Search results for: school context related factors
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 24342

Search results for: school context related factors

22332 BROTHERS: World-class Ergonomic Sofa Development

Authors: Aminur Rahman

Abstract:

The Unique feature of BROTHERS Furniture sofa stands in ergonomic Design, skilled hand work and art work. Present world market is passing through a contentious competitive situation that is rapidly and dramatic. Competitive strategy concerns how to create competitive advantage in upholstery businesses. In order to competitive advantage in upholstery sofa market, Design and develop a sofa that have to ergonomic features. Design an ergonomic upholstery sofa knowing and understanding the appropriate seat depth, seat height, angle between Seat & back, back height which is concurrent market demand, world class sofa has to incorporate ergonomic factors. The study the relationships between human, seat and context variables comfort and discomfort. We must have conduct market survey among users whose are need and use sofa. Health & safety factors should be examined from a variety of angle. An attractive design and meet customer requirements, ergonomically fit should be considered for sofa development. This paper will explain how to design & develop sofa’s as per standard specifications which have ergonomic features for users all over the world.

Keywords: ergonomics, angle between seat & back, standard dimension, seat comfort

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22331 Impact of Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 on Clinical In-Stent Restenosis in First Elective Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Patients

Authors: Leonard Simoni, Ilir Alimehmeti, Ervina Shirka, Endri Hasimi, Ndricim Kallashi, Verona Beka, Suerta Kabili, Artan Goda

Abstract:

Background: Diabetes Mellitus type 2, small vessel calibre, stented length of vessel, complex lesion morphology, and prior bypass surgery have resulted risk factors for In-Stent Restenosis (ISR). However, there are some contradictory results about body mass index (BMI) as a risk factor for ISR. Purpose: We want to identify clinical, lesional and procedural factors that can predict clinical ISR in our patients. Methods: Were enrolled 759 patients who underwent first-time elective PCI with Bare Metal Stents (BMS) from September 2011 to December 2013 in our Department of Cardiology and followed them for at least 1.5 years with a median of 862 days (2 years and 4 months). Only the patients re-admitted with ischemic heart disease underwent control coronary angiography but no routine angiographic control was performed. Patients were categorized in ISR and non-ISR groups and compared between them. Multivariate analysis - Binary Logistic Regression: Forward Conditional Method was used to identify independent predictive risk factors. P was considered statistically significant when <0.05. Results: ISR compared to non-ISR individuals had a significantly lower BMI (25.7±3.3 vs. 26.9±3.7, p=0.004), higher risk anatomy (LM + 3-vessel CAD) (23% vs. 14%, p=0.03), higher number of stents/person used (2.1±1.1 vs. 1.75±0.96, p=0.004), greater length of stents/person used (39.3±21.6 vs. 33.3±18.5, p=0.01), and a lower use of clopidogrel and ASA (together) (95% vs. 99%, p=0.012). They also had a higher, although not statistically significant, prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus (42% vs. 32%, p=0.072) and a greater number of treated vessels (1.36±0.5 vs. 1.26±0.5, p=0.08). In the multivariate analysis, Diabetes Mellitus type 2 and multiple stents used were independent predictors risk factors for In-Stent Restenosis, OR 1.66 [1.03-2.68], p=0.039, and OR 1.44 [1.16-1.78,] p=0.001, respectively. On the other side higher BMI and use of clopidogrel and ASA together resulted protective factors OR 0.88 [0.81-0.95], p=0.001 and OR 0.2 [0.06-0.72] p=0.013, respectively. Conclusion: Diabetes Mellitus and multiple stents are strong predictive risk factors, whereas the use of clopidogrel and ASA together are protective factors for clinical In-Stent Restenosis. Paradoxically High BMI is a protective factor for In-stent Restenosis, probably related to a larger diameter of vessels and consequently a larger diameter of stents implanted in these patients. Further studies are needed to clarify this finding.

Keywords: body mass index, diabetes mellitus, in-stent restenosis, percutaneous coronary intervention

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22330 Determinants of Pupils' Performance in the National Achievement Test in Public Elementary Schools of Cavite City

Authors: Florenda B. Cardinoza

Abstract:

This study was conducted to determine the determinants of Grade III and grade VI pupils’ performance in the National Achievement Test in the Division of Cavite City, School Year 2011-2012. Specifically, the research aimed to: (1) describe the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of age, sex, birth order, family size, family income, and occupation of parents; (2) determine the level of attitude towards NAT; and (3) describe the degree of relationship between the following variables: school support, teachers’ support, and lastly family support for the pupils’ performance in 2012 NAT. The study used the descriptive-correlation research method to investigate the determinants of pupils’ performance in the National Achievement Test of Public Elementary Schools in the Division of Cavite City. The instrument used in data gathering was a self-structured survey. The NAT result for SY 2011-2012 provided by NETRC and DepEd Cavite City was also utilized. The statistical tools used to process and analyze the data were frequency distribution, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Kruskall Wallis, Mann-Whitney, t-test for independent samples, One-way ANOVA, and Spearman Rank Correlational Coefficient. Results revealed that there were more female students than males in the Division of Cavite City; out of 659 respondents, 345 were 11 years old and above; 390 were females; 283 were categorized as first child in the family; 371 of the respondents were from small family; 327 had Php5000 and below family income; 450 of the fathers’ respondents were non professionals; and 431 of the mothers respondents had no occupation. The attitude towards NAT, with a mean of 1.65 and SD of .485, shows that respondents considered NAT important. The school support towards NAT, with a mean of 1.89 and SD of .520, shows that respondents received school support. The pupils had a very high attitude towards teachers’ support in NAT with a mean of 1.60 and SD of .572. Family support, with t-test of 16.201 with a p-value of 0.006, shows significant at 5 percent level. Thus, the determinants of pupils’ performance in NAT in terms of family support for NAT preparation is not significant according to their family income. The grade level, with the t-test is 4.420 and a p-value of 0.000, is significant at 5 percent level. Therefore, the determinants of pupils’ performance in NAT in terms of grade level for NAT preparation vary according to their grade level. For the determinants of pupils’ performance of NAT sample test for attitude towards NAT, school support, teachers’ support, and family support were noted highly significant with a p value of 0.000.

Keywords: achievement, determinants, national, performance, public, pupils', test

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22329 Rights, Differences and Inclusion: The Role of Transdisciplinary Approach in the Education for Diversity

Authors: Ana Campina, Maria Manuela Magalhaes, Eusebio André Machado, Cristina Costa-Lobo

Abstract:

Inclusive school advocates respect for differences, for equal opportunities and for a quality education for all, including for students with special educational needs. In the pursuit of educational equity, guaranteeing equality in access and results, it becomes the responsibility of the school to recognize students' needs, adapting to the various styles and rhythms of learning, ensuring the adequacy of curricula, strategies and resources, materials and humans. This paper presents a set of theoretical reflections in the disciplinary interface between legal and education sciences, school administration and management, with the aim of understand the real inclusion characteristics in a balance with the inclusion policies and the need(s) of an education for Human Rights, especially for diversity. Considering the actual social complexity but the important education instruments and strategies, mostly patented in the policies, this paper aims expose the existing contexts opposed to the laws, policies and inclusion educational needs. More than a single study, this research aims to develop a map of the reality and the guidelines to implement the action. The results point to the usefulness and pertinence of a school in which educational managers, teachers, parents, and students, are involved in the creation, implementation and monitoring of flexible curricula and adapted to the educational needs of students, promoting a collaborative work among teachers. We are then faced with a scenario that points to the need to reflect on the legislation and curricular management of inclusive classes and to operationalize the processes of elaboration of curricular adaptations and differentiation in the classroom. The transdisciplinary is a pedagogic and social education perfect approach using the Human Rights binomio – teaching and learning – supported by the inclusion laws according to the realistic needs for an effective successful society construction.

Keywords: rights, transdisciplinary, inclusion policies, education for diversity

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22328 Traffic Congestion Problem and Possible Solution in Kabul City

Authors: Sayed Abdul Rahman Sadaat, Nsenda Lukumwena

Abstract:

Traffic congestion is a worldwide issue, especially in developing countries. This is also the case of Afghanistan, especially in Kabul-the capital city, whose rapid population growth makes it the fifth fastest growing city in the world. Traffic congestion affects not only the mobility of people and goods but also the air quality that leads to numerous deaths (3000 people) every year. There are many factors that contribute to traffic congestion. The insufficiency and inefficiency of public transportation system along with the increase of private vehicles can be considered among the most important contributing factors. This paper addresses the traffic congestion and attempts to suggest possible solutions that can help improve the current public transportation system in Kabul. To this end, the methodology used in this paper includes field work conducted in Kabul city and literature review. The outcome suggests that improving the public transportation system is likely to contribute to the reduction of traffic congestion and the improvement of air quality, thereby reducing the number of death related to air quality.

Keywords: air quality, Kabul, Afghanistan, public transportation system, improvements, traffic congestion

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22327 Motivational Factors Influencing Women’s Entrepreneurship: A Case Study of Female Entrepreneurship in South Africa

Authors: Natanya Meyer, Johann Landsberg

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Globally, many women are still disadvantaged when it comes to business opportunities. Entrepreneurship development programs, specifically designed to assist women entrepreneurs, are assisting in solving this problem to a certain extent. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that motivate females to start their own business. Females, from three different groups (2013, 2014, and 2015), who were all enrolled in a short learning program specifically designed for women in early start-up stage or intending to start a business, were asked what motivated them to start a business. The results indicated that, from all three groups, the majority of the women wanted to start a business to be independent and have freedom and to add towards a social goal. The results further indicated that, in general, women would enter into entrepreneurship activity due to pull factors rather than push factors.

Keywords: entrepreneurship programs, female entrepreneur-ship, motivational factors, South Africa

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22326 Correlations between Obesity Indices and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Obese Subgroups in Severely Obese Women

Authors: Seung Hun Lee, Sang Yeoup Lee

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Objectives: To investigate associations between degrees of obesity using correlations between obesity indices and cardiometabolic risk factors. Methods: BMI, waist circumference (WC), fasting insulin, fasting glucose, lipids, and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) area using computed tomographic images were measured in 113 obese female without cardiovascular disease (CVD). Correlations between obesity indices and cardiometabolic risk factors were analyzed in obese subgroups defined using sequential obesity indices. Results: Mean BMI and WC were 29.6 kg/m2 and 92.8 cm. BMI showed significant correlations with all five cardiometabolic risk factors until the BMI cut-off point reached 27 kg/m2, but when it exceeded 30 kg/m2, correlations no longer existed. WC was significantly correlated with all five cardiometabolic risk factors up to a value of 85 cm, but when WC exceeded 90 cm, correlations no longer existed. Conclusions: Our data suggest that moderate weight-loss goals may not be enough to ameliorate cardiometabolic markers in severely obese patients. Therefore, individualized weight-loss goals should be recommended to such patients to improve health benefits.

Keywords: correlation, cardiovascular disease, risk factors, obesity

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22325 An Examination of the Relationship between Organizational Justice and Trust in the Supervisor: The Mediating Role of Perceived Supervisor Support

Authors: Michel Zaitouni, Mohamed Nassar

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The purpose of this study is first, to explore the effect of employees’ perception of justice on trust in the supervisor in the context of performance appraisal; Second, to assess the role of perceived supervisor support as a mediator between organizational justice and trust in the supervisor in a non-western society such as Kuwait.The survey data consisted of 415 employees working at different hierarchical levels in three major banks in Kuwait. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the research hypotheses. Results supported hypothesized relationships between distributive, informational and interpersonal justice and trust in the supervisor but failed to support that procedural justice positively and significantly relate to trust in the supervisor. Moreover, results found that this relationship is partially mediated by perceived supervisor support. A potential limitation of this study is that data were obtained from the same industry which limits the generalizability of this study to other industries. Moreover, a longitudinal research will be helpful to strengthen the mediating relationship. The findings provide valuable information for the development of common perspectives regarding the perception of justice in the context of performance appraisal between the western and non-western societies. The paper has the privilege to explore additional relationships related to justice perceptions in the Kuwaiti banking sector, whereas previous research focused mainly on procedural and distributive justice as predictors of trust in the supervisor.

Keywords: Kuwait, organizational justice, perceived supervisor support, trust in the supervisor

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22324 Potentiality of a Community of Practice between Public Schools and the Private Sector for Integrating Sustainable Development into the School Curriculum

Authors: Aiydh Aljeddani, Fran Martin

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The critical time in which we live requires rethinking of many potential ways in order to make the concept of sustainability and its principles an integral part of our daily life. One of these potential approaches is how to attract community institutions, such as the private sector, to participate effectively in the sustainability industry by supporting public schools to fulfill their duties. A collaborative community of practice can support this purpose and can provide a flexible framework, which allows the members of the community to participate effectively. This study, conducted in Saudi Arabia, aimed to understand the process of a collaborative community of practice of involving the private sector as a member of this community to integrate the sustainability concept in school activities and projects. This study employed a qualitative methodology to understand this authentic and complex phenomenon. A case study approach, ethnography and some elements of action research were followed in this study. The methods of unstructured interviews, artifacts, observation, and teachers’ field notes were used to collect the data. The participants were three secondary teachers, twelve chief executive officers, and one school administrative officer. Certain contextual conditions, as shown by the data, should be taken into consideration when policy makers and school administrations in Saudi Arabia desire to integrate sustainability into school activities. The first of these was the acknowledgement of the valuable role of the members’ personality, efforts, abilities, and experiences, which played vital roles in integrating sustainability. Second, institutional culture, which was not expected to emerge as an important factor in this study, has a significant role in the integration of sustainability. Credibility among the members of the community towards the integration of the sustainability concept and its principles through school activities is another important condition. Fourth, some chief executive officers’ understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) towards contribution to sustainability agenda was shallow and limited and this could impede the successful integration of sustainability. Fifth, a shared understanding between the members of the community about integrating sustainability was a vital condition in the integration process. The study also revealed that the integration of sustainability could not be an ongoing process if implemented in isolation of the other community institutions such as the private sector. The study finally offers a number of recommendations to improve on the current practices and suggests areas for further studies.

Keywords: community of practice, public schools, private sector, sustainable development

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22323 The Role of Self-Regulation and Assessment Feedback on Creative Performance

Authors: Sylvie Studente, Filia J. Garivaldis

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The emotions and cognitions that underpin creative performance have been of interest for decades if not centuries, however, research evidence has still not conclusively offered reliable predictors of creativity. It is unclear whether stressors are detrimental to creative thinking, or whether some stress imposes necessary constraints to facilitate the creative process. The present research aims to examine the role of individual differences in self-regulation in influencing the links between emotions, cognitions, and creativity. Self-regulation is the capacity to disengage from moods that inhibit goal progress, and cope with failure, focus on impending intentions, and enhance the intrinsic appeal of tasks. Therefore, it is anticipated that individuals with an intuitive ability in self-regulation are able to harness their emotions and cognitions, to perform well on a creative task. In contrast, individuals with a deficiency in self-regulation will experience difficulty in such a task. Furthermore, stress in the form of positive and negative assessment feedback in the context of education will be manipulated to explore the interactive effects of environmental and individual difference factors on creative performance. The results will provide insight into the underlying factors associated with emotions and creativity, and inform future research in individual differences in cognition and emotion, and environmental triggers of creativity.

Keywords: creativity, feedback, self-regulation, stress

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22322 The Role of Context in Interpreting Emotional Body Language in Robots

Authors: Jekaterina Novikova, Leon Watts

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In the emerging world of human-robot interaction, people and robots will interact socially in real-world situations. This paper presents the results of an experimental study probing the interaction between situational context and emotional body language in robots. 34 people rated video clips of robots performing expressive behaviours in different situational contexts both for emotional expressivity on Valence-Arousal-Dominance dimensions and by selecting a specific emotional term from a list of suggestions. Results showed that a contextual information enhanced a recognition of emotional body language of a robot, although it did not override emotional signals provided by robot expressions. Results are discussed in terms of design guidelines on how an emotional body language of a robot can be used by roboticists developing social robots.

Keywords: social robotics, non-verbal communication, situational context, artificial emotions, body language

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22321 Factors Contributing to Building Construction Project’s Cost Overrun in Jordan

Authors: Ghaleb Y. Abbasi, Sufyan Al-Mrayat

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This study examined the contribution of thirty-six factors to building construction project’s cost overrun in Jordan. A questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of 350 stakeholders comprised of owners, consultants, and contractors, of which 285 responded. SPSS analysis was conducted to identify the top five causes of cost overrun, which were a large number of variation orders, inadequate quantities provided in the contract, misunderstanding of the project plan, incomplete bid documents, and choosing the lowest price in the contract bidding. There was an agreement among the study participants in ranking the factors contributing to cost overrun, which indicated that these factors were very commonly encountered in most construction projects in Jordan. Thus, it is crucial to enhance the collaboration among the different project stakeholders to understand the project’s objectives and set a realistic plan that takes into consideration all the factors that might influence the project cost, which might eventually prevent cost overrun.

Keywords: cost, overrun, building construction projects, Jordan

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22320 Nutrition Environments and the Development of Taste Preferences: A Cross-Sectional Study of Primary School Children in Trinidad and Tobago

Authors: Fareena Alladin

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In the Caribbean, issues of food security, health and taste are intricately linked, seen most clearly in the increasing incidence of lifestyle diseases among children coupled with a taste for high calorie and Westernized diets. In order to fully appreciate this link, the role of nutrition environments must be examined. To this end, the present study incorporates tenets of Bourdieu’s social constructivist theory with the Community Nutrition Environment Model. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between availability of and access to healthy/unhealthy foods within nutrition environments, namely the household and school, and the development of taste preferences for healthy/unhealthy foods among primary school children in a selected educational district in Trinidad and Tobago. A cross-sectional survey of 400 children between the ages of 9 and 11 years was conducted. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 24. Results indicated that availability of healthy food at home was positively correlated with preference for vegetables, and negatively correlated with preference for salty snacks and fast food. The availability of unhealthy food within the home was found to be negatively correlated with preference for vegetables and positively correlated with preference for salty snacks. Access to unhealthy foods at school had a positive correlation with preference for fast food. These findings highlight the role of the food environment in shaping taste preferences, and point to the need for interrogating the centrality of food security concerns in emerging health concerns of Caribbean countries. Such interrogations are a necessary part of the development of research agendas, and policy formulation and implementation.

Keywords: food security, nutrition environment, taste preference, Trinidad and Tobago

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22319 Verb Bias in Mandarin: The Corpus Based Study of Children

Authors: Jou-An Chung

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the verb bias of the Mandarin verbs in children’s reading materials and provide the criteria for categorization. Verb bias varies cross-linguistically. As Mandarin and English are typological different, this study hopes to shed light on Mandarin verb bias with the use of corpus and provide thorough and detailed criteria for analysis. Moreover, this study focuses on children’s reading materials since it is a significant issue in understanding children’s sentence processing. Therefore, investigating verb bias of Mandarin verbs in children’s reading materials is also an important issue and can provide further insights into children’s sentence processing. The small corpus is built up for this study. The corpus consists of the collection of school textbooks and Mandarin Daily News for children. The files are then segmented and POS tagged by JiebaR (Chinese segmentation with R). For the ease of analysis, the one-word character verbs and intransitive verbs are excluded beforehand. The total of 20 high frequency verbs are hand-coded and are further categorized into one of the three types, namely DO type, SC type and other category. If the frequency of taking Other Type exceeds the threshold of 25%, the verb is excluded from the study. The results show that 10 verbs are direct object bias verbs, and six verbs are sentential complement bias verbs. The paired T-test was done to assure the statistical significance (p = 0.0001062 for DO bias verb, p=0.001149 for SC bias verb). The result has shown that in children’s reading materials, the DO biased verbs are used more than the SC bias verbs since the simplest structure of sentences is easier for children’s sentence comprehension or processing. In sum, this study not only discussed verb bias in child's reading materials but also provided basic coding criteria for verb bias analysis in Mandarin and underscored the role of context. Sentences are easier for children’s sentence comprehension or processing. In sum, this study not only discussed verb bias in child corpus, but also provided basic coding criteria for verb bias analysis in Mandarin and underscored the role of context.

Keywords: corpus linguistics, verb bias, child language, psycholinguistics

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22318 Langerian Mindfulness and School Manager’s Competencies: A Comprehensive Model in Khorasan Razavi Educational Province

Authors: Reza Taherian, Naziasadat Naseri, Elham Fariborzi, Faride Hashmiannejad

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Effective management plays a crucial role in the success of educational institutions and training organizations. This study aims to develop and validate a professional competency model for managers in the education and training sector of Khorasan Razavi Province using a mindfulness approach based on Langerian theory. Employing a mixed exploratory design, the research involved qualitative data collection from experts and top national and provincial managers, as well as quantitative data collection using a researcher-developed questionnaire. The findings revealed that 81% of the competency of education and training managers is influenced by the dimensions of Langerian mindfulness, including engagement, seeking, producing, and flexibility. These dimensions were found to be predictive of the competencies of education and training managers, which encompass specialized knowledge, professional skills, pedagogical knowledge, commitment to Islamic values, personal characteristics, and creativity. This research provides valuable insights into the essential role of mindfulness in shaping the competencies of education and training managers, shedding light on the specific dimensions that significantly contribute to managerial success in Khorasan Razavi province.

Keywords: school managers, school manager’s competencies, mindfulness, Langerian mindfulness

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22317 A Proposed Program for Developing Some Concepts to the Nursery Children in Egypt Using Artistic Activities

Authors: Ebtehag Tolba, Ahmed Mousa, Mohamed Abd El-Salam

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The study presents a proposed program for nursery school children in Egypt. The program consists of a collection of artistic activities and aims to develop the language, mathematical, and artistic skills of preschool children. Furthermore, the researcher has presented a questionnaire to experts about the link between the target group and the content. Finally, the proposed program was applied to group of 30 children. In addition, the researcher has prepared another questionnaire for measuring the effect of the program. This questionnaire was used as a pre-test and post-test, and at the end of the study, a significant difference was determined in favour of the post-test results.

Keywords: developing, concepts, nursery, children, artistic activities

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22316 Religion, Education, and Nation: Anticlerical Principle of France and Private School Law of South Korea

Authors: Minjeoung Kim

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The education plays an important role of political socialization in politics. In Korean and in France, religion in education is situated in an important place, but religious education in school is dealt differently in two countries. In this article, the author tries to reveal the reason why in France private Catholic schools can keep their religious discipline, but in Korea, private Christian schools cannot insist Christianism to their students. This is because of the different situation of their budget. In Korea, even though private schools are named ‘private’, they cannot be managed without government subsidy but in France, private Catholic schools are owned by private foundation and their budget is based on their own resource. That’s why French private schools do not need to follow governmental guidance but not in Korean case.

Keywords: religion, politics, South Korea, France

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22315 Towards Intercultural Competence in EFL Textbook: the Case of ‘New Prospects’

Authors: Kamilia Mebarki

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The promotion of intercultural competence plays an important role in foreign language education. The outcome of intercultural educationalists‟ studies was the adoption of intercultural language learning and a modified version of the Communicative Competence that encompasses an intercultural component enabling language learners to communicate successfully interculturally. Intercultural Competencehas an even more central role in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) since efforts are critical to preparing learners for intercultural communisation in our global world. In these efforts, EFL learning materials are a crucial stimulus for developing learners’ intercultural competence. There has been a continuous interest in the analysis of EFL textbooks by researcher all over the world. One specific area that has received prominent attention in recent years is a focus on how the cultural content of EFL materials promote intercultural competence. In the Algerian context, research on the locally produced EFL textbooks tend to focus on investigating the linguistic and communicative competence. The cultural content of the materials has not yet been systematically researched. Therefore, this study contributes to filling this gap by evaluating the locally published EFL textbook ‘New Prospects’ used at the high school level as well as investigating teachers’ views and attitudes on the cultural content of ‘New Prospects’ alongside two others locally produced EFL textbooks ‘Getting Through’ and ‘At the Crossroad’ used at high school level. To estimate the textbook’s potential of developing intercultural competence, mixed methods, a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection, was used in the material evaluation analysed via content analysis and in the survey questionnaire and interview with teachers.Data collection and analysis were supported by the frameworks developed by the researcher for analysing the textbook, questionnaire, and interview. Indeed, based on the literature, three frameworks/ models are developed in this study to analyse, on one hand, the cultural contexts and themes discussed in the material that play an important role in fostering learners’ intercultural awareness. On the other hand, to evaluate the promotion of developing intercultural competence.

Keywords: intercultural communication, intercultural communicative competence, intercultural competence, EFL materials

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22314 The Six 'P' Model: Principles of Inclusive Practice for Inclusion Coaches

Authors: Tiffany Gallagher, Sheila Bennett

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Based on data from a larger study, this research is based in a small school district in Ontario, Canada, that has made a transition from self-contained classes for students with exceptionalities to inclusive classroom placements for all students with their age-appropriate peers. The school board aided this transition by hiring Inclusion Coaches with a background in special education to work alongside teachers as partners and inform their inclusive practice. Based on qualitative data from four focus groups conducted with Inclusion Coaches, as well as four blog-style reflections collected at various points over two years, six principles of inclusive practice were identified for coaches. The six principles form a model during transition: pre-requisite, process, precipice, promotion, proof, and promise. These principles are encapsulated in a visual model of a spiraling staircase displaying the conditions that exist prior to coaching, during coaching interactions and considerations for the sustainability of coaching. These six principles are re-iterative and should be re-visited each time a coaching interaction is initiated. Exploring inclusion coaching as a model emulates coaching in other contexts and allows us to examine an established process through a new lens. This research becomes increasingly important as more school boards transition toward inclusive classrooms, The Six ‘P’ Model: Principles of Inclusive Practice for Inclusion Coaches allows for a unique look into a scaffolding model of building educator capacity in an inclusive setting.

Keywords: capacity building, coaching, inclusion, special education

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22313 Improving the Training for Civil Engineers by Introducing Virtual Reality Technique

Authors: Manar Al-Ateeq

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The building construction industry plays a major role in the economy of the word and the state of Kuwait. This paper evaluates existing new civil site engineers, describes a new system for improvement and insures the importance of prequalifying and developing for new engineers. In order to have a strong base in engineering, educational institutes and workplaces should be responsible to continuously train engineers and update them with new methods and techniques in engineering. As to achieve that, school of engineering should constantly update computational resources to be used in the professions. A survey was prepared for graduated Engineers based on stated objectives to understand the status of graduate engineers in both the public and private sector. Interviews were made with different sectors in Kuwait, and several visits were made to different training centers within different workplaces in Kuwait to evaluate training process and try to improve it. Virtual Reality (VR) technology could be applied as a complement to three-dimensional (3D) modeling, leading to better communication whether in job training, in education or in professional practice. Techniques of 3D modeling and VR can be applied to develop the models related to the construction process. The 3D models can support rehabilitation design as it can be considered as a great tool for monitoring failure and defaults in structures; also it can support decisions based on the visual analyses of alternative solutions. Therefore, teaching computer-aided design (CAD) and VR techniques in school will help engineering students in order to prepare them to site work and also will assist them to consider these technologies as important supports in their later professional practice. This teaching technique will show how the construction works developed, allow the visual simulation of progression of each type of work and help them to know more about the necessary equipment needed for tasks and how it works on site.

Keywords: three dimensional modeling (3DM), civil engineers (CE), professional practice (PP), virtual reality (VR)

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22312 Science Explorer Modules as a Communication Approach to Encourage High School Students to Pursue Science Careers

Authors: Mark Ivan Roblas

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The Science Explorer is a mobile learning science facility in the Philippines. It is a bus that travels to different provinces in the country bringing interactive science modules facilitated by scientists from the industry and academe. The project aims to entice students to get into careers in science through interactive science modules and interaction with real-life scientists. This article looks into the effectiveness of its modules as a communication source and message to encourage high school students to get into careers in the future. The study revealed that as the Science Explorer modules are able to retain students to stay in science careers of their choice and even convert some to choose from non-science to a science degree, it still lacks in penetrating the belief system of the students and influencing them to take a scientific career path.

Keywords: informal science, mobile science, science careers, science education

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22311 E-Government Adoption in Zimbabwe's Local Government: Understanding the Influence of Attitudes and Perceptions of Residents in Selected Cases

Authors: Ricky Munyaradzi Mukonza

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E-government literature continues to grow as scholars and practitioners endeavour to understand this phenomenon. There are many facets of e-government that have been written about including its definition, adoption, and implementation and so on. However, more still needs to be known particularly in relation to how e-government is being adopted in different contexts. There could be many context specific factors that have a bearing on e-government adoption and in this paper focus is on attitudes and perceptions. Association between usage of e-government services and various perceptions such as ease of use, transparency, security, ease of understanding, communication, reliability, relevancy, perceived usefulness and perceived trust is examined. Within the Zimbabwean context and in particular the country’s local government sphere, such a study has not been done. The main aim of the paper is therefore to establish perceptions and attitudes towards e-government services among residents in Zimbabwe’s two local authorities. In terms of research methodology the paper is based on a Mixed Methods Approach (MMA) to collect and analyse data giving the researcher a holistic picture of the phenomenon being investigated. A sample of 785 residents from the two local authorities was used and these were selected using a combination of cluster and purposive sampling methods. A key finding in this paper is that a majority of respondents who have had the opportunity to use e-government services perceive the services to be easy to use, transparent, secure, easy to understand, reliable, relevant, useful and trustworthy. The paper, therefore, makes an important contribution on the relationship between residents’ perceptions and attitudes and e-government usage within the chosen cases.

Keywords: adoption, attitudes, e-government, perceptions

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22310 Energy Efficient Lighting in Educational Buildings through the Example of a High School in Istanbul

Authors: Nihan Gurel Ulusan

Abstract:

It is obvious that electrical energy, which is an inseparable part of modern day’s human and also the most important power source of our age, should be generated on a level that will suffice the nation’s requirements. The electrical energy used for a sustainable architectural design should be reduced as much as possible. Designing the buildings as energy efficient systems which aim at reducing the artificial illumination loads has been a current subject of our times as a result of concepts gaining importance like conscious consumption of energy sources, environment-friendly designs and sustainability. Reducing the consumption of electrical energy regarding the artificial lighting carries great significance, especially in the volumes which are used all day long like the educational buildings. Starting out with such an aim in this paper, the educational buildings are explored in terms of energy efficient lighting. Firstly, illumination techniques, illumination systems, light sources, luminaries, illumination controls and 'efficient energy' usage in lighting are mentioned. In addition, natural and artificial lighting systems used in educational buildings and also the spaces building up these kind buildings are examined in terms of energy efficient lighting. Lastly, the illumination properties of the school sample chosen for this study, Kağıthane Anadolu Lisesi, a typical high school in Istanbul, is observed. Suggestions are made in order to improve the system by evaluating the illumination properties of the classes with the survey carried out with the users.

Keywords: educational buildings, energy efficient, illumination techniques, lighting

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22309 Near-Peer Mentoring/Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Environmental Restoration Science

Authors: Lauren B. Birney

Abstract:

The BOP-CCERS (Billion Oyster Project- Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science) Near-Peer Mentoring Program provides the long-term (five-year) support network to motivate and guide students toward restoration science-based CTE pathways. Students are selected from middle schools with actively participating BOP-CCERS teachers. Teachers will nominate students from grades 6-8 to join cohorts of between 10 and 15 students each. Cohorts are comprised primarily of students from the same school in order to facilitate mentors' travel logistics as well as to sustain connections with students and their families. Each cohort is matched with an exceptional undergraduate or graduate student, either a BOP research associate or STEM mentor recruited from collaborating City University of New York (CUNY) partner programs. In rare cases, an exceptional high school junior or senior may be matched with a cohort in addition to a research associate or graduate student. In no case is a high school student or minor be placed individually with a cohort. Mentors meet with students at least once per month and provide at least one offsite field visit per month, either to a local STEM Hub or research lab. Keeping with its five-year trajectory, the near-peer mentoring program will seek to retain students in the same cohort with the same mentor for the full duration of middle school and for at least two additional years of high school. Upon reaching the final quarter of 8th grade, the mentor will develop a meeting plan for each individual mentee. The mentee and the mentor will be required to meet individually or in small groups once per month. Once per quarter, individual meetings will be substituted for full cohort professional outings. The mentor will organize the entire cohort on a field visit or educational workshop with a museum or aquarium partner. In addition to the mentor-mentee relationship, each participating student will also be asked to conduct and present his or her own BOP field research. This research is ideally carried out with the support of the students’ regular high school STEM subject teacher; however, in cases where the teacher or school does not permit independent study, the student will be asked to conduct the research on an extracurricular basis. Near-peer mentoring affects students’ social identities and helps them to connect to role models from similar groups, ultimately giving them a sense of belonging. Qualitative and quantitative analytics were performed throughout the study. Interviews and focus groups also ensued. Additionally, an external evaluator was utilized to ensure project efficacy, efficiency, and effectiveness throughout the entire project. The BOP-CCERS Near Peer Mentoring program is a peer support network in which high school students with interest or experience in BOP (Billion Oyster Project) topics and activities (such as classroom oyster tanks, STEM Hubs, or digital platform research) provide mentorship and support for middle school or high school freshmen mentees. Peer mentoring not only empowers those students being taught but also increases the content knowledge and engagement of mentors. This support provides the necessary resources, structure, and tools to assist students in finding success.

Keywords: STEM education, environmental science, citizen science, near peer mentoring

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22308 Driving Mechanism of Urban Sprawl in Chinese Context from the Perspective of Domestic and Overseas Comparison

Authors: Tingke Wu, Yaping Huang

Abstract:

Many cities in China have been experiencing serious urban sprawl since the 1980s, which pose great challenges to a country with scare cultivated land and huge population. Because of different social and economic context and development stage, driving forces of urban sprawl in China are quite different from developed countries. Therefore, it is of great importance to probe into urban sprawl driving mechanism in Chinese context. By a comparison study of the background and features of urban sprawl between China and developed countries, this research establishes an analytical framework for sprawl dynamic mechanism in China. By literature review and analyzing data from national statistical yearbook, it then probes into the driving mechanism and the primary cause of urban sprawl. The results suggest that population increase, economic growth, traffic and information technology development lead to rapid expansion of urban space; defects of land institution and lack of effective guidance give rise to low efficiency of urban land use. Moreover, urban sprawl is ultimately attributed to imperfections of policy and institution. On this basis, this research puts forward several sprawl control strategies in Chinese context.

Keywords: China, driving forces, driving mechanism, land institution, urban expansion, urban sprawl

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22307 West Nile Virus Outbreaks in Canada under Expected Climate Conditions

Authors: Jalila Jbilou, Salaheddine El Adlouni, Pierre Gosselin

Abstract:

Background: West Nile virus is increasingly an important public health issue in North America. In Canada, WVN was officially reported in Toronto and Montréal for the first time in 2001. During the last decade, several WNV events have been reported in several Canadian provinces. The main objective of the present study is to update the frequency of the climate conditions favorable to WNV outbreaks in Canada. Method: Statistical frequency analysis has been used to estimate the return period for climate conditions associated with WNV outbreaks for the 1961–2050 period. The best fit is selected through the Akaike Information Criterion, and the parameters are estimated using the maximum likelihood approach. Results: Results show that the climate conditions related to the 2002 event, for Montreal and Toronto, are becoming more frequent. For Saskatoon, the highest DD20 events recorded for the last few decades were observed in 2003 and 2007. The estimated return periods are 30 years and 70 years, respectively. Conclusion: The emergence of WNV was related to extremely high DD values in the summer. However, some exceptions may be related to several factors such as virus persistence, vector migration, and also improved diagnosis and reporting levels. It is clear that such climate conditions have become much more common in the last decade and will likely continue to do so over future decades.

Keywords: West Nile virus, climate, North America, statistical frequency analysis, risk estimation, public health, modeling, scenario, temperature, precipitation

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22306 Relationship with Immediate Superior, Leadership, and Career Success of Managers

Authors: L. N. A. Chandana Jayawardena, Ales Gregar

Abstract:

Occupational Self Efficacy (OSE) reflects the conviction of a person’s ability to fulfill his job related behavior at a perfectly acceptable level to the employer. Transformational leadership improves followers’ commitment by influencing their needs, values, and self-esteem. Employees also develop a dyadic relationship with their immediate superiors. Study was conducted amongst one hundred and twenty two (122) bank managers in Sri Lanka. They were selected based on multi-stage (seniority in the hierarchy, gender, department-wise etc.) stratified random sampling. Major objectives of this study were to analyze the impact of transformational leadership style, and OSE along with socio-demographic factors, and career, job and organizational experience, to the career satisfaction of managers. SPSS software was used for parametric and non-parametric statistical analyses. Career satisfaction had positive impacts on their transformational leadership style, and their relationships with the immediate superior. Impact of socio-demographic factors, and career exposure to career satisfaction was assessed.

Keywords: career success, relationship with immediate superior, transformational leadership, occupational self efficacy (OSE)

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22305 Examination of Predictive Factors of Depression among Asian American Adolescents: A Narrative Review

Authors: Annisa Siu, Ping Zou

Abstract:

Background: Existent literature addressing Asian American children and adolescents reveals that this population is experiencing rates of depression comparable to those of European American and other ethnic minority youths. Within the last decade, increased attention has been given to Asian American adolescent mental health. Methods: 44 articles were extracted from Pubmed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, and Proquest CINAHL. Data were subject to thematic analyses and categorized into factors under individual, familial, and community levels. Results: Of all the individual factors, age and gender were the most supported in their relationship with depressive symptoms. Likewise, living situations, parent-child relations, peer relations, and broader environmental factors were strongly evidenced. The remaining psychosocial factors faced contrary evidence or were insubstantially addressed in the empirical literature. Discussion: The identified psychosocial factors within this study offer a starting point for future research to examine what factors should be included in formal or informal methods of screening/consultations. Clinicians should aim to understand the cultural influences specific to Asian American adolescents, particularly the central role that family relations may have on their depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Low awareness of culturally linked expressions of psychological distress can lead to misdiagnosis or under-diagnosis of depression in Asian American youth. Further evidence is needed to clarify the relationship of psychosocial factors linked to Asian American adolescent depressive symptoms.

Keywords: adolescent, Asian American, depression, psychosocial factors

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22304 Driving towards Better Health: A Cross-Sectional Study of the Prevalence and Correlates of Obesity among Commercial Drivers in East London, South Africa

Authors: Daniel Ter Goon, Aanuoluwa O. Adedokun, Eyitayo Omolara Owolabi, Oladele Vincent Adeniyi, Anthony Idowu Ajayi

Abstract:

Background: The unhealthy food choices and sedentary lifestyle of commercial drivers predisposes them to obesity and obesity related diseases. Yet, no attention has been paid to obesity burden among this high risk group in South Africa. This study examines the prevalence of obesity and its risk factors among commercial drivers in East London, South Africa. Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized the WHO STEP wise approach to screen for obesity among 403 drivers in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM), South Africa. Anthropometric, blood pressure and blood glucose measurements were taken following a standard procedure. Overweight and obesity was defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 25.0 kgm⁻²–29.9 kg/m² and≥ 30 kg/ m², respectively. Bivariate and multivariate analysis were used to determine the prevalence and determinants of obesity. Result: The mean age of the participants was 43.3 (SD12.5) years, mean height (cm) and weight (kg) were 170.1(6.2cm) and 83(SD18.7), respectively. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 34.0% and 38.0%, respectively. After adjusting for confounding factors, only age (OR 1.6, CI 1.0-2.7), hypertension (OR 3.6, CI 2.3-5.7) and non-smoking (OR 2.0, CI 1.3-3.1) were independent predictors of obesity. Conclusion: The prevalence of overweight and obesity is high among commercial drivers. Age, hypertension, and non-smoking were independent predictors of obesity among the sample. Measures aimed at promoting health and reducing obesity should be prioritized among this group.

Keywords: obesity and overweight, commercial taxi drivers, risk factors, South Africa

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22303 The Use of Fertilizers in the Context of Agricultural Extension

Authors: Ahmed Altalb

Abstract:

Fertilizers are natural materials, or industrial contain nutrients, which help to improve soil fertility and is considered (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) is important elements for the growth of crops properly. Fertilization is necessary in order to improve the quality of agricultural products and the recovery in agricultural activities. The use of organic fertilizers and chemical lead to reduce the loss of nutrients in agricultural soils, and this leads to an increase in the production of agricultural crops. Fertilizers are one of the key factors in the increase of agricultural production as well as other factors such as irrigation and improved seeds and Prevention and others; the fertilizers will continue to be a cornerstone of the agriculture in order to produce the food to feed of world population. The use of fertilizers has become commonplace today, especially the chemical fertilizers for the development of agricultural production, due to the provision of nutrients for plants and in high concentrations and easily dissolves in water and ease of use. The choose the right type of fertilizer depends on the soil type and the type of crop. In this subject, find the relationship between the agricultural extension and the optimal use of fertilizers. The extension plays the important role in the advise and educate of farmers in how they optimal use the fertilizers in a scientific way. This article aims to identify the concept the fertilizers. Identify the role of fertilizers in increasing the agricultural production, identify the role of agricultural extension in the optimal use of fertilizers and rural development.

Keywords: agricultural, extension, fertilizers, production

Procedia PDF Downloads 438