Search results for: higher education commission

Authors: Aman Patidar, Dipankar Sarkar, Manish Pal

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Due to rapid development, increase in the traffic load, higher traffic volume and seasonal variation in temperature, asphalt pavement shows distresses like rutting, fatigue and thermal cracking etc. because of this pavement fails during service life so that bitumen needs to be modified with some additive. In this study VG30 grade bitumen modify with addition of nanosilica with 1% to 5% (increment of 1%) by weight of bitumen. Hot mix asphalt (HMA) have higher mixing, laying and rolling temperatures which leads to higher consumption of fuel. To address this issue, a nano material named ZycoTherm which is chemical warm mix asphalt (WMA) additive is added to bitumen. Nanosilica modification (NSMB) results in the increase in stability compared to unmodified bitumen (UMB). WMA modified mix shows slightly higher stability than UMB and NSMB in a lower bitumen content. The Retained stability and tensile strength ratio (TSR) is more than 75% and 80% respectively for both mixes. Nanosilica with WMA has more resistant to temperature susceptibility, moisture susceptibility and short term aging than NSMB.

Keywords: HMA, nanosilica, NSMB, temperature, TSR, UMB, WMA

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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: Jasmin Cowin

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Augmented reality digital technologies, big data, and the need for a teacher workforce able to meet the demands of a knowledge-based society are poised to lead to major changes in the field of education. This paper explores applications and educational use cases of augmented reality digital technologies for educational organizations during the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Fourth Industrial Revolution requires vision, flexibility, and innovative educational conduits by governments and educational institutions to remain competitive in a global economy. Educational organizations will need to focus on teaching in and for a digital age to continue offering academic knowledge relevant to 21st-century markets and changing labor force needs. Implementation of contemporary disciplines will need to be embodied through learners’ active knowledge-making experiences while embracing ubiquitous accessibility. The power of distributed ledger technology promises major streamlining for educational record-keeping, degree conferrals, and authenticity guarantees. Augmented reality digital technologies hold the potential to restructure educational philosophies and their underpinning pedagogies thereby transforming modes of delivery. Structural changes in education and governmental planning are already increasing through intelligent systems and big data. Reimagining and redesigning education on a broad scale is required to plan and implement governmental and institutional changes to harness innovative technologies while moving away from the big schooling machine.

Keywords: fourth industrial revolution, artificial intelligence, big data, education, augmented reality digital technologies, distributed ledger technology

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Authors: Abdul Rofiq Badril Rizal Muzammil

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Education is an absolute necessity for human’s life that one must fulfill for the entire life. Without education it is impossible for human to develop her/himself well. The education process is an effort to maintain a good behavior within one’s life. Good behavior will be absolutely achieved if it is taught to early-aged children. This paper focuses on how the story telling method enables teachers to make the students have the construction of good behavior and obtain the goal of national education in Indonesia. The targeted students would involve students in As-Solihin kindergarten, Salafiyah-Syafi’iyah Mumbulsari, Jember, Indonesia. Story is what early-aged children like most. Thus, it is a gorgeous chance to make story telling activity as a method to invest Islamic education values to children. This paper, however, also focuses on some deliberately important aspects which of course teachers need to consider including objectives and strategies of the method’s implementation. The teachers will be in need of knowing each student’s characteristic in the classroom so that it would enable them to select appropriate stories that fit best to early aged students. The selected stories are taken from Islamic stories that tell the life of Prophet and heroes of Islam as well as well-known persons in Islam. In addition, there will be a number of activities done in the classroom after the delivery of the story is over on purpose of leading students to have the fundamental foundation of how to build self-awareness in order they could understand better about the importance of being a well-behaved person. After reviewing relevant theories, secondary research and scholars’ opinion involved in all aspects of early-aged children behavior, the author concludes that by leveraging trusted sources, a proactive, co-operative and creative strategy, the teacher can successfully build up children’s good behavior by instilling the Islamic value toward early-aged children through story telling method.

Keywords: story, Islam, children, early age

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Authors: Prakash Singh

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Research studies affirm the view that gifted pupils are endowed with unique personality traits, enabling them to study at higher levels of thinking, at a faster pace, and with a greater degree of autonomy than their average counterparts. The focus of this study was whether high school gifted pupils are capable of studying an advanced level curriculum on their own by employing self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies. To be self-regulated, pupils are required to be metacognitively, motivationally, and behaviourally active participants in their own learning processes so that they are able to initiate and direct their personal curriculum efforts to acquire cognitive skills and knowledge, instead of being solely reliant on their teachers. Researchers working with gifted populations concede that limited studies have been conducted thus far to examine gifted pupils’ expertise in using SRL strategies to assume ownership of their learning. In order to conduct this investigation, an enriched module in Accounting for specifically gifted grade eleven pupils was developed, incorporating advanced level content, and use was made of the Post-test-Only Control Group Design to accomplish this research objective. The results emanating from this empirical study strongly suggest that SRL strategies can be employed to overcome a narrow, rigid approach that limits the education of gifted pupils in the regular classroom of the high school. SRL can meaningfully offer an alternative way to implement an advanced level curriculum for the gifted in the mainstream of education. This can be achieved despite the limitations of differentiation in the regular classroom.

Keywords: advanced level curriculum, high school gifted pupils, self-regulated learning, teachers’ professional competencies

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Authors: Paulo Sérgio Ribeiro de Araújo Bogas

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Although several studies have assumed (at least implicitly) that learners' approaches to learning develop into deeper approaches to higher education, there appears to be no clear theoretical basis for this assumption and no empirical evidence. As a scientific contribution to this discussion, a pedagogical intervention of a quasi-experimental nature was developed, with a mixed methodology, evaluating the intervention within a single curricular unit of Marketing, using cases based on real challenges of brands, business simulation, and customer projects. Primary and secondary experiences were incorporated in the intervention: the primary experiences are the experiential activities themselves; the secondary experiences result from the primary experience, such as reflection and discussion in work teams. A diversified learning relationship was encouraged through the various connections between the different members of the learning community. The present study concludes that in the same context, the student's responses can be described as students who reinforce the initial deep approach, students who maintain the initial deep approach level, and others who change from an emphasis on the deep approach to one closer to superficial. This typology did not always confirm studies reported in the literature, namely, whether the initial level of deep processing would influence the superficial and the opposite. The result of this investigation points to the inclusion of pedagogical and didactic activities that integrate different motivations and initial strategies, leading to the possible adoption of deep approaches to learning since it revealed statistically significant differences in the difference in the scores of the deep/superficial approach and the experiential level. In the case of real challenges, the categories of “attribution of meaning and meaning of studied” and the possibility of “contact with an aspirational context” for their future professional stand out. In this category, the dimensions of autonomy that will be required of them were also revealed when comparing the classroom context of real cases and the future professional context and the impact they may have on the world. Regarding the simulated practice, two categories of response stand out: on the one hand, the motivation associated with the possibility of measuring the results of the decisions taken, an awareness of oneself, and, on the other hand, the additional effort that this practice required for some of the students.

Keywords: experiential learning, higher education, mixed methods, reflective learning, marketing

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Authors: Ratima Damkham, Natasha Dejdumrong, Priyakorn Pusawiro

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This paper explored the solution in game design to help game designers in the educational game designing using digital educational game model canvas (DEGMC) and digital educational game form (DEGF) based on Outcome-based Education program. DEGMC and DEGF can help designers develop an overview of the game while designing and planning their own game. The way to clearly assess players’ ability from learning outcomes and support their game learning design is by using the tools. Designers can balance educational content and entertainment in designing a game by using the strategies of the Business Model Canvas and design the gameplay and players’ ability assessment from learning outcomes they need by referring to the Constructive Alignment. Furthermore, they can use their design plan in this research to write their Game Design Document (GDD). The success of the research was evaluated by four experts’ perspectives in the education and computer field. From the experiments, the canvas and form helped the game designers model their game according to the learning outcomes and analysis of their own game elements. This method can be a path to research an educational game design in the future.

Keywords: constructive alignment, constructivist theory, educational game, outcome-based education

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Authors: Karen V. Lee

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The background and significance of this study involves autoethnographic research about a music teacher learning how education and curriculum planning can help her overcome harmful and lasting career consequences from sexual violence. Curriculum surrounding intervention resources from education helps her cope with consequences influencing her career as music teacher. Basic methodology involves the qualitative method of research as theoretical framework where the author is drawn into a deep storied reflection about political issues surrounding teachers who need to overcome social, psychological, and health risk behaviors from violence. Sub-themes involve counseling, curriculum, adult education to ensure teachers receive social, emotional, physical, spiritual, and intervention resources that evoke visceral, emotional responses from the audience. Major findings share how stories provide helpful resources to teachers who have been victims of violence. It is hoped the research dramatizes an episodic yet incomplete story that highlights the circumstances surrounding the protagonist’s life as teacher with previous sexual violence. In conclusion, the research has a reflexive storied framework with video and music from curriculum planning that embraces harmful and lasting consequences from sexual violence. The reflexive story of the sensory experience critically seeks verisimilitude by evoking lifelike and believable feelings from others. Thus, the scholarly importance of using education and curriculum as intervention resources to accompany storied research can provide transformative aspects that can contribute to social change. Overall, the circumstance surrounding the story about sexual violence is not uncommon in society. Thus, continued education and curriculum that supports the moral mission to help teachers overcome sexual violence that socially impacts their professional lives as victims.

Keywords: education, curriculum, sexual violence, storied autoethnography

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Authors: Elsaed Elsaed

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With the constant progress in our daily lives through information and communication technology and the presence of abundant in research activities in the hardware and software associated with them, and develop and improve their performance, but still there is a need to provide all combined solutions in one business. A systematic mapping study was conducted to investigate the contributions that have been prepared, and the areas of knowledge that are explored further, and any aspects of the research used to divide the common understanding of the latest technology in software engineering education. Which, we have categorized into a well-defined engineering framework. An overview of current research topics and trends and their distribution by type of research and scope of application. In addition, the topics were grouped into groups and a list of proposed methods and frameworks and tools was used. The map shows that the current research impact is limited to a few areas of knowledge are needed to map a future path to fill the gaps in the instruction activities.

Keywords: methodological maps, engineering education program, literature survey, communication technology

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Authors: Diane Ghanem, Oscar Covarrubias, Ridge Maxson, Samir Sabharwal, Babar Shafiq

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Introduction: Web-based resources serve as a fundamental educational platform for orthopaedic trauma patients; however, they are notoriously written at a high grade reading level and are often too complicated for patients to benefit from them. The aim of this study is to perform an updated assessment of the readability of the AAOS trauma-related educational articles and compare their readability with that of injury-specific patient education materials developed by the OTA. Methods: All forty-six trauma-related articles on the AAOS patient education website were analyzed for readability. Two independent reviewers used the (1) Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and the (2) Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) algorithms to calculate the readability level. Mean readability scores were compared across body part categories. One-sample t-test was done to compare mean FKGL with the recommended 6th-grade readability level and the average American adult reading level. Two-sample t-test was used to compare the readability scores of the AAOS trauma-related articles to those of the OTA. Results: The average FKGL and FRE for the AAOS articles were 8.9±0.74 and 57.2±5.8, respectively. All articles were written above the 6th-grade reading level. The average readability of the AAOS articles was significantly greater than the recommended 6th-grade and average American adult reading level. The average FKGL (8.9±0.74 vs 8.1±1.14) and FRE (57.2±5.8 vs 65.6±6.6) for all AAOS articles was significantly greater compared to that of OTA articles. Excellent agreement was observed between raters for the FKGL 0.956 (95%CI 0.922 - 0.975) and FRE 0.993 (95%CI 0.987 – 0.996). Discussion: Our findings suggest that, after almost a decade, the readability of the AAOS trauma-related articles remains unchanged. The AAOS and OTA trauma patient education materials have high readability levels and may be too difficult for patient comprehension. A need remains to improve the readability of these commonly used trauma education materials.

Keywords: american ocademy of orthopaedic surgeons, FKGL, FRE, orthopaedic trauma association, patient education, readability

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Authors: Pouria Ghidi

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Creating convergence in trade is very important, but in practice, this seems out of reach due to the conflict of interests and views of countries. The most important mission of UNCITRAL is to standardize and modernize international trade law through legislative and non-legislative tools on various issues of international trade law between governments. Unfortunately, the performance of governments has shown that, except in some cases, unity is not welcomed. Therefore, although unification is envisaged as a goal, it is more practical to create convergence between countries. In a variety of ways, UNCITRAL seeks to create a kind of common ground between influential actors in the international trade law system that approaches a degree of convergence of views. Accordingly, this realization seeks to find these mechanisms and their impact on creating convergence among actors in the field of international trade. In other words, this study seeks to address the question of what tools the UN Commission on International Trade Law uses to develop the convergence of rules and regulations in this area, which groups it targets, and at what levels they work.

Keywords: UNCITRAL, harmonization, unification in interpretation, international trade law, model laws

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Authors: I. Kočvarová, E. Machů, N. Bártlová

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The issue of inclusion - segregation in the current Czech educational system is highly actual due to changes in legislation. It applies primarily to pupils with special educational needs, but it should also apply to pupils with giftedness. The paper presents chosen results of an exploratory survey that was carried out on a convenience sample of 1101 Czech teachers working in lower secondary education (ISCED2). The rate of teachers´ agreement with segregation of gifted pupils in the education system was monitored during this investigation. A validated questionnaire of our own design was used for the purpose of this investigation. The results were compared across groups of teachers in terms of selected variables. Results show that 36,3 % of teachers incline to segregation (rather than inclusion) of gifted pupils. Teachers who are not educated in this field and have no experience in teaching gifted pupils tend to support their segregation more in comparison with other teachers. Teachers of specialized schools for gifted pupils paradoxically agree with segregation to a slightly lesser extent than teachers from traditional schools, but they also manifest the most hesitant attitude in this issue. Preferences for segregation of gifted pupils are not related to attitudes toward gifted pupils or teachers' self-evaluation in terms of care for the gifted. Investigation indicates that the issue of education of gifted children and their inclusion in the educational system needs more space within the further education of teachers.

Keywords: educational system, evaluation, gifted pupil, inclusion, segregation, teacher

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Authors: Daniel Suarez Alonso

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This study has tried to focus on the alternatives offered to police institutions by the implementation of Geographic Information systems. Providing operational police commanders with effective and efficient tools, providing analytical capacity to reduce criminal opportunities, must be a priority. Given the intimate connection of crimes and infractions to the environment, law enforcement institutions must respond proactively to changing circumstances of anti-norm behaviors. To this end, it has been intended to analyze the antisocial spatial distribution of the city of Móstoles, trying to identify those spatiotemporal patterns that occur to anticipate their commission through the planning of dynamic preventive strategies. The application of GIS offers alternative analytical approaches to the different problems that underlie the development of life in society, focusing resources on those places with the highest concentration of incidents.

Keywords: data analysis, police organizations, police prevention, geographic information systems

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Authors: Tri Nguyen

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Background: Female sex workers (FSWs) are at heightened risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV. The purpose of the research is to study FSWs socio-demographic and behavioral characteristics and their HIV/STIs prevalence in Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Vietnam. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 420 direct and indirect FSWs between January and May, 2014 from 2 cities and 6 districts in Ba Ria – Vung Tau were collected using sampling methods. FSWs were interviewed using the structured questionnaire and biological samples were tested for syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia and HIV in the study. A database was constructed and entered using Epidata 3.1 software and analyzed using the SPSS 20.0 statistical package. Results: A total of 420 FSWs participated in the survey, with a median age of 27 years within a range of 18 – 43 years. Education levels were low with 33.1% only completing all seven major indicators. The median age of first sexual intercourse of the FSWs was 18 years. Most (88.8%) of the FSWs had oral sex. A high proportion (82.4 %) of the FSWs had consumed alcohol. Among them, 51.2% of the FSWs have had sex after drunk. Of the 177 FSWs have reported that they have had sex after drunk, almost half of direct FSWs have had unprotected sex. Among the 420 FSWs who participated in the survey, 2.6 % (11/420) were found to be HIV positive. There was a difference in HIV prevalence among direct and indirect FSWs (4.8 % and 1.2%, p= 0,022). Nearly 7 percent of the FSWs were infected with Syphilis. Similarly, the percentage (7.9 %) of the FSWs was found with Gonorrhoea and a doubly higher percentage (16.4%) of them was suffering from Chlamydia. On the aggregate, the percentage of FSWs with any one of the STIs (Gonorrhoea or Chlamydia) was highest 21.4 %. Conclusions: FSWs in Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Vietnam are highly vulnerable to STIs and need to enhance the existing STIs treatment and intervention programs in order to reduce the risk of HIV infections. HIV/STIs health education and a 100% condom use program should be implemented, and sex industry should be regulated by law.

Keywords: sex workers, female sex workers, HIV, STIs

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Authors: Abolaji Mayowa Akinyele

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The purpose of this study was to investigate student’s awareness, Knowledge and understanding of environmental issues for sustainable development. Findings revealed that; despite the positive attitude shown by students towards environmental education, a relatively low level of understanding of environmental concept was recorded in school settings regardless of efforts by government and other environmental agencies at creating awareness about environmental related issues. This brought about the investigation of students environmental education knowledge in high school settings. About 205 Students were randomly selected for data collection using validated instruments titled student’s knowledge and attitude questionnaire as well as student’s response to questions (interview) concerning global warming. T-test statistics, chi-square and simple percentage were the major statistical tools employed in data analysis. This study revealed that environment based-education (school curriculum) as well as efforts by government/environmental agencies (mass media) plays a major role in promoting students understanding, of environmental concepts, awareness of major environmental issues and positive attitude towards natural environment.

Keywords: environmental issues, sustainable development, students attitude, students knowledge

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Authors: Priya Kulkarni, Soumya Koppikar, Datta Shinde, Shantanu Deshpande, Narendrakumar Wagh, Abhay Harsulkar

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Osteoarthritis (OA) is associated with multiple and overlapping aetiologies. IL-1β is produced by stressed tissue and known to aggravate disease pathologies. We selected 10 patients with elevated IL-1β in their synovial fluids (SF). We hypothesized IL-1β as nodal-point connecting different pathologies. IL-1β was higher in all meniscal tear (MT) patients perhaps as the earliest response to injury. Since MT above age of 30 leads to OA in less than 5 years, it is attributed that IL-1β modulates OA pathology. Among all bilateral OA patients, an interesting case operated for Total-Knee-Replacement revealed differential cartilage degeneration demonstrating strong association with higher IL-1β. Symptoms like acute-pain, effusion and redness were correlated with higher IL-1β and NO (Nitric-oxide). However, higher IL-1β was also found without typical-inflammation characterized by infiltration of neutrophils and macrophages. Cultured synoviocytes responded to IL-1β by releasing NO. In conclusion, IL-1β in SF acquires central position influencing different OA pathologies and aetiologies.

Keywords: IL-1β, meniscal tear, osteoarthritis, synovial fluid

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Authors: Naser Charkhsaz, Ashraf Sadat Mousavi, Navvab Shamspour

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This study aimed to evaluate the role of state education in increasing public awareness through mass media (with emphasis on newspapers and TV) coping with possible earthquake in Tehran. All residents aged 15 to 65 who live in the five regions of Tehran (North, South, East, West and Center) during the plan implementation were selected and studied. The required sample size in each region was calculated based on the Cochran formula (n=380). In order to collect and analyze the data, a questionnaire with reliability (82%) and a one-sample t-test has been used, respectively. The results showed that warnings related to the Tehran earthquake affected people in the pre-contemplation stage, while public education through mass media did not promote public awareness about prevention, preparedness and rehabilitation.

Keywords: media, disaster, knowledge, Iranian Red Crescent society

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Authors: Azusa Katsumata

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Where there is collaboration between universities and companies in the educational context, companies seek ‘knowledge’ from universities and provide a ‘place of practice’ to them. Several universities have introduced activities aimed at the mutual enlightenment of a diversity of people in career education. However, several programs emphasize on delivering results, and on practicing the prepared materials as planned. Few programs focus on unexpected failures and setbacks. This way of learning is important in career education so that classmates can help each other, overcome difficulties, draw out each other’s strengths, and learn from them. Seijo University in Tokyo offered Tokyo Tourism, a Project-Based Learning course, as a first-year career education course until 2016. In cooperation with a travel agency, students participate in planning actual tourism products for foreigners visiting Japan, undertake tours serving as guides. This paper aims to study the 'learning platform' created by a series of processes such as the fieldwork, planning tours, the presentation, selling the tourism products, and guiding the tourists. We conducted a questionnaire to measure the development of work-related skills in class. From the results of the questionnaire, we can see, in the example of this class, that students demonstrated an increased desire to be pro-active and an improved motivation to learn. Students have not, however, acquired policy or business skills. This is appropriate for first-year careers education, but we need to consider how this can be incorporated into future courses. In the questionnaire filled out by the students after the class, the following results were found. Planning and implementing travel products while learning from each other, and helping the teams has led to improvements in the student workforce. This course is a collaborative project between Japanese universities and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games committee.

Keywords: university career education, platform of learning, project-based learning, collaboration between university and company

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Authors: Fatemeh Yazdani

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This paper explores the student intake policies in high-performing private schools in Iran by studying both sides involved in the school choice processes, parents and the school leaders. It is based on in-depth interviews with 27 parents and private schools’ staff and principals supplemented by ethnographic observation in two private schools in Tehran. From the Bourdieusian point of view, this paper argues that the school leadership engineers the composition of private schools’ students via different gatekeeping strategies, and these strategies represent and reconstruct the school’s institutional habitus. It further explores the ways that parents who look for quality education among non-state education providers deal with the school's institutional habitus based on their familial habitus and possessed economic, social, and cultural capital. The conclusion highlights that investigating school choice as a reciprocal process between family and school leadership can shed more light on the ways that an exclusive environment has been created in some high-performing private schools for certain class strata maintaining a distance that needs to be kept from ‘others.’ In a broader sense, this paper engages into an exploration of social inequality reproduction through private education.

Keywords: institutional habitus, private education, school choice, social inequality, student intake

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Authors: Naim Karasekreter, Ugur Fidan, Fatih Basciftci

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Wireless sensor networks are networks in which more than one sensor node is organized among themselves. The working principle is based on the transfer of the sensed data over the other nodes in the network to the central station. Wireless sensor networks concentrate on routing algorithms, energy efficiency and clustering algorithms. In the clustering method, the nodes in the network are divided into clusters using different parameters and the most suitable cluster head is selected from among them. The data to be sent to the center is sent per cluster, and the cluster head is transmitted to the center. With this method, the network traffic is reduced and the energy efficiency of the nodes is increased. In this study, clustering algorithms were examined in terms of clustering performances and cluster head selection characteristics to try to identify weak and strong sides. This work is supported by the Project 17.Kariyer.123 of Afyon Kocatepe University BAP Commission.

Keywords: wireless sensor networks (WSN), clustering algorithm, cluster head, clustering

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Authors: Alhassan Dramani Yakubu

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The primary purpose of this study was to analyze effects that participating in sporting activities has on academic performance among students at Yaa Asantewaa Girls’ Senior High School. To dig out the main objective of the study, descriptive survey design was employed. The study used 45 respondents comprising of 25 student – athletes and 20 non-student – athletes. The purposive sampling and stratified random sampling technique were used to sample population of 455 students involved. The academic performance of sports participants is compared with those of non – participants in terms of their outcomes in the form of grades from mathematics. Data was obtained from the sample by the use of questionnaire which was self - administered. The questionnaire sought information on level of student’s participation in sports and importance of sports participation to students. Results revealed that participation in sporting activities is associated with higher grades among students. The analysis reinforces the idea that apart from their health benefits for participants, sporting activities lead to the attainment of the performance goals to which higher institutions aspire. The findings also implies that, mathematics teachers and other subject teachers should not fend off students from participating in sporting activities with the trepidation that participating in sports inflame academic performance. This study recommend that, educational programs about sports should be provided for students’ through the educational system to bring about positive academic performance.

Keywords: physical activity, physical education, intra mural, extra mural

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Authors: N. Coskun

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Australia has received over 840,000 refugees since its establishment as a federation. Despite the long history of refugee intake, Australia appears to have prolonged problems in refugee education such as academic and social isolations of refugee background students (RBS), the discriminations towards RBS and the high number of RBS drop-outs. This paper examines the place of RBS in educational policies, which can help to identify the problems and set a foundation for solutions. This paper investigates the educational provisions for RBS in three stages. First, the paper identifies the needs of RBS through a comprehensive literature review, using the framework of Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model. Second, the study explores the place of these needs in Australian national and state educational policies which are informed by multiculturalism. The findings conclude that social, academic and psychological needs of RBS hardly find a place in multicultural educational policies. The students and their specific needs are mostly invisible and are placed under a general category of newly arrived immigrants who learn English as a second language. Third, the study explores the possible reasons for the overlook on RBS and their needs with examining the general socio-political context surrounding refugees in Australia. The overall findings suggest that Australian multiculturalism policy in education are inadequate to address RBS' social, academic and psychological needs due to the disadvantaging socio-political context where refugees are placed.

Keywords: Australia, bio-ecological model, multiculturalism, refugee education

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Authors: Florian Tille, Heide Weishaar, Bernhard Gibis, Susanne Schnitzer

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Introduction: The quality of patient-doctor communication and of written health information is central to organizational health literacy (HL). Whether patients understand their doctors’ explanations and textual material on health, however, is understudied. This study identifies the overall levels of patient understanding of health information and its associations with patients’ social characteristics in outpatient health care in Germany. Materials & Methods: This analysis draws on data collected via a 2017 national health survey with a sample of 6,105 adults. Quality of communication was measured for consultations with general practitioners (GPs) and specialists (SPs) via the Ask Me 3 program questions, and through a question on written health material. Correlations with social characteristics were explored employing bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results: Over 90% of all respondents reported that they had understood their doctors’ explanations during the last consultation. Failed understanding was strongly correlated with patients’ very poor health (Odds Ratio [OR]: 5.19; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.23–12.10; ref. excellent/very good health), current health problem (OR: 6.54, CI: 1.70–25.12; ref. preventive examination) and age 65 years and above (OR: 2.97, CI: 1.10–8.00; ref. 18 to 34 years). Fewer patients answered they understood written material well (86.7% for las visit at GP, 89.7% at SP). Understanding written material poorly was highly associated with basic education (OR: 4.20, CI: 2.76–6.39; ref. higher education) and 65 years old and above (OR: 2.66, CI: 1.43–4.96). Discussion: Overall ratings of oral patient-doctor communication and written communication of health information are high. Yet, a considerable share of patients reports not-understanding their doctors and poor understanding of the written health-related material. Interventions that can contribute to improving organizational HL in outpatient care in Germany include HL training for doctors, reducing system barriers to easily-accessible health information for patients and combining oral and written health communication means. Conclusion: This work adds to the study of organizational HL in Germany. To increase patient understanding of health-relevant information and thereby possibly reduce health disparities, meeting the communication needs especially of persons in different age groups, with basic education and in very poor health is suggested.

Keywords: health survey, organizational health literacy, patient-doctor communication, social characteristics, outpatient care, Ask Me 3

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Authors: Sera Ratu, Jane Chivers, Jessica Botfield

Abstract:

Objectives: The Reproductive and Family Health Association of Fiji (RFHAF) and Family Planning Australia are working together to introduce quality comprehensive sexuality education into Special Schools - which are schools for students with disability. Sexual and reproductive health information is needed by students with disability attending Special Schools. Children with special needs go through the same changes as able-bodied children. The Fiji Disability Inclusion project is a three-year project that started in 2015. One of its objectives is to increase exposure to comprehensive sexuality education for primary and secondary school students with disability. Method: A baseline survey was undertaken with 72 students with disability; it included questions about puberty, sexual health, and relationships. 34 teachers also completed a survey about their views of sexuality education and confidence in delivering it. Consent was facilitated by running information sessions with teachers and parents. The process of gaining consent and completing the surveys was designed to be accessible to students with disability. Given the sensitive nature of reproductive and sexual health, and the potential vulnerability of young people with disability, ethical considerations were important in the design and implementation of the surveys, and ethics approval was obtained. Results: Findings from the surveys suggest that students have mixed knowledge and awareness of sexual health issues. Most teachers reported a need for their students to learn about sexuality and relationships. A positive outcome of conducting the surveys was that RFHAF staff reported they have developed skills and confidence in communicating with young people with a range of disabilities. They have a greater understanding of what students want to learn, and what teachers feel is important. Conclusions: These survey findings will assist RFHAF in developing comprehensive sexuality education programs that are relevant and accessible to students in Special Schools, and to develop an appropriate professional development program for teachers. Findings may also be applicable to other Special Schools when developing sexuality education programs. The education programs developed for students as part of this project, and the professional development programs for teachers, may be relevant to other countries.

Keywords: comprehensive sexuality education, delivery, sexual and reproductive health and rights, special schools

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Authors: Chryssi Vitsilaki, Apostolos Kostas, Ilias Efthymiou

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This paper presents selected best practices on online learning and teaching derived from a novel and innovating Lifelong Learning program through e-Learning, which has during the last five years been set up at the University of the Aegean in Greece. The university, capitalizing on an award-winning, decade-long experience in e-learning and blended learning in undergraduate and postgraduate studies, recently expanded into continuous education and vocational training programs in various cutting-edge fields. So, in this article we present: (a) the academic structure/infrastructure which has been developed for the administrative, organizational and educational support of the e-Learning process, including training the trainers, (b) the mode of design and implementation based on a sound pedagogical framework of open and distance education, and (c) the key results of the assessment of the e-learning process by the participants, as they are used to feedback on continuous organizational and teaching improvement and quality control.

Keywords: distance education, e-learning, life-long programs, synchronous/asynchronous learning

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Authors: M. Marín-Ferrer, M. A. Hernández, T. Tollefsen, S. Vanzo, E. Nweke, P. V. Tognoli, M. De Cort

Abstract:

Under the terms of Article 36 of the Euratom Treaty, European Union Member States (MSs) shall periodically communicate to the European Commission (EC) information on environmental radioactivity levels. Compilations of the information received have been published by the EC as a series of reports beginning in the early 1960s. The environmental radioactivity results received from the MSs have been introduced into the Radioactivity Environmental Monitoring database (REMdb) of the Institute for Transuranium Elements of the EC Joint Research Centre (JRC) sited in Ispra (Italy) as part of its Directorate General for Energy (DG ENER) support programme. The REMdb brings to the scientific community dealing with environmental radioactivity topics endless of research opportunities to exploit the near 200 millions of records received from MSs containing information of radioactivity levels in milk, water, air and mixed diet. The REM action was created shortly after Chernobyl crisis to support the EC in its responsibilities in providing qualified information to the European Parliament and the MSs on the levels of radioactive contamination of the various compartments of the environment (air, water, soil). Hence, the main line of REM’s activities concerns the improvement of procedures for the collection of environmental radioactivity concentrations for routine and emergency conditions, as well as making this information available to the general public. In this way, REM ensures the availability of tools for the inter-communication and access of users from the Member States and the other European countries to this information. Specific attention is given to further integrate the new MSs with the existing information exchange systems and to assist Candidate Countries in fulfilling these obligations in view of their membership of the EU. Article 36 of the EURATOM treaty requires the competent authorities of each MS to provide regularly the environmental radioactivity monitoring data resulting from their Article 35 obligations to the EC in order to keep EC informed on the levels of radioactivity in the environment (air, water, milk and mixed diet) which could affect population. The REMdb has mainly two objectives: to keep a historical record of the radiological accidents for further scientific study, and to collect the environmental radioactivity data gathered through the national environmental monitoring programs of the MSs to prepare the comprehensive annual monitoring reports (MR). The JRC continues his activity of collecting, assembling, analyzing and providing this information to public and MSs even during emergency situations. In addition, there is a growing concern with the general public about the radioactivity levels in the terrestrial and marine environment, as well about the potential risk of future nuclear accidents. To this context, a clear and transparent communication with the public is needed. EURDEP (European Radiological Data Exchange Platform) is both a standard format for radiological data and a network for the exchange of automatic monitoring data. The latest release of the format is version 2.0, which is in use since the beginning of 2002.

Keywords: environmental radioactivity, Euratom, monitoring report, REMdb

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Authors: A. Drelick, T. Sondergeld, M. Decarlo-Tecce, K. McGinley

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In 1975, a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) was granted for all students in the United States regardless of their disabilities. As a result, the special education landscape has been reshaped through new policies and legislation. Progress monitoring, a specific component of an Individual Education Program (IEP) calls, for the use of data collection to determine the appropriateness of services provided to students with disabilities. The recent US Supreme Court ruling in Endrew F. v. Douglas County warrants giving increased attention to student progress, specifically pertaining to improving functional, or non-academic, skills that are addressed outside the general education curriculum. While using technology to enhance data collection has become a common practice for measuring academic growth, its application for non-academic IEP goals is uncertain. A mixed-methods study examined current practices and rationales for implementing technology-based progress monitoring focused on non-academic IEP goals. Fifty-seven participants responded to an online survey regarding their progress monitoring programs for non-academic goals. After isolated analysis and interpretation of quantitative and qualitative results, data were synthesized to produce meta-inferences that drew broader conclusions on the topic. For the purpose of this paper, specific focus will be placed on the perceived barriers and benefits of implementing technology-based progress monitoring protocols for non-academic IEP goals. The findings of this study highlight facts impacting the use of technology-based progress monitoring. Perceived barriers to implementation include: (1) lack of training, (2) access to technology, (3) outdated or inoperable technology, (4) reluctance to change, (5) cost, (6) lack of individualization within technology-based programs, and (7) legal issues in special education; while perceived benefits include: (1) overall ease of use, (2) accessibility, (3) organization, (4) potential for improved presentation of data, (5) streamlining the progress-monitoring process, and (6) legal issues in special education. Based on these conclusions, recommendations are made to IEP teams, school districts, and software developers to improve the progress-monitoring process for functional skills.

Keywords: special education, progress monitoring, functional skills, technology

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Authors: Carolina B. A. Morais, Antonio Bob Santos

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In order to determine how innovation procurement can strengthen public efficiency and foster the modernization of public services, while at the same time promoting the opening of new private markets, this paper aims to present the two key instruments for the practice of innovation procurement at a European, national, and regional level – Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP), and Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions (PPI). Thus, it starts with a theoretical framework on the emergence of this topic in the European Innovation Policy (Section 2), then continues with the identification and systematization of the main mechanisms for its effective adoption, both on the demand and supply side of the market (Section 3), as well as to expose and describe methods and tools for positioning innovation at the heart of public entities. The innovative projects best distinguished by the European Commission for their good practices in innovation procurement are identified, and the main methodology for the development and management of innovation procurement – Forward Commitment Procurement (FCP) – is applied to them in a pioneering way (Section 4). The relevance of innovation in public procurement is systematized and reflected upon in Section 5.

Keywords: innovation procurement, innovation policy, innovation, pubic procurement

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Authors: Iman Al Khalidi

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Recently, English has become the language of globalization and technology. In turn, this has resulted in a seemingly bewildering array of influences and trends in the domain of TESOL curriculum. In light of these changes, higher education has to provide a new and more powerful kind of education. It should prepare students to be more engaged citizens, more capable to solve complex problems at work, and well prepared to lead meaningful life. In response to this, universities, colleges, schools, and departments have to work out in light of the requirements and challenges of the global and technological era. Consequently they have to focus on the adoption of contemporary curriculum which goes in line with the pedagogical shifts from teaching –centered approach to learning centered approach. Ideally, there has been noticeable emphasis on the crucial importance of developing and professionalizing teachers in order to engage them in the process of curriculum development and action research. This is a qualitative study that aims at understanding and exploring the process of designing EFL courses by teachers at the tertiary level from the perspectives of the participants in a professional context in TESOL, Department of English, a private college in Oman. It is a case study that stands on the philosophy of the qualitative approach. It employs multi methods for collecting qualitative data: semi-structured interviews with teachers, focus group discussions with students, and document analysis. The collected data have been analyzed qualitatively by adopting Miles and Huberman's Approach using procedures of reduction, coding, displaying and conclusion drawing and verification.

Keywords: course design, components of course design, case study, data analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 545

Authors: Iman Al Khalidi

Abstract:

Recently, English has become the language of globalization and technology. In turn, this has resulted in a seemingly bewildering array of influences and trends in the domain of TESOL curriculum. In light of these changes, higher education has to provide a new and more powerful kind of education. It should prepare students to be more engaged citizens, more capable to solve complex problems at work, and well prepared to lead a meaningful life. In response to this, universities, colleges, schools, and departments have to work out in light of the requirements and challenges of the global and technological era. Consequently, they have to focus on the adoption of contemporary curriculum which goes in line with the pedagogical shifts from teaching –centered approach to learning centered approach. Ideally, there has been noticeable emphasis on the crucial importance of developing and professionalizing teachers in order to engage them in the process of curriculum development and action research. This is a qualitative study that aims at understanding and exploring the process of designing EFL courses by teachers at the tertiary level from the perspectives of the participants in a professional context in TESOL, Department of English, a private college in Oman. It is a case study that stands on the philosophy of the qualitative approach. It employs multi-methods for collecting qualitative data: semi-structured interviews with teachers, focus group discussions with students, and document analysis. The collected data have been analyzed qualitatively by adopting Miles and Huberman's Approach using procedures of reduction, coding, displaying, and conclusion drawing and verification.

Keywords: course design, components of course design, case study, data analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 442