Search results for: structured knowledge

Authors: Joy Chadwick

Abstract:

There is no doubt that classrooms of today are more complex and diverse than ever before. Preparing teacher candidates to meet these challenges is essential to ensure the retention of teachers within the profession and to ensure that graduates begin their teaching careers with the knowledge and understanding of how to effectively meet the diversity of students they will encounter. Creating inclusive classrooms requires teachers to have a repertoire of effective instructional skills and strategies. Teachers must also have the mindset to embrace diversity and value the uniqueness of individual students in their care. This qualitative study analyzed teacher candidates' experiences as they completed a fourteen-week teaching practicum while simultaneously completing a university course focused on inclusive pedagogy. The research investigated the challenges and successes teacher candidates had in navigating the translation of theory related to inclusive pedagogy into their teaching practice. Applying threshold concept theory as a framework, the research explored the troublesome concepts, liminal spaces, and transformative experiences as connected to inclusive practices. Threshold concept theory suggests that within all disciplinary fields, there exists particular threshold concepts that serve as gateways or portals into previously inaccessible ways of thinking and practicing. It is in these liminal spaces that conceptual shifts in thinking and understanding and deep learning can occur. The threshold concept framework provided a lens to examine teacher candidate struggles and successes with the inclusive education course content and the application of this content to their practicum experiences. A qualitative research approach was used, which included analyzing twenty-nine course reflective journals and six follow up one-to-one semi structured interviews. The journals and interview transcripts were coded and themed using NVivo software. Threshold concept theory was then applied to the data to uncover the liminal or stuck spaces of learning and the ways in which the teacher candidates navigated those challenging places of teaching. The research also sought to uncover potential transformative shifts in teacher candidate understanding as connected to teaching in an inclusive classroom. The findings suggested that teacher candidates experienced difficulties when they did not feel they had the knowledge, skill, or time to meet the needs of the students in the way they envisioned they should. To navigate the frustration of this thwarted vision, they relied on present and previous course content and experiences, collaborative work with other teacher candidates and their mentor teachers, and a proactive approach to planning for students. Transformational shifts were most evident in their ability to reframe their perceptions of children from a deficit or disability lens to a strength-based belief in the potential of students. It was evident that through their course work and practicum experiences, their beliefs regarding struggling students shifted as they saw the value of embracing neurodiversity, the importance of relationships, and planning for and teaching through a strength-based approach. Research findings have implications for teacher education programs and for understanding threshold concepts theory as connected to practice-based learning experiences.

Keywords: inclusion, inclusive education, liminal space, teacher education, threshold concepts, troublesome knowledge

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Authors: Saba Nuzhat

Abstract:

The present ethnographic study examines how domestic violence and authoritative knowledge affect the reproductive health of females; in terms of contraceptive behavior and induced abortion. This qualitative study has been conducted by collecting in depth informal interviews and case studies of 12 female respondents living in an urban slum of Keraniganj, located Dhaka city. The study depicts how multivariable factors are linked to a woman’s ability to contracept and make abortion decisions in a cultural context where being a wife infers to submission, limited mobility, sexual availability, and restricted autonomy on her own reproduction health. This study shows how violence is being normalized and socially acceptable, every time women do not adhere to go through expected gender roles. The study primarily explores the subjective experiences and perceptions of the females about contraceptive behavior as well as abortions from a medical anthropological perspective. A number of salient examples are highlighted into this paper where women who go through abortion or adopt various measures of contraceptives get highly influenced by authoritative knowledge or under the pressure of male dominance. The lack of female autonomy or prevalence of domestic violence challenges the gender equality of Bangladeshi society and female sovereignty in accessing sexual or reproductive rights. This paper remarks the significance of medical anthropological research that helps to understand the intricate interrelationship between authoritative knowledge and male dominance with female reproductive health in order to reduce women’s risk of experiencing domestic violence and to promote reproductive health autonomy for themselves for espousing contraceptive behaviors and abortion decisions.

Keywords: abortion, authoritative knowledge, contraception, domestic violence, reproductive health

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Authors: Rihab Idoudi, Karim Saheb Ettabaa, Basel Solaiman, Kamel Hamrouni

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Medical association rules induction is used to discover useful correlations between pertinent concepts from large medical databases. Nevertheless, ARs algorithms produce huge amount of delivered rules and do not guarantee the usefulness and interestingness of the generated knowledge. To overcome this drawback, we propose an ontology based interestingness measure for ARs ranking. According to domain expert, the goal of the use of ARs is to discover implicit relationships between items of different categories such as ‘clinical features and disorders’, ‘clinical features and radiological observations’, etc. That’s to say, the itemsets which are composed of ‘similar’ items are uninteresting. Therefore, the dissimilarity between the rule’s items can be used to judge the interestingness of association rules; the more different are the items, the more interesting the rule is. In this paper, we design a distinct approach for ranking semantically interesting association rules involving the use of an ontology knowledge mining approach. The basic idea is to organize the ontology’s concepts into a hierarchical structure of conceptual clusters of targeted subjects, where each cluster encapsulates ‘similar’ concepts suggesting a specific category of the domain knowledge. The interestingness of association rules is, then, defined as the dissimilarity between corresponding clusters. That is to say, the further are the clusters of the items in the AR, the more interesting the rule is. We apply the method in our domain of interest – mammographic domain- using an existing mammographic ontology called Mammo with the goal of deriving interesting rules from past experiences, to discover implicit relationships between concepts modeling the domain.

Keywords: association rule, conceptual clusters, interestingness measures, ontology knowledge mining, ranking

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Authors: Hatice Yildirim

Abstract:

This study is an investigation into ‘The role of teaching assistants (TAs) for deaf pupils in an English primary school’, in order not only to contribute to the education of deaf pupils but also contribute to the literature, in which there has been a lack of attention paid to the role of TAs for deaf pupils. With this in mind, the research design was planned based on using a case study as a qualitative research approach in order to have a deep and first-hand understanding of the case for ‘the role of TAs for deaf pupils’ in a real-life context. 12 semi-structured classroom observations and six semi-structured interviews were carried out with four TAs and two teachers in one English mainstream primary school. The data analysis followed a thematic analysis framework. The results indicated that TAs are utilised based on a one-on-one support model and are deployed under the class teacher in the classroom. Out of the classroom activities are carried out in small groups with the agreement of the TAs and the class teacher, as per the policy of the school. Due to the one-on-one TA support model, the study pointed out the seven different roles carried out by TAs in the education of deaf pupils in an English mainstream primary school. While supporting deaf pupils academically and socially are the main roles of TAs, they also support deaf pupils by recording their progress, communicating with their parents, taking on a pastoral care role, tutoring them in additional support lessons, and raising awareness of deaf pupils’ issues.

Keywords: deaf, mainstream, teaching assistant, teaching assistant's roles

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Authors: Jarmon Sirigunna

Abstract:

The objective of this study were to investigate the success of the implementation of problem-based learning in classroom and to evaluate the level of satisfaction of Suan Sunandra Rajabhat University’s students who participated in the study. This paper aimed to study and focus on a university students survey conducted in Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University during January to March of 2014. The quota sampling was utilized to obtain the sample which included 60 students, 50 percent male and 50 percent female students. The pretest and posttest method was utilized. The findings revealed that the majority of respondents had gained higher knowledge after the posttest significantly. The respondents’ knowledge increased about 40 percent after the experiment. Also, the findings revealed the top three highest level of satisfaction as follows: 1) the proper roles of teacher and students, 2) the knowledge gained from the method of the problem-based learning, 3) the activities of the problem-based learning, 4) the interaction of students from the problem-based learning, and 5) the problem-based learning model. Also, the mean score of all categories was 4.22 with a standard deviation of 0.7435 which indicated that the level of satisfaction was high.

Keywords: implement, problem-based learning, satisfaction, university students

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Authors: Emily J. Winnall

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It is understood that China has the largest population of people living with dementia in the world; however, little is known about this culturally diverse community, specifically the Chinese Communities, which has been poorly represented in past British research Literature. Further research is needed to gain a greater understanding of the support needs of caregivers caring for a relative living with dementia from the Chinese background. Dementia care and caregivers in Chinese communities are less investigated. The study is a case study of two Chinese community centers and one housing support service. Semi-structured one-to-one interviews and a pilot questionnaire were used as the methods for the study. A toolkit will also be created as a document that provides guidance and signposting to health and social care services for Chinese communities. The findings identified three main themes. Caregivers do not receive any formal support from the UK health and social services, and they felt they would have benefited from getting advice on what support they could access. Furthermore, the data also identified that Chinese organisations do not have the knowledge of dementia, to be able to support those living with dementia and their families. Also, people living with dementia and their families rarely present to Chinese organisations and UK health and social care services, meaning they are not receiving the support they are entitled to or need. Additionally, the community center would like to see workshops/courses around dementia for people from Chinese backgrounds. The study concludes that people from Chinese cultural backgrounds do not have sufficient access to support from UK health and social care services. More information needs to be published that will benefit Chinese communities.

Keywords: Chinese, Chinese organisations, Dementia, family caregivers, social care

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Authors: Mohammed Alhammad

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The movement towards the inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools has become widely accepted practice in many countries. However in Saudi Arabia, this is not happening. Instead the practice for students with learning difficulties (LD) is to study in special classrooms in mainstream schools and they are not included with their peers, except at break times and morning assembly, and on school trips. There are a number of barriers that face implementing inclusion for students with LD in mainstream classrooms: one such barrier is the training of teachers. The training, either pre- or in-service, that teachers receive is seen as playing an important role in leading to the successful implementation of inclusion. The aim of this presentation is to explore how pre-service training and in-service training are acting as barriers for implementing inclusion of students with LD in mainstream primary schools in Saudi Arabia from the perspective of teachers. The qualitative research approach was used to explore this barrier. Twenty-four teachers (general education teachers, special education teachers) were interviewed using semi-structured interview and a number of documents were used as method of data collection. The result showed teachers felt that not much attention was paid to inclusion in pre-services training for general education teachers and special education teachers in Saudi Arabia. In addition, pre-service training for general education teachers does not normally including modules on special education. Regarding the in-service training, no courses at all about inclusion are provided for teachers. Furthermore, training courses in special education are few. As result, the knowledge and skills required to implemented inclusion successfully.

Keywords: inclusion, learning difficulties, Saudi Arabia, training

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Authors: Zikra Faiz, Zaheer Asghar, Nisar Abid

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Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) includes computers, the Internet, and electronic delivery systems such as televisions, radios, multimedia, and overhead projectors etc. In the modern world, ICTs is considered as an essential element of the teaching-learning process. The study was aimed to discover the usage of ICTs in Special Education Institutions for Visually Impaired students, Lahore, Pakistan. Objectives of the study were to explore the problems faced by teachers while using ICT in the classroom. The study was phenomenology in nature; a qualitative survey method was used through a semi-structured interview protocol developed by the researchers. The sample comprised of eighty faculty members selected through a purposive sampling technique. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis technique with the help of open coding. The study findings revealed that multimedia, projectors, computers, laptops and LEDs are used in special education institutes to enhance the teaching-learning process. Teachers believed that ICTs could enhance the knowledge of visually impaired students and every student should use these technologies in the classroom. It was concluded that multimedia, projectors and laptops are used in classroom by teachers and students. ICTs can promote effectively through the training of teachers and students. It was suggested that the government should take steps to enhance ICTs in teacher training and other institutions by pre-service and in-service training of teachers.

Keywords: information and communication technologies, in-services teachers, special education institutions

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Authors: Ifeanyi Charles Otuokere, Victoria Nneoma Nnochiri

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Entrepreneurship generally and specifically within the rural communities in Nigeria is a fast means of bringing development within the communities. This is made possible by utmost maximization and management of available local resources to develop rural areas through good management of these local resources. This study anchors on the rural development paradigm and the integrated rural development theories to understudy the knowledge of rural entrepreneurs on rural economic development. The research study made use of surveys and descriptive analysis. The assessable population for the study, which was randomly selected, is 100 rural entrepreneurs from ten rural communities within the Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State. The study made use of both primary and secondary as a source of data collection with much emphasis on a primary source, although secondary data such as journals, textbooks electronic sources were also utilised. A carefully structured questionnaire drafted to extract raw data was administered to selected entrepreneurs. The findings of the study showed that developments within rural communities can only be achieved through rural entrepreneurship. This is evidenced in increased output, job creation, and most importantly, reduction of rural to urban migration, among other things. Recommendations were also made based on these findings; the researchers recommended that infrastructural developments should be made available in the rural communities and government policies should create enabling environments along with other assistance to help these rural entrepreneurs achieve their sole aim.

Keywords: economic developments, rural communities, rural development, rural entrepreneurship

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Authors: Christiana Wulty Diku

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This research mapped and documented archaeological heritage resources with associated indigenous knowledge in Lawra, an understudied Municipality in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Since the inception of Archaeology as a discipline in the 1930s at the University of Ghana, the Lawra Municipality has rarely been investigated archaeologically. Consequently, the unconsciousness and ignorance of indigenes on the relevance of these resources to national development has destroyed many significant archaeological sites, with agriculture and infrastructural developmental activities endangering countless of them. Drawing from a community archaeological approach, a collaborative archaeological investigation between local groups, communities and professionals (archaeologists) was conducted to recover these lost histories of settlements in the municipality, salvage and protect endangered archaeological heritage resources and sites from agricultural, exploitative and developmental activities. This was geared towards expanding on the limited research on northern Ghana and deepening our understanding on the existing symbiotic relationship between people and their heritage resources in past and present times. The study deploying ethnographic, archaeological and physical survey techniques as methods in six field seasons beginning from August 2013 to April 2023. This resulted in the reconstruction of the settlement history of Lawra with chronological dates, compilation of inventory on significant archaeological heritage resources with associated indigenous knowledge, mitigation of endangered archaeological sites and heritage resources through surface collections and the development of a photographic record, with associated metadata for purposes of preservation and future research.

Keywords: archaeological heritage resources, indigenous knowledge, lawra municipality, community archaeology

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Authors: Sajid Shah, Yoshimitsu Uemura, Katsuki Kusakabe

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Sol-gel derived hydrophobic silica membranes with pore sizes less than 1 nm are quite attractive for gas separation in a wide range of temperatures. A nano-structured hydrophobic membrane was prepared by sol-gel technique on a porous α–Al₂O₃ tubular support with yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) as an intermediate layer. Bistriethoxysilylethane (BTESE) derived sol was modified by adding phenyltriethoxysilylethane (PhTES) as an organic template. Six times dip coated modified silica membrane having a thickness of about 782 nm was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis, together along contact angle and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, showed that hydrophobic properties were improved by increasing the PhTES content. The contact angle of water droplet increased from 37° for pure to 111.5° for the modified membrane. The permeance of single gas H₂ was higher than H₂:CO₂ ratio of 75:25 binary feed mixtures. However, the permeance of H₂ for 60:40 H₂:CO₂ was found lower than single and binary mixture 75:25 H₂:CO₂. The binary selectivity values for 75:25 H₂:CO₂ were 24.75, 44, and 57, respectively. Selectivity had an inverse relation with PhTES content. Hydrophobicity properties were improved by increasing PhTES content in the silica matrix. The system exhibits proper three layers adhesion or integration, and smoothness. Membrane system suitable in steam environment and high-temperature separation. It was concluded that the hydrophobic silica membrane is highly promising for the separation of H₂/CO₂ mixture from various H₂-containing process streams.

Keywords: gas separation, hydrophobic properties, silica membrane, sol–gel method

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Authors: Kalsoom Sumra

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The increasing concern of public sector reforms brings new challenges to public service ethics in developing countries not only at central level but also at local level. This paper aims to identify perceptions on public service ethics of public officials and examines more generally the understanding of public servants in Pakistan towards public service ethics in local public organizations. The study uses an independently administered structured questionnaire to collect data to know the extent of the recognition of public service ethics in local organizations. A total of 150 completed questionnaires are analyzed received from public servants working at the local level in Pakistan. The analysis explores how traditional, social patterns and cultural ethics can provide us with a rounded picture of the main antecedents, moderators of public service ethics in Pakistan. Moreover, the findings of this study contribute in association of public service ethics which are crucial in ongoing political and administrative culture of Pakistan, the most crucial core for public organizational ethical climate. This study also has numerous implications for local public administration and it highlights the importance of expanding research agenda on public service ethics in developing settings with challenging institutional contexts with imperfect training and operating environments. This study may well be particularly important for practice of public service ethics in developing countries in public administration. To the best of author’s knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to provide an initial step in practical implications to emphasize relevant public service ethics in public administration in developing transparent and accountable organization.

Keywords: public service ethics, accountability and transparency, public service reforms, public administration, organizational ethical climate

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Authors: Reza Davoodi, Hamid Abbasi, Heidar Norouzi, Gholamabbas Alipourian

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A dynamic model shaping a process of knowledge management (KM) culture change is suggested. It is aimed at providing effective KM of employees for obtaining desired results in an organization. The essential requirements for obtaining KM culture change are determined. The proposed model realizes these requirements. Dynamics of the model are expressed by a change of its parameters. It is adjusted to the dynamic process of KM culture change. Building the model includes elaboration and integration of interconnected components. The “Result” is a central component of the model. This component determines a desired organizational goal and possible directions of its attainment. The “Confront” component engenders constructive confrontation in an organization. For this reason, the employees are prompted toward KM culture change with the purpose of attaining the desired result. The “Assess” component realizes complex assessments of employee proposals by management and peers. The proposals are directed towards attaining the desired result in an organization. The “Reward” component sets the order of assigning rewards to employees based on the assessments of their proposals.

Keywords: knowledge management, organizational culture change, employee, result

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Authors: Jean Marie Vianney Ininahazwe, Patrick Bitangumutwenzi

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Context: The issue of menstrual hygiene is an entry point for demonstrating the gender-specific nature of the needs of women and adolescent girls. Women and girls around the world face many challenges in managing their periods. They may be deprived of certain basic human rights, including those relating to education, work and health. This work describes the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls from 12 to 19 years at Lake Tanganyika Secondary School. Method: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study among 384 adolescent girls from Lake Tanganyika secondary school over a period of 2 weeks from September 13 to September 27 and with a purely general objective of describing the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of menstrual hygiene in secondary schools. The study was conducted using a non-probability method and the sampling technique was for convenience. The data collection technique used was the survey by questionnaire and the exploitation of the documentary. The data collection tool used was the questionnaire. Microsoft Word 2013, Microsoft Excel 2.13 and EPI INFO7 software were used for this purpose. Results: We noticed that 55.47% of the participants knew that menstruation is a physiological process; 57.55% of the teenage girls surveyed get their information about menstrual hygiene from their mothers; 75.72% use sanitary napkins and 24.02% use fabrics as protective material; 35.16% of respondents have already lacked sanitary napkins since their menarche; 37.29% are absent from classes due to lack of sanitary napkins; 23.82% use soap and other products to wash.

Keywords: knowledge, attitudes, practices, menstrual hygiene

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Authors: Anwar Adem Shikur, Erhan Akkas

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Purpose: This study investigates the impact of Islamic microfinance services on poverty alleviation in Ethiopia. Methodology: Employing a binary logistic regression model, this research analyzes the relationship between poverty reduction and a range of variables—income, education, household size, age, and savings—among clients of Islamic microfinance services. Data was collected through a semi-structured questionnaire administered to a purposive sample and complemented by semi-structured interviews with senior officials from Islamic microfinance institutions. Findings: The study reveals that income, education, household size, and age of clients are primary determinants of poverty reduction within the context of Islamic microfinance services in Ethiopia. Practical Implications: The findings offer valuable insights for policymakers and government agencies seeking to enhance the livelihoods of Islamic microfinance clients and reduce poverty. Originality/Value: This research contributes to the existing literature by elucidating the specific mechanisms through which income, education, household size, and age influence poverty reduction among clients of Islamic microfinance services in Ethiopia. Furthermore, it provides a novel perspective on the role of Islamic microfinance in the country, including its challenges and opportunities. Social Implications: The study underscores the imperative for governments and institutions to prioritize financial inclusion as a means of addressing poverty and inequality across all socioeconomic strata.

Keywords: microfinance, binary logistic model, poverty reduction, Ethiopia.

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Authors: Marwa Abdussalam

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Breastfeeding is a unique emotional bond between a mother and their offspring. Though breastfeeding may be natural, it is not something mothers are born with; some still struggle to breastfeed their babies. Various factors can influence the breastfeeding experience, such as the mode of delivery, the mother’s health condition, proper latching, etc. In addition, psychological factors have been known to influence breastfeeding ability, duration, and milk supply. Some mothers struggle to breastfeed their babies because they perceive they have a low milk supply and or don’t have the ability to breastfeed their babies. Most of these perceptions result either from their own past experience or from the ‘comments’ of their caregivers. So, it is of utmost essential to understand such psychological factors affecting breastfeeding so that necessary steps can be taken to educate breastfeeding mothers. The study explored the role of psychological factors that affect breastfeeding. Data were collected from fifteen breastfeeding mothers using a semi-structured interview schedule. A total of 10 questions were included in the interview schedule. Questions were sequenced in a funnel pattern, beginning with open-ended questions and then moving on to close-ended questions. Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s Thematic Analysis technique. This technique involves identifying the codes, generating themes, naming them, and finally reviewing them. Results indicated that breastfeeding self-efficacy perceived insufficient milk supply, and lack of knowledge were the psychological factors affecting breastfeeding. The results of this study can be used to help mothers who are struggling with breastfeeding by developing interventions aimed at improving breastfeeding self-efficacy.

Keywords: breastfeeding, breastfeeding self-efficacy, perceived insufficient milk supply, Thematic Analysis

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Authors: Wei Zhao

Abstract:

The pandemic crisis disrupted normal classroom practices so that the constraints of the traditional practice became apparent. This turns out to be new opportunities for technology-based learning and teaching. However, how the technology supports the preschool teachers go through this sudden crisis and how preschool teachers conceived of the use of technology, appropriate and design technological artifacts as a mediator of knowledge construction in order to suit young children’s literacy level are rarely explored. This study addresses these issues by looking at the influence of a web-supported teacher community on changes/shifts in preschool teachers’ epistemological beliefs and practices. This teachers’ professional development community was formulated before the pandemic time and developed virtually throughout the home-based learning caused by Covid-19. It served as a virtual and asynchronous community for those teachers to collaboratively plan for and conduct online lessons using the knowledge-building approach for the purpose of sustaining children’s learning curiosity and opening up new learning opportunities during the lock-down period. The knowledge-building approach helps to increase teachers’ collective responsibility to collaboratively work on shared educational goals in the teacher community and awareness of noticing new ideas or innovations in their classroom. Based on the data collected across five months during and after the lock-down period and the activity theory, results show a dynamic interplay between the evolution of the community culture, the growth of teacher community and teachers’ identity transformation and professional development. Technology is useful in this regard not only because it transforms the geographical distance and new gathering guidelines after the outbreak of pandemic into new ways of communal communication and collaboration. More importantly, while teachers selected, monitored and adapted the technology, it acts as a catalyst for changes in teachers’ old teaching practices and epistemological dispositions.

Keywords: activity theory, changes in epistemology and practice, knowledge building, web-based teachers’ professional development community

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Authors: Shyam Sunder Gupta

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GOD is an infinite source of knowledge. From time to time, as per the need of mankind, GOD keeps revealing, some small, selected part of HIS knowledge as WORDS, to a chosen entity whose responsibility is to function as Messenger and share WORDS, in the form of verses, with common masses. GOD has confirmed that Messenger may not understand every WORD revealed to him, and HE directs Messenger to learn from persons who have knowledge of WORDS revealed in earlier times, as some revealed content is identical and some different by design. In due course of time, Verses, as communicated orally, are collected, and edited by an individual in a planned manner or by a group of individuals and get edited unintentionally and converted in the form of Scripture. Whatever gets collected, depending on the knowledge of the Editor(s), some errors, scientific and other forms, get into Scripture. In the present world, there are three major religions: Christianity, Islam and Hinduism, accounting for more than two-thirds of the world’s population. Each of the religions has its own Scripture, namely the Bible, Quran, and Veda. Since the source of WORDS for each of these Scriptures is the same, there is ONENESS of all Scriptures. There are amazing similarities between the events described, like the flood during the time of Noah and King Satyavara. The description of the creation of man and woman is identical. Description of Last Day, categorization of human beings, identical names, etc., have remarkable similarities. Ram, the hero of Ramayana, is a common name in Hinduism and two of Jesus’ ancestors’ names were Ram and many names in the Bible are derived from Ram. Attributes of GOD are common in all Scriptures, namely, GOD is Eternal, Unborn, Immortal, Creator of Universe(s) and everything that exists within the Universe, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Subtlest of all, Unchangeable, Unique, Always Works, Source of Eternal Bliss, etc. There is the Oneness of GOD.

Keywords: GOD, scriptures, oneness, WORDS, Jesus, Ram

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Authors: Yvette Nsabimana, Nadine Misago, Minani Methode

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Context: the issue of menstrual hygiene is an entry point for demonstrating the gender-specific nature of the needs of women and adolescent girls. Women and girls around the world face many challenges in managing their periods. They may be deprived of certain basic human rights, including those relating to education, work and health. This work describes the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls from 12 to 19 years of Lake Tanganyika Secondary School. Method: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study among 384 adolescent girls from Lake Tanganyika secondary school over a period of 2 weeks from September 13 to September 27 and with a purely general objective of describing the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of menstrual hygiene in secondary schools. The study was conducted using a non-probability method and the sampling technique was for convenience. The data collection technique used was the survey by questionnaire and the exploitation of the documentary. The data collection tool used was the questionnaire. Microsoft Word 2013, Microsoft Excel 2.13 and EPI INFO7 software were used for this purpose. Results: We noticed that 55.47% of the participants knew that menstruation is a physiological process; 57.55% of the teenage girls surveyed get their information about menstrual hygiene from their mothers; 75.72% use sanitary napkins and 24.02% use fabrics as protective material; 35.16% of respondents have already lacked sanitary napkins since their menarche; 37.29% are absent from classes due to lack of sanitary napkins; 23.82% use soap and other products to wash.

Keywords: knowledge, attitudes, practices, menstrual hygiene

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Authors: Sameen Masood, Muhammad Ali Jibran

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The frequent flood history in Pakistan has pronounced the need for disaster risk management. Various policies are formulated and steps are being taken by the government in order to cope with the flood effects. However, a much promising pro-active approach that is globally acknowledged is educating the masses regarding living with risk and uncertainty. Unfortunately, majority of the flood victims in Pakistan are poor and illiterate which also transpires as a significant cause of their distress. An illiterate population is not risk averse or equipped intellectually regarding how to prepare and protect against natural disasters. The current research utilizes a cross-disciplinary approach where the role of education (both formal and informal) and indigenous knowledge is explored with reference to disaster preparedness. The data was collected from the flood prone rural areas of Punjab. In the absence of disaster curriculum taught in formal schools, informal education disseminated by NGOs and relief and rehabilitation agencies was the only education given to the flood victims. However the educational attainment of flood victims highly correlated with their awareness regarding flood management and disaster preparedness. Moreover, lessons learned from past flood experience generated indigenous knowledge on the basis of which flood victims prepared themselves for any uncertainty. If the future policy regarding disaster preparation integrates indigenous knowledge and then delivers education on the basis of that, it is anticipated that the flood devastations can be much reduced. Education can play a vital role in amplifying perception of risk and taking precautionary measures for disaster. The findings of the current research will provide practical strategies where disaster preparedness through education has not yet been applied.

Keywords: education, disaster preparedness, illiterate population, risk management

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Authors: Davoud Maleki

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Today, education and investment in human capital is a long-term investment without which the economy will be stagnant Stayed. Higher education represents a type of investment in human resources by providing and improving knowledge, skills and Attitudes help economic development. Providing efficient human resources by increasing the efficiency and productivity of people and on the other hand with Expanding the boundaries of knowledge and technology and promoting technology such as the responsibility of training human resources and increasing productivity and efficiency in High specialized levels are the responsibility of universities. Therefore, the university plays an infrastructural role in economic development and growth because education by creating skills and expertise in people and improving their ability.In recent decades, Iran's higher education system has been faced with many problems, therefore, scholars have looked for it is to identify and validate the causal factors affecting the responsiveness and productivity of non-governmental universities. The data in the qualitative part is the result of semi-structured interviews with 25 senior and middle managers working in the units It was Islamic Azad University of Tehran province, which was selected by theoretical sampling method. In data analysis, stepwise method and Analytical techniques of Strauss and Corbin (1992) were used. After determining the central category (answering for the sake of the beneficiaries) and using it in order to bring the categories, expressions and ideas that express the relationships between the main categories and In the end, six main categories were identified as causal factors affecting the university's responsiveness and productivity.They are: 1- Scientism 2- Human resources 3- Creating motivation in the university 4- Development based on needs assessment 5- Teaching process and Learning 6- University quality evaluation. In order to validate the response model obtained from the qualitative stage, a questionnaire The questionnaire was prepared and the answers of 146 students of Master's degree and Doctorate of Islamic Azad University located in Tehran province were received. Quantitative data in the form of descriptive data analysis, first and second stage factor analysis using SPSS and Amos23 software were analyzed. The findings of the research indicated the relationship between the central category and the causal factors affecting the response The results of the model test in the quantitative stage confirmed the generality of the conceptual model.

Keywords: accountability, productivity, non-governmental, universities, foundation data theory

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Authors: S. Jeyarajan

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Concept of knowledge is discovered from conducted study for successive Competition in Sri Lankan Non-State Higher Educational Institutes. The Concept discovered out of collected Knowledge Management Practices from Emerald inside likewise reputed literatures and of Non-State Higher Educational sector. A test is conducted to reveal existences and its reason behind of these collected practices in Sri Lankan Non-State Higher Education Institutes. Further, unavailability of such study and uncertain on number of participants for data collection in the Sri Lankan context contributed selection of research method as qualitative method, which used attributes of Delphi Method to manage those likewise uncertainty. Data are collected under Dramaturgical Method, which contributes efficient usage of the Delphi method. Grounded theory is selected as data analysis techniques, which is conducted in intermixed discourse to manage different perspectives of data that are collected systematically through perspective and modified snowball sampling techniques. Data are then analysed using Grounded Theory Development Techniques in Intermix discourses to manage differences in Data. Consequently, Agreement in the results of Grounded theories and of finding in the Foreign Study is discovered in the analysis whereas present study conducted as Qualitative Research and The Foreign Study conducted as Quantitative Research. As such, the Present study widens the discovery in the Foreign Study. Further, having discovered reason behind of the existences, the Present result shows Concept for Knowledge from Sri Lankan Non-State sector to manage higher educational Institutes in successful manner.

Keywords: adherence of snowball sampling into perspective sampling, Delphi method in qualitative method, grounded theory development in intermix discourses of analysis, knowledge management for success of higher educational institutes

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Authors: Prachyanun Nilsook, Panita Wannapiroon

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The purpose of this research is to study a Digital Learning Repository System (DLRS) on vocational teachers and teaching in Thailand. The innobpcd.net is a DLRS being utilized by the Office of Vocational Education Commission and operationalized by the Bureau of Personnel Competency Development for vocational education teachers. The aim of the system is to support and enhance the process of vocational teaching and to improve staff development by providing teachers with a variety of network connections and information. The system provides centralized hosting and access to content, and the ability to share digital objects or files, to set permissions and controls for access to content that can be used vocational education teachers for their teaching and for their own development. The elements of DLRS include; Digital learning system, Media Library, Knowledge-based system and Mobile Application. The system aims to link vocational teachers to the most effective emerging technologies available for learning, so they are better resourced to support their vocational students. The initial results from this evaluation indicate that there is a range of services provided by the system being used by vocational teachers and this paper indicates which facilities have the greatest usage and impact on vocational teaching in Thailand.

Keywords: digital learning repositories, vocational education, knowledge sharing, learning objects

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Authors: Mike Wei, Mario Cedillo, Jiahui Lin, Carol Lorraine Storey-Johnson, Carla Boutin-Foster

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Purpose: The extent to which health insurance enrollment succeeds under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) rests heavily on the ability to reach the uninsured and motivate them to enroll. We sought to identify perceptions about the ACA among uninsured patients at a free clinic in New York City. Background: The ACA holds tremendous promise for reducing the number of uninsured Americans. As of April 2014, nearly 8 million people had signed up for health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace. Despite this early success, future and continued enrollment rests heavily on the degree of public awareness. Reaching eligible individuals and increasing their awareness and understanding remains a fundamental challenge to realizing the full potential of the ACA. Reaching out to uninsured patients who are seeking care through safety net facilities such as free clinics may provide important avenues for reaching potential enrollees. This project focuses on the experience at the free clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College, the Weill Cornell Community Clinic (WCCC), and seeks to understand perceptions about the ACA among its patient population. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of all patients who visited the free clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College, the Weill Cornell Community Clinic, from July 2013 to May 2014. Patients who provided informed consent at their visit and completed a semi-structured questionnaire were included (N=62). The questionnaire comprised of questions about demographic characteristics and open-ended questions about their knowledge and perception of the impact of the ACA. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the population demographics. Qualitative coding techniques were used for open-ended items. Results: Approximately one third of patients surveyed never had health insurance. Of the remaining 65%, 20% lost their insurance within the past year. Only 55% had heard about the ACA, and only 10% knew about the Health Benefits Exchange. Of those who had heard about the ACA, sentiments were tinged with optimistic misperceptions, such as “it will be free health care for all.” While optimistic, most of the responses focused on the economic implications of the ACA. Conclusions: These findings reveal the immense amount of misconception and lack of understanding with regards to the ACA. As such, the study highlights the need to educate and address the concerns of those who remain skeptical or uncertain about the implications of the ACA.

Keywords: Affordable Care Act, demographics, free clinics, underserved.

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Authors: Godaye Gobena Gomiole

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The purpose of this study was to investigate school context-related factors that affect principals' instructional leadership competence in primary schools in Tarcha Town, Ethiopia. A qualitative case study research design was used. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Twelve senior principals were included in the study through purposive sampling. Interviews were used to collect in-depth data. The data was analyzed thematically. The findings of the study indicated that primary school principals face both internal and external challenges. Internally, they face limited knowledge and skills, a lack of courage and commitment, and administrative work overload. Their external challenges included negative attitudes from parents and teachers, a lack of instructional materials, and little support from local education authorities. Consequently, they can't serve effectively as instructional leaders or resource people. Based on the findings, it is recommended that the Ministry of Education, South West Regional Education Bureau, Dawuro Zone Education Department, and Tarcha Town Administration Education Officers and Cluster Supervisors regularly monitor and support school leaders and prepare and provide pertinent teaching materials and training so that the principals can lead in the capacity that is appropriate for the position.

Keywords: instructional leadership, primary school, principals, school context related factors

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Authors: Kim Norgaard Helmersen, Jan Silberberger

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Questions of style and reproducibility in relation to architectural design are not only continuously debated; the very concepts can seem quite provocative to architects, who like to think of architectural design as depending on intuition, ideas, and individual personalities. This standpoint - dominant in architectural discourse - is challenged in the present paper presenting early findings from a comparative STS-inspired research study of architectural design teaching and research at different architecture schools in varying national contexts. In philosophy of science framework, the paper reflects empirical observations of design teaching at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and presents a tentative theoretical framework for the on-going research project. The framework suggests that architecture – as a field of knowledge production – is mainly dominated by three epistemological positions, which will be presented and discussed. Besides serving as a loosely structured framework for future data analysis, the proposed framework brings forth the argument that architecture can be roughly divided into different schools of thought, like the traditional science disciplines. Without reducing the complexity of the discipline, describing its main intellectual positions should prove fruitful for the future development of architecture as a theoretical discipline, moving an architectural critique beyond discussions of taste preferences. Unlike traditional science disciplines, there is a lack of a community-wide, shared pool of codified references in architecture, with architects instead referencing art projects, buildings, and famous architects, when positioning their standpoints. While these inscriptions work as an architectural reference system, to be compared to codified theories in academic writing of traditional research, they are not used systematically in the same way. As a result, architectural critique is often reduced to discussions of taste and subjectivity rather than epistemological positioning. Architects are often criticized as judges of taste and accused that their rationality is rooted in cultural-relative aesthetical concepts of taste closely linked to questions of style, but arguably their supposedly subjective reasoning, in fact, forms part of larger systems of thought. Putting architectural ‘styles’ under a loop, and tracing their philosophical roots, can potentially open up a black box in architectural theory. Besides ascertaining and recognizing the existence of specific ‘styles’ and thereby schools of thought in current architectural discourse, the study could potentially also point at some mutations of the conventional – something actually ‘new’ – of potentially high value for architectural design education.

Keywords: architectural theory, design research, science and technology studies (STS), sociology of architecture

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Authors: Abubakar-Zagoon Adams, Emmanuel Intsiful, Haruna Zagoon-Sayeed

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Within the Ghanaian context, the promotion of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has been faced with many obstacles which are of great concern to national development. One of the obstacles that have been identified as having some negative impact on TVET promotion is the poor public perception of TVET. Poor public perception, as identified in the sub-sectors report in a number of Ghana Education Service reports, has received little attention in both research and the government’s effort to address the poor performance of the TVET sub-sector. This study investigated TVET stakeholders in the Ayawaso-West Municipality in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana to ascertain knowledge of technical and vocational education in Ghana. This study explored parents’ and students’ views and knowledge about technical and vocational education. The study adopted an exploratory research design and a qualitative research approach. Thirty-six (36) participants were selected by employing a purposive sampling technique. Twelve (ten parents and two school personnel) out of the total sample were engaged in key informant interviews, whereas three focus group discussions were conducted with students, eight in each group. The study found that the public has fair knowledge (positive) about TVET, and the other side of the coin knows that TVET is only meant for school dropouts, underprivileged students, and weak academic students. The study recommended that the government should intensify public education on TVET, deliberate investment should be made in TVET infrastructure, as well as proper regulation of the sub-sector.

Keywords: public perception, TVET promotion, socioeconomic, self-employment

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Authors: Zoe Boon Suan Loy

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An exploratory research undertaken in 2000 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic examined the changing roles of Singapore school leaders as they lead teachers in developing future-ready learners. While it is evident that ‘LEADER’ qualities epitomize the knowledge, competencies, and skills required, recent events in an increasing VUCA and BANI world characterized by massively disruptive Ukraine -Russian war, unabating tense US-Sino relations, issues related to sustainability, and rapid ageing will have an impact on school leadership. As an increasingly complex endeavour, this requires a relook as they lead teachers in nurturing holistically-developed future-ready students. Digitalisation, new technology, and the push for a green economy will be the key driving forces that will have an impact on job availability. Similarly, the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, including ChatGPT, will aggravate and add tremendous stress to the work of school leaders. This paper seeks to explore the key school leadership shifts required beyond the ‘LEADER’ qualities as school leaders respond to the changes, challenges, and opportunities in the 21st C new normal. The research findings for this paper are based on an exploratory qualitative study on the perceptions of 26 school leaders (vice-principals) who were attending a milestone educational leadership course at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. A structured questionnaire is designed to collect the data, which is then analysed using coding methodology. Broad themes on key competencies and skills of future-ready leaders in the Singapore education system are then identified. Key Findings: In undertaking their leadership roles as leaders of future-ready learners, school leaders need to demonstrate the ‘LEADER’ qualities. They need to have a long-term view, understand the educational imperatives, have a good awareness of self and the dispositions of a leader, be effective in optimizing external leverages and are clear about their role expectations. These ‘LEADER’ qualities are necessary and relevant in the post-Covid era. Beyond this, school leaders with ‘LEADER’ qualities are well supported by the Ministry of Education, which takes cognizance of emerging trends and continually review education policies to address related issues. Concluding Statement: Discussions within the education ecosystem and among other stakeholders on the implications of the use of artificial intelligence and ChatGPT on the school curriculum, including content knowledge, pedagogy, and assessment, are ongoing. This augurs well for school leaders as they undertake their responsibilities as leaders of future-ready learners.

Keywords: Singapore education system, ‘LEADER’ qualities, school leadership, future-ready leaders, future-ready learners

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Authors: Nynke de Jong, Inge G. P. Duimel-Peeters

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The flipped classroom as an instructional strategy and a type of blended learning that reverses the traditional learning environment by delivering instructional content, off- and online, in- and outside the classroom, has been implemented in a 4-weeks module focusing on ageing in Europe at the Maastricht University. The main aim regarding the organization of this module was implementing flipped classroom-principles in order to create meaningful learning opportunities, while educational technologies are used to deliver content outside of the classroom. Technologies used in this module were an online interactive real time lecture from England, two interactive face-to-face lectures with visual supports, one group session including role plays and team-based learning meetings. The cohort of 2015-2016, using educational technologies, was compared with the cohort of 2014-2015 on module evaluation such as organization and instructiveness of the module, who studied the same content, although conforming the problem-based educational strategy, i.e. educational base of the Maastricht University. The cohort of 2015-2016 with its specific organization, was also more profound evaluated on outcomes as (1) experienced duration of the lecture by students, (2) experienced content of the lecture, (3) experienced the extent of the interaction and (4) format of lecturing. It was important to know how students reflected on duration and content taken into account their background knowledge so far, in order to distinguish between sufficient enough regarding prior knowledge and therefore challenging or not fitting into the course. For the evaluation, a structured online questionnaire was used, whereby above mentioned topics were asked for to evaluate by scoring them on a 4-point Likert scale. At the end, there was room for narrative feedback so that interviewees could express more in detail, if they wanted, what they experienced as good or not regarding the content of the module and its organization parts. Eventually, the response rate of the evaluation was lower than expected (54%), however, due to written feedback and exam scores, we dare to state that it gives a good and reliable overview that encourages to work further on it. Probably, the response rate may be explained by the fact that resit students were included as well, and that there maybe is too much evaluation as some time points in the program. However, overall students were excited about the organization and content of the module, but the level of self-directed behavior, necessary for this kind of educational strategy, was too low. They need to be more trained in self-directness, therefore the module will be simplified in 2016-2017 with more clear and fewer topics and extra guidance (step by step procedure). More specific information regarding the used technologies will be explained at the congress, as well as the outcomes (min and max rankings, mean and standard deviation).

Keywords: blended learning, flipped classroom, public health, self-directness

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Authors: Sevelina Ndlovu

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Financial Technology (fintech) advancement is recognised as one of the most transformational innovations in the financial industry. Fintech has given rise to internet-only digital banking, a novel financial technology advancement, and innovation that allows banking services through internet applications with no need for physical branches. This technology is becoming a new banking normal among consumers for its ubiquitous and real-time access advantages. There is evident switching and migration from traditional banking towards these fintech facilities, which could possibly pose a systemic risk if not properly understood and monitored. Fintech advancement has also brought about the emergence and escalation of financial technology consumption themes such as trust, security, perceived risk, and sustainability within the banking industry, themes scarcely covered in existing theoretic literature. To that end, the objective of this research is to investigate factors that determine fintech adoption and propose an integrated adoption model. This study aims to establish what the significant drivers of adoption are and develop a conceptual model that integrates technological, behavioral, and environmental constructs by extending the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2). It proposes integrating constructs that influence financial consumption themes such as trust, perceived risk, security, financial incentives, micro-investing opportunities, and environmental consciousness to determine the impact of these factors on the adoption and intention to use digital banking apps. The main advantage of this conceptual model is the consolidation of a greater number of predictor variables that can provide a fuller explanation of the consumer's adoption of digital banking Apps. Moderating variables of age, gender, and income are incorporated. To the best of author’s knowledge, this study is the first that extends the UTAUT2 model with this combination of constructs to investigate user’s intention to adopt internet-only digital banking apps in the UK context. By investigating factors that are not included in the existing theories but are highly pertinent to the adoption of internet-only banking services, this research adds to existing knowledge and extends the generalisability of the UTAUT2 in a financial services adoption context. This is something that fills a gap in knowledge, as highlighted to needing further research on UTAUT2 after reviewing the theory in 2016 from its original version of 2003. To achieve the objectives of this study, this research assumes a quantitative research approach to empirically test the hypotheses derived from existing literature and pilot studies to give statistical support to generalise the research findings for further possible applications in theory and practice. This research is explanatory or casual in nature and uses cross-section primary data collected through a survey method. Convenient and purposive sampling using structured self-administered online questionnaires is used for data collection. The proposed model is tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), and the analysis of primary data collected through an online survey is processed using Smart PLS software with a sample size of 386 digital bank users. The results are expected to establish if there are significant relationships between the dependent and independent variables and establish what the most influencing factors are.

Keywords: banking applications, digital banking, financial technology, technology adoption, UTAUT2

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