a listed company who is a Singapore Health Award’s recipient? III) Would an asset pricing model combining FAMA-French Three Factor Model and ‘Singapore Health Award’ factor be more accurate than single factor Capital Asset Pricing Model and the Three Factor Model itself?

Keywords: asset pricing model, company's performance, stock prices, sustained health promoting workplace

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Authors: Maryamsadat Habibi

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Objective: pharmaceutical errors are avoidable occurrences that can result in inappropriate pharmaceutical use, patient harm, treatment failure, increased hospital costs and length of stay, and other outcomes that affect both the individual receiving treatment and the healthcare provider. This study aimed to perform a reconciliation of medications in the cardiovascular ward of Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad, Iran, and evaluate the prevalence of medication discrepancies between the best medication list created for the patient by the pharmacist and the medication order of the treating physician there. Materials & Methods: The 97 patients in the cardiovascular ward of the Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad were the subject of a cross-sectional study from June to September of 2021. After giving their informed consent and being admitted to the ward, all patients with at least one underlying condition and at least two medications being taken at home were included in the study. A medical reconciliation form was used to record patient demographics and medical histories during the first 24 hours of admission, and the information was contrasted with the doctors' orders. The doctor then discovered medication inconsistencies between the two lists and double-checked them to separate the intentional from the accidental anomalies. Finally, using SPSS software version 22, it was determined how common medical discrepancies are and how different sorts of discrepancies relate to various variables. Results: The average age of the participants in this study was 57.6915.84 years, with 57.7% of men and 42.3% of women. 95.9% of the patients among these people encountered at least one medication discrepancy, and 58.9% of them suffered at least one unintentional drug cessation. Out of the 659 medications registered in the study, 399 cases (60.54%) had inconsistencies, of which 161 cases (40.35%) involved the intentional stopping of a medication, 123 cases (30.82%) involved the stopping of a medication unintentionally, and 115 cases (28.82%) involved the continued use of a medication by adjusting the dose. Additionally, the category of cardiovascular pharmaceuticals and the category of gastrointestinal medications were found to have the highest medical inconsistencies in the current study. Furthermore, there was no correlation between the frequency of medical discrepancies and the following variables: age, ward, date of visit, type, and number of underlying diseases (P=0.13), P=0.61, P=0.72, P=0.82, P=0.44, and so forth. On the other hand, there was a statistically significant correlation between the number of medications taken at home (P=0.037) and the prevalence of medical discrepancies with gender (P=0.029). The results of this study revealed that 96% of patients admitted to the cardiovascular unit at Imam Reza Hospital had at least one medication error, which was typically an intentional drug discontinuance. According to the study's findings, patients admitted to Imam Reza Hospital's cardiovascular ward have a great potential for identifying and correcting various medication discrepancies as well as for avoiding prescription errors when the medication reconciliation method is used. As a result, it is essential to carry out a precise assessment to achieve the best treatment outcomes and avoid unintended medication discontinuation, unwanted drug-related events, and drug interactions between the patient's home medications and those prescribed in the hospital.

Keywords: drug combination, drug side effects, drug incompatibility, cardiovascular department

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