Search results for: student’s income
2119 Copula Markov Switching Multifractal Models for Forecasting Value-at-Risk
Authors: Giriraj Achari, Malay Bhattacharyya
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In this paper, the effectiveness of Copula Markov Switching Multifractal (MSM) models at forecasting Value-at-Risk of a two-stock portfolio is studied. The innovations are allowed to be drawn from distributions that can capture skewness and leptokurtosis, which are well documented empirical characteristics observed in financial returns. The candidate distributions considered for this purpose are Johnson-SU, Pearson Type-IV and α-Stable distributions. The two univariate marginal distributions are combined using the Student-t copula. The estimation of all parameters is performed by Maximum Likelihood Estimation. Finally, the models are compared in terms of accurate Value-at-Risk (VaR) forecasts using tests of unconditional coverage and independence. It is found that Copula-MSM-models with leptokurtic innovation distributions perform slightly better than Copula-MSM model with Normal innovations. Copula-MSM models, in general, produce better VaR forecasts as compared to traditional methods like Historical Simulation method, Variance-Covariance approach and Copula-Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (Copula-GARCH) models.Keywords: Copula, Markov Switching, multifractal, value-at-risk
Procedia PDF Downloads 1652118 Research on Online Consumption of College Students in China with Stimulate-Organism-Reaction Driven Model
Authors: Wei Lu
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With the development of information technology in China, network consumption is becoming more and more popular. As a special group, college students have a high degree of education and distinct opinions and personalities. In the future, the key groups of network consumption have gradually become the focus groups of network consumption. Studying college students’ online consumption behavior has important theoretical significance and practical value. Based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) driving model and the structural equation model, this paper establishes the influencing factors model of College students’ online consumption behavior, evaluates and amends the model by using SPSS and AMOS software, analyses and determines the positive factors of marketing college students’ consumption, and provides an effective basis for guiding and promoting college student consumption.Keywords: college students, online consumption, stimulate-organism-reaction driving model, structural equation model
Procedia PDF Downloads 1532117 Sustainable Housing and Urban Development: A Study on the Soon-To-Be-Old Population's Impetus to Migrate
Authors: Tristance Kee
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With the unprecedented increase in elderly population globally, it is critical to search for new sustainable housing and urban development alternatives to traditional housing options. This research examines concepts of elderly migration pattern in the context of a high density city in Hong Kong to Mainland China. The research objectives are to: 1) explore the relationships between soon-to-be-old elderly and their intentions to move to Mainland upon retirement and their demographic characteristics; and 2) What are the desired amenities, locational factors and activities that are expected in the soon-to-be-old generation’s retirement housing environment? Primary data was collected through questionnaire survey conducted using random sampling method with respondents aged between 45-64 years old. The face-to-face survey was completed by 500 respondents. The survey was divided into four sections. The first section focused on respondent’s demographic information such as gender, age, education attainment, monthly income, housing tenure type and their visits to Mainland China. The second section focused on their retirement plans in terms of intended retirement age, prospective retirement funding and retirement housing options. The third section focused on the respondent’s attitudes toward retiring in Mainland for housing. It asked about their intentions to migrate retire into Mainland and incentives to retire in Hong Kong. The fourth section focused on respondent’s ideal housing environment including preferred housing amenities, desired living environment and retirement activities. The dependent variable in this study was ‘respondent’s consideration to move to Mainland China upon retirement’. Eight primary independent variables were integrated into the study to identify the correlations between them and retirement migration plan. The independent variables include: gender, age, marital status, monthly income, present housing tenure type, property ownership in Hong Kong, relationship with Mainland and the frequency of visiting Mainland China. In addition to the above independent variables, respondents were asked to indicate their retirement plans (retirement age, funding sources and retirement housing options), incentives to migrate to retire (choices included: property ownership, family relations, cost of living, living environment, medical facilities, government welfare benefits, etc.), perceived ideal retirement life qualities including desired amenities (sports, medical and leisure facilities etc.), desired locational qualities (green open space, convenient transport options and accessibility to urban settings etc.) and desired retirement activities (home-based leisure, elderly friendly sports, cultural activities, child care, social activities, etc.). The finding shows correlations between the used independent variables and consideration to migrate for housing options. The two independent variables indicated a possible correlation were gender and the frequency of visiting Mainland at present. When considering the increasing property prices across the border and strong social relationships, potential retirement migration is a very subjective decision that could vary from person to person. This research adds knowledge to housing research and migration study. Although the research is based in Mainland, most of the characteristics identified including better medical services, government welfare and sound urban amenities are shared qualities for all sustainable urban development and housing strategies.Keywords: elderly migration, housing alternative, soon-to-be-old, sustainable environment
Procedia PDF Downloads 2122116 Investigation of Sick Building Syndrome in Student Dormitories
Authors: Maryam Ghasemi
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Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) occurs when residents experience negative health impacts linked to their time spent there. Nevertheless, no single symptom or cause can be identified immediately. The confinement may be concentrated or localized in a particular room or area or spread throughout the building. Often, predicaments appear when a building is determined or maintained differently from its original design or intended operating procedures or purposes. Sometimes indoor air problems result from poor building design and occupant activities. This is a case study about a problem that is still going on in the Alfam Studios Dormitory. The goal is to find out if there is a case of SBS at the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU). The methodology used in this article is both qualitative and quantitative. The information was gathered through a review of the literature, observations, a questionnaire, and interviews with the students' neighbors. There are twelve studio rooms, and in each studio room, two students live. The questionnaires and discussions took place with all twenty-four students. This study showed that in the dormitory design, ventilation and lighting in terms of sick building syndrome might not have been considered.Keywords: sick building, lighting, ventilation, illness, humidity
Procedia PDF Downloads 782115 Study on Evaluating the Utilization of Social Media Tools (SMT) in Collaborative Learning Case Study: Faculty of Medicine, King Khalid University
Authors: Vasanthi Muniasamy, Intisar Magboul Ejalani, M.Anandhavalli, K. Gauthaman
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Social Media (SM) are websites increasingly popular and built to allow people to express themselves and to interact socially with others. Most SMT are dominated by youth particularly college students. The proliferation of popular social media tools, which can accessed from any communication devices has become pervasive in the lives of today’s student life. Connecting traditional education to social media tools are a relatively new era and any collaborative tool could be used for learning activities. This study focuses (i) how the social media tools are useful for the learning activities of the students of faculty of medicine in King Khalid University (ii) whether the social media affects the collaborative learning with interaction among students, among course instructor, their engagement, perceived ease of use and perceived ease of usefulness (TAM) (iii) overall, the students satisfy with this collaborative learning through Social media.Keywords: social media, Web 2.0, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, collaborative Learning
Procedia PDF Downloads 5092114 Developing an Innovative General Foundation Programme (GFP) and an IELTS Centre in a New Military College
Authors: Jessica Peart, Sarim Al Zubaidy
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This paper examines the main dialogic and reformative aspects that have constituted the developing implementation of an English language module in a common pre-sessional program in Oman, the General Foundation Program (GFP), at the new Military Technological College (MTC), in Oman’s capital, muscat. The MTC is the first of its kind in the country to merge military with academic training and has been running programs since September 2013 over five trimesters to date, receiving external validation and accreditation from the University of Portsmouth (UoP), UK. From this starting point, We will provide context on the parameters that necessitated delivery of this common but specially tailored pre-sessional program at the MTC and outline in detail how the English module with integrated key study skills and personal tutoring support was initially conceived before operations commenced and cooperation between all stakeholders took practical shape. This enquiry traces how stakeholders from students to faculty, college boards and collaborative university partners have considered and redefined the in part static and dynamic boundaries of their larger and smaller scale stakes. With regard to the widely held recognition that pre-sessional students require training in transferable study skills in order to succeed at university, we will chart the subsequent and ongoing adjustments made to the generic, pastoral and integrated elements of that program. Driving this concerted effort has been at base the need for a GFP concerned with three criteria for incoming MTC students cadets, namely to develop candidate’s rounded capacity for intellectual, technical and physical skill as both students and cadets, to generate linguistic proficiency and discerning use of appropriate language registers and to allow personal and collective time for adjustment to a multilayered, brand new environment, while also working within a regulated timeline for academic progression to the MTC diploma or degree levels. The English Department teaching staff’s facilitation of the initial program’s methodologies and timeframe for the GFP English module has garnered a keen and diverse sense of the holistic student cadet experience, which a range of alterations to the program demonstrate. These include alterations to the class types and overall program duration as well as greater multiplicity of exposure within learning environments. In surveying the impact of these composite maneuvers and challenges within a proactive and evolving context of teaching and learning, it is finally demonstrated how student cadet levels of productivity and self-reliance on the one hand and retention issues on the other are being gainfully steered towards progression within a framework for inclusive reciprocal dialogue, gathering thereby civilian and military backgrounds toward uniquely united ends.Keywords: English module transferable skills, faculty dialogue, governance structure, overarching regulatory agencies
Procedia PDF Downloads 2762113 Metal Contamination in an E-Waste Recycling Community in Northeastern Thailand
Authors: Aubrey Langeland, Richard Neitzel, Kowit Nambunmee
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Electronic waste, ‘e-waste’, refers generally to discarded electronics and electrical equipment, including products from cell phones and laptops to wires, batteries and appliances. While e-waste represents a transformative source of income in low- and middle-income countries, informal e-waste workers use rudimentary methods to recover materials, simultaneously releasing harmful chemicals into the environment and creating a health hazard for themselves and surrounding communities. Valuable materials such as precious metals, copper, aluminum, ferrous metals, plastic and components are recycled from e-waste. However, persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and some polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and heavy metals are toxicants contained within e-waste and are of great concern to human and environmental health. The current study seeks to evaluate the environmental contamination resulting from informal e-waste recycling in a predominantly agricultural community in northeastern Thailand. To accomplish this objective, five types of environmental samples were collected and analyzed for concentrations of eight metals commonly associated with e-waste recycling during the period of July 2016 through July 2017. Rice samples from the community were collected after harvest and analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and gas furnace atomic spectroscopy (GF-AS). Soil samples were collected and analyzed using methods similar to those used in analyzing the rice samples. Surface water samples were collected and analyzed using absorption colorimetry for three heavy metals. Environmental air samples were collected using a sampling pump and matched-weight PVC filters, then analyzed using Inductively Coupled Argon Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICAP-AES). Finally, surface wipe samples were collected from surfaces in homes where e-waste recycling activities occur and were analyzed using ICAP-AES. Preliminary1 results indicate that some rice samples have concentrations of lead and cadmium significantly higher than limits set by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Similarly, some soil samples show levels of copper, lead and cadmium more than twice the maximum permissible level set by the USDA and WHO, and significantly higher than other areas of Thailand. Surface water samples indicate that areas near e-waste recycling activities, particularly the burning of e-waste products, result in increased levels of cadmium, lead and copper in surface waters. This is of particular concern given that many of the surface waters tested are used in irrigation of crops. Surface wipe samples measured concentrations of metals commonly associated with e-waste, suggesting a danger of ingestion of metals during cooking and other activities. Of particular concern is the relevance of surface contamination of metals to child health. Finally, air sampling showed that the burning of e-waste presents a serious health hazard to workers and the environment through inhalation and deposition2. Our research suggests a need for improved methods of e-waste recycling that allows workers to continue this valuable revenue stream in a sustainable fashion that protects both human and environmental health. 1Statistical analysis to be finished in October 2017 due to follow-up field studies occurring in July and August 2017. 2Still awaiting complete analytic results.Keywords: e-waste, environmental contamination, informal recycling, metals
Procedia PDF Downloads 3622112 Virtual Reality Learning Environment in Embryology Education
Authors: Salsabeel F. M. Alfalah, Jannat F. Falah, Nadia Muhaidat, Amjad Hudaib, Diana Koshebye, Sawsan AlHourani
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Educational technology is changing the way how students engage and interact with learning materials. This improved the learning process amongst various subjects. Virtual Reality (VR) applications are considered one of the evolving methods that have contributed to enhancing medical education. This paper utilizes VR to provide a solution to improve the delivery of the subject of Embryology to medical students, and facilitate the teaching process by providing a useful aid to lecturers, whilst proving the effectiveness of this new technology in this particular area. After evaluating the current teaching methods and identifying students ‘needs, a VR system was designed that demonstrates in an interactive fashion the development of the human embryo from fertilization to week ten of intrauterine development. This system aims to overcome some of the problems faced by the students’ in the current educational methods, and to increase the efficacy of the learning process.Keywords: virtual reality, student assessment, medical education, 3D, embryology
Procedia PDF Downloads 1912111 Developing Elusive Frame for Creativity, ICT and Teacher Education
Authors: Rahul Malhotra, Anu Malhotra, Veena Bana
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Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays an imperative part in enhancing the quality of life, together with education. This research work is an important consequence to endow with substantiation for the effective use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools for educational rationale. Perspective teachers and students of technical education from various regions of Rajasthan participated in the survey based research work. Condensed from the analysis and interpretations of the data collected from Perspective teachers and students of technical education from various regions of Rajasthan, it is inevitable that use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for educational purpose can augment student’s creativity and achievement ability. The Chi-Square statistics produce the evidence of the effective use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in enhancing the creativity and achievement ability of the perspective teachers and students of technical education.Keywords: ICT, education, creativity, elusive frame
Procedia PDF Downloads 4662110 Design and Application of a Model Eliciting Activity with Civil Engineering Students on Binomial Distribution to Solve a Decision Problem Based on Samples Data Involving Aspects of Randomness and Proportionality
Authors: Martha E. Aguiar-Barrera, Humberto Gutierrez-Pulido, Veronica Vargas-Alejo
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Identifying and modeling random phenomena is a fundamental cognitive process to understand and transform reality. Recognizing situations governed by chance and giving them a scientific interpretation, without being carried away by beliefs or intuitions, is a basic training for citizens. Hence the importance of generating teaching-learning processes, supported using technology, paying attention to model creation rather than only executing mathematical calculations. In order to develop the student's knowledge about basic probability distributions and decision making; in this work a model eliciting activity (MEA) is reported. The intention was applying the Model and Modeling Perspective to design an activity related to civil engineering that would be understandable for students, while involving them in its solution. Furthermore, the activity should imply a decision-making challenge based on sample data, and the use of the computer should be considered. The activity was designed considering the six design principles for MEA proposed by Lesh and collaborators. These are model construction, reality, self-evaluation, model documentation, shareable and reusable, and prototype. The application and refinement of the activity was carried out during three school cycles in the Probability and Statistics class for Civil Engineering students at the University of Guadalajara. The analysis of the way in which the students sought to solve the activity was made using audio and video recordings, as well as with the individual and team reports of the students. The information obtained was categorized according to the activity phase (individual or team) and the category of analysis (sample, linearity, probability, distributions, mechanization, and decision-making). With the results obtained through the MEA, four obstacles have been identified to understand and apply the binomial distribution: the first one was the resistance of the student to move from the linear to the probabilistic model; the second one, the difficulty of visualizing (infering) the behavior of the population through the sample data; the third one, viewing the sample as an isolated event and not as part of a random process that must be viewed in the context of a probability distribution; and the fourth one, the difficulty of decision-making with the support of probabilistic calculations. These obstacles have also been identified in literature on the teaching of probability and statistics. Recognizing these concepts as obstacles to understanding probability distributions, and that these do not change after an intervention, allows for the modification of these interventions and the MEA. In such a way, the students may identify themselves the erroneous solutions when they carrying out the MEA. The MEA also showed to be democratic since several students who had little participation and low grades in the first units, improved their participation. Regarding the use of the computer, the RStudio software was useful in several tasks, for example in such as plotting the probability distributions and to exploring different sample sizes. In conclusion, with the models created to solve the MEA, the Civil Engineering students improved their probabilistic knowledge and understanding of fundamental concepts such as sample, population, and probability distribution.Keywords: linear model, models and modeling, probability, randomness, sample
Procedia PDF Downloads 1202109 The Challenges of Teaching First Year Accounting with a Lecturer-Student Ratio of 1:1248
Authors: Hanli Joubert
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In South Africa, teaching large classes is a reality that lecturers face in most higher institutions. When teaching a large group, literature normally refers to groups of about 50 to 500 students. At the University of the Free State, the first-year accounting group comprises around 1300 students. Apart from extremely large classes, the problem is exacerbated by the diversity of students’ previous schooling in accounting as well as their socio-economic backgrounds. The university scenario is further complicated by a lack of venues, compressed timetables, as well as lack of resources. This study aims to investigate the challenges and effectiveness of teaching a large and diverse group of first-year accounting students by drawing from personal experience, a literature study, interviews with other lecturers as well as students registered for first year accounting. The results reveal that teaching first-year accounting students in a large group is not the ideal situation but that it can be effective if it is managed correctly.Keywords: diverse backgrounds, large groups, limited resources, first-year accounting students
Procedia PDF Downloads 572108 Developing Thai-UK Double Degree Programmes: An Exploratory Study Identifying Challenges, Competing Interests and Risks
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In Thailand, a 4.0 policy has been initiated that is designed to prepare and train an appropriate workforce to support the move to a value-based economy. One aspect of support for this policy is a project to encourage the creation of double degree programmes, specifically between Thai and UK universities. This research into the project, conducted with its key players, explores the factors that can either enable or hinder the development of such programmes. It is an area that has received little research attention to date. Key findings focus on differences in quality assurance requirements, attitudes to benefits, risks, and committed levels of institutional support, thus providing valuable input into future policy making. The Transnational Education (TNE) Development Project was initiated in 2015 by the British Council, in conjunction with the Office for Higher Education Commission (OHEC), Thailand. The purpose of the project was to facilitate opportunities for Thai Universities to partner with UK Universities so as to develop double degree programme models. In this arrangement, the student gains both a UK and a Thai qualification, spending time studying in both countries. Twenty-two partnerships were initiated via the project. Utilizing a qualitative approach, data sources included participation in TNE project workshops, peer reviews, and over 20 semi-structured interviews conducted with key informants within the participating UK and Thai universities. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed for key themes. The research has revealed that the strength of the relationship between the two partner institutions is critical. Successful partnerships are often built on previous personal contact, have senior-level involvement and are strengthened by partnership on different levels, such as research, student exchange, and other forms of mobility. The support of the British Council was regarded as a key enabler in developing these types of projects for those universities that had not been involved in TNE previously. The involvement of industry is apparent in programmes that have high scientific content but not well developed in other subject areas. Factors that hinder the development of partnership programmes include the approval processes and quality requirements of each institution. Significant differences in fee levels between Thai and UK universities provide a challenge and attempts to bridge them require goodwill on the part of the latter that may be difficult to realise. This research indicates the key factors to which attention needs to be given when developing a TNE programme. Early attention to these factors can reduce the likelihood that the partnership will fail to develop. Representatives in both partner universities need to understand their respective processes of development and approval. The research has important practical implications for policy-makers and planners involved with TNE, not only in relation to the specific TNE project but also more widely in relation to the development of TNE programmes in other countries and other subject areas. Future research will focus on assessing the success of the double degree programmes generated by the TNE Development Project from the perspective of universities, policy makers, and industry partners.Keywords: double-degree, internationalization, partnerships, Thai-UK
Procedia PDF Downloads 1032107 Spanish University Governance Reporting
Authors: Agustin Baidez, Yolanda Ramirez
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There is currently a growing interest in the improvement of university governance and the disclosure of information on governance processes as an essential part of the transparency and accountability of universities. This paper aims to examine the extent and quality of voluntary corporate governance disclosure by public Spanish universities on their websites in relation to information need of stakeholders. The results of this study show that Spanish university stakeholders attach great importance to the disclosure of specific information on aspects of corporate governance. However, the quality of disclosed information on university governance in public Spanish universities websites is in the middle level. In order to satisfy the information needs of university stakeholders, Spanish universities can be recommended to focus on reporting higher quality information on university autonomy in financing, autonomy in management, autonomy regarding student selection and assessment, degree of consanguinity of executive directors, report on assigned public funding based on results, and management reports.Keywords: university, governance, transparency, stakeholders
Procedia PDF Downloads 582106 The Development of Potential in Skilled Laborers in Producing Basketry
Authors: Chutikarn Sriwiboon
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The purposes of this paper were to study the production problems of basketry in the central region and to study the development of potential in skilled labourers in producing basketry in three provinces: Suphanburi, Ayuthaya, and Aungthong. A quota sampling was utilized to get 486 respondents from 243 basketry communities that were registered with OTOP project. A focus group was also used with a connoisseurship model to study knowledge and factors that related to the development of potential in skilled labourers in producing basketry. The findings revealed that the process getting service is the major problem for customers to get service. Also, there should be more of a variety of knowledge for customers. In terms of technology, the variety of information was rated as the most important problem. In terms staff's ability, the knowledge of staff was the most important problem. For the development of potential in high skilled labours for basketry, the findings revealed that having proper tools was considered the most important factor. In terms of economy, the findings revealed that the basketry job must provide sufficient income was considered the most important factor. In terms of using natural resources, efficiency is the most important factor. In terms of mentality, integrity is the most important factor. Finally, in terms of society and culture, help in the local activities is the most important factor.Keywords: basketry, development, potential, skilled labours
Procedia PDF Downloads 2952105 A Review: Global Crisis Effects on Agriculture and Animal Production in Turkey
Authors: Muhittin Fatih Demirhan, Sibel Alapala Demirhan
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Agriculture, is also regarded as the primary activity area in all economies. When international comparisons are made Turkey has comparative advantages in agricultural potential. However, it is diffi cult to say that Turkey's agricultural productivity and use of technology is well developed in terms of sufficieny. Turkey, in terms of agricultural production, is one of the rare self-sufficient countries, but for supplying excessive demand of its domesticproduction to foreign markets to obtain the necessary income it is rather insufficient. On the basis of wrong policies implemented during the crisis and found that bottlenecks in agriculture and animal husbandry or agriculture policies of the IMF and World Bank are imposed on countries like Turkey. The IMF and the World Bank, the reduction of support in the agricultural and livestock Turkey, is known to put pressure for the abolition. Under these circumstances, our farmers, livestock producers and breeders of, not a chance to compete in the same market with EU producers. Animal products that capture the productivity levels of developed countries, seems to be our chance to compete with the quality and hygiene criteria. Thus, the discussion of the issue must be raised as for the sector's contribution to the economy in terms of further increasing production of the existing potential in mobilization.Keywords: agricultural development, animal production, competition, economic crisis, food supply
Procedia PDF Downloads 2392104 Inquiry-based Science Education in Computer Science Learning in Primary School
Authors: Maslin Masrom, Nik Hasnaa Nik Mahmood, Wan Normeza Wan Zakaria, Azizul Azizan, Norshaliza Kamaruddin
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Traditionally, in science education, the teacher provides facts and the students learn them. It is outmoded for today’s students to equip them with real-life situations, mainly because knowledge and life skills are acquired passively from the instructors. Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE) is an approach that allows students to experiment, ask questions, and develop responses based on reasoning. It has provided students and teachers with opportunities to actively engage in collaborative learning via inquiry. This approach inspires the students to become active thinkers, research for solutions, and gain life-long experience and self-confidence. Therefore, the research aims to investigate how the primary-school teacher supports students or pupils through an inquiry-based science education approach for computer science, specifically coding skills. The results are presented and described.Keywords: inquiry-based science education, student-centered learning, computer science, primary school
Procedia PDF Downloads 1582103 Key Factors of Success and Deterrent of IT Projects, Case study: Islamic Azad University, Zahedan Branch
Authors: Mohammad Reza Abidi, Zahra Nourouz Pour, Mehdi Moudi
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In this research, firstly critical success factors and deterrent factors in implementing projects and also the factors those cause information technology productivity (IT) paradox in Islamic Azad University, Zahedan branch examined. Research method of this paper is descriptive. In fact, the researcher by using survey, proposed useful solutions. In this research, subjects’ responders to questionnaires items were based on Likert scale. In the questionnaire, economic, technical, organizational and cultural factors in the university have been assessed in order to obtain the necessary validity. We used masters and technicians of IT department’s advices to realize reliability and consistency. For the reliability test we used Cronbach’s reliability test and validity has been obtained using SPSS software. Because of the research questions and objectives, t-student test is used for hypothesis testing. Finally we analyze the findings, we offer conclusions and suggestions.Keywords: IT projects, Islamic Azad University, success factors, deterrent factors
Procedia PDF Downloads 3172102 The Role of Video in Teaching and Learning Pronunciation: A Case Study
Authors: Kafi Razzaq Ahmed
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Speaking fluently in a second language requires vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation skills. Teaching the English language entails teaching pronunciation. In professional literature, there have been a lot of attempts to integrate technology into improving the pronunciation of learners. The technique is also neglected in Kurdish contexts, Salahaddin University – Erbil included. Thus, the main aim of the research is to point out the efficiency of using video materials for both language teachers and learners within and beyond classroom learning and teaching environments to enhance student's pronunciation. To collect practical data, a research project has been designed. In subsequent research, a posttest will be administered after each lesson to 100 first-year students at Salahaddin University-Erbil English departments. All students will be taught the same material using different methods, one based on video materials and the other based on the traditional approach to teaching pronunciation. Finally, the results of both tests will be analyzed (also knowing the attitudes of both the teachers and the students about both lessons) to indicate the impact of using video in the process of teaching and learning pronunciation.Keywords: video, pronunciation, teaching, learning
Procedia PDF Downloads 1102101 The Experience of the Prosthetics Program in Palestine Arab American University as Model
Authors: Ahmad Dawabsheh
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The prosthetics program is an international program, found in honorable respectable universities. This program like other programs was found to serve several reasons, The most important reason is humanity, humanity free of conflict, religion, race, or war, but rather focuses on the humanitarian issue. This is what encouraged me to study this topic to help people, especially the poor in the world. The researcher will distribute a questionnaire to the faculty members and students of the department to measure the knowledge and importance of this program from the practical and theoretical sides of the local community. The researcher used the analytical method to study the subject. The research will attempt to answer the questions: What is the student's knowledge of this program? How important is this program to society?. The research aims to know the Palestinian society's need for this program. The research also aims to know the extent of students' knowledge of recent developments and new innovations in prosthetics around the world. What does the university offer to students in addition to theoretical courses?Keywords: prosthetics, Arab American University, analytical method, questionnair
Procedia PDF Downloads 1632100 The Aspect of Urban Inequality after Urban Redevelopment Projects
Authors: Sungik Kang, Ja-Hoon Koo
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Globally, urban environments have become unequal, and cities have been segmented by income class. It is predicted that urban inequality has arisen by urban redevelopment and reconstruction projects that improve the urban environment and innovate cities. This study aims to analyze the occurrence and characteristics of urban inequality by using the housing price and sale price and demonstrating the correlation with the urban redevelopment project. This study measures 14 years of urban inequality index for 25 autonomous districts in Seoul and analyzes the correlation between urban inequality with urban redevelopment projects. As a conclusion of this study, first, the urban inequality index of Seoul has been continuously rising since 2015. Trends from 2006 to 2019 have been in U-curved shape in between 2015. In 2019, Seoul's urban inequality index was 0.420, a level similar to that of the 2007 financial crisis. Second, the correlation between urban redevelopment and urban inequality was not statistically significant. Therefore, we judged that urban redevelopment's scale or project structure has nothing with urban inequality. Third, while district designation of urban reconstruction temporarily alleviates urban inequality, the completion of the project increases urban inequality. When designating a district, urban inequality is likely to decrease due to decreased outdated housing transactions. However, the correlation with urban inequality increases as expensive houses has been placed after project completion.Keywords: urban inequality, urban redevelopment projects, urban reconstruction projects, housing price inequality, panel analysis
Procedia PDF Downloads 2072099 The Impact of Developing an Educational Unit in the Light of Twenty-First Century Skills in Developing Language Skills for Non-Arabic Speakers: A Proposed Program for Application to Students of Educational Series in Regular Schools
Authors: Erfan Abdeldaim Mohamed Ahmed Abdalla
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The era of the knowledge explosion in which we live requires us to develop educational curricula quantitatively and qualitatively to adapt to the twenty-first-century skills of critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, cooperation, creativity, and innovation. The process of developing the curriculum is as significant as building it; in fact, the development of curricula may be more difficult than building them. And curriculum development includes analyzing needs, setting goals, designing the content and educational materials, creating language programs, developing teachers, applying for programmes in schools, monitoring and feedback, and then evaluating the language programme resulting from these processes. When we look back at the history of language teaching during the twentieth century, we find that developing the delivery method is the most crucial aspect of change in language teaching doctrines. The concept of delivery method in teaching is a systematic set of teaching practices based on a specific theory of language acquisition. This is a key consideration, as the process of development must include all the curriculum elements in its comprehensive sense: linguistically and non-linguistically. The various Arabic curricula provide the student with a set of units, each unit consisting of a set of linguistic elements. These elements are often not logically arranged, and more importantly, they neglect essential points and highlight other less important ones. Moreover, the educational curricula entail a great deal of monotony in the presentation of content, which makes it hard for the teacher to select adequate content; so that the teacher often navigates among diverse references to prepare a lesson and hardly finds the suitable one. Similarly, the student often gets bored when learning the Arabic language and fails to fulfill considerable progress in it. Therefore, the problem is not related to the lack of curricula, but the problem is the development of the curriculum with all its linguistic and non-linguistic elements in accordance with contemporary challenges and standards for teaching foreign languages. The Arabic library suffers from a lack of references for curriculum development. In this paper, the researcher investigates the elements of development, such as the teacher, content, methods, objectives, evaluation, and activities. Hence, a set of general guidelines in the field of educational development were reached. The paper highlights the need to identify weaknesses in educational curricula, decide the twenty-first-century skills that must be employed in Arabic education curricula, and the employment of foreign language teaching standards in current Arabic Curricula. The researcher assumes that the series of teaching Arabic to speakers of other languages in regular schools do not address the skills of the twenty-first century, which is what the researcher tries to apply in the proposed unit. The experimental method is the method of this study. It is based on two groups: experimental and control. The development of an educational unit will help build suitable educational series for students of the Arabic language in regular schools, in which twenty-first-century skills and standards for teaching foreign languages will be addressed and be more useful and attractive to students.Keywords: curriculum, development, Arabic language, non-native, skills
Procedia PDF Downloads 852098 The Valuation of Employees Provident Fund on Long Term Care Cost among Elderly in Malaysia
Authors: Mazlynda Md Yusuf, Wafa' Mahadzir, Mohamad Yazis Ali Basah
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Nowadays, financing long-term care for elderly people is a crucial issue, either towards the family members or the care institution. Corresponding with the growing number of ageing population in Malaysia, there’s a need of concern on the uncertaintiness of future family care and the need for long-term care services. Moreover, with the increasing cost of living, children feels the urge of needing to work and receive a fixed monthly income that results to sending their elderly parents to care institutions. Currently, in Malaysia, the rates for private nursing homes can amount up to RM 4,000 per month excluding medical treatments and other recurring expenses. These costs are expected to be paid using their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings that they accumulate during their working years, especially for those working under private sectors. Hence, this study identifies the adequacy of EPF in funding the cost of long-term care service during old age. This study used a hypothetical simulation model to simulate different scenarios. The findings of this study could be used for individuals to prepare on the importance of planning for retirement, especially with the increasing cost of long-term care services.Keywords: long-term care cost, employees provident fund Malaysia, ageing population, Malaysian elderly
Procedia PDF Downloads 3422097 Monitoring and Evaluation of Master Science Trainee Educational Students to their Practicum in Teaching Physics for Improving and Creating Attitude Skills for Sustainable Developing Upper Secondary Students in Thailand
Authors: T. Santiboon, S. Tongbu, P. S. Saihong
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This study focuses on investigating students' perceptions of their physics classroom learning environments of their individualizations and their interactions with the instructional practicum in teaching physics of the master science trainee educational students for improving and creating attitude skills’ sustainable development toward physics for upper secondary educational students in Thailand. Associations between these perceptions and students' attitudes toward physics were also determined. The learning environment perceptions were obtained using the 35-item Physics Laboratory Environment Inventory (PLEI) modified from the original Science Laboratory Environment Inventory. The 25-item Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ) was assessed those dimensions which distinguish individualized physics classrooms from convention on individualized open and inquiry-based education Teacher-student interactions were assessed with the 48-item Questionnaires on Teacher Interaction (QTI). Both these questionnaires have an Actual Form (assesses the class as it actually is) and a Preferred Form (asks the students what they would prefer their class to be like - the ideal situation). Students’ creating attitude skills’ sustainable development toward physics were assessed with the Test Of Physics-Related Attitude (TOPRA) modified from the original Test Of Science-Related Attitude (TOSRA) The questionnaires were administered in three phases with the Custer Random Sampling technique to a sample consisted of 989 students in 28 physics classes from 10 schools at the grade 10, 11, and 12 levels in the Secondary Educational Service Area 26 (Maha Sarakham Province) and Area 27 (Roi-Et). Statistically significant differences were found between the students' perceptions of actual-1, actual-2 and preferred environments of their physics laboratory and distinguish individualized classrooms, and teacher interpersonal behaviors with their improving and creating attitudes skills’ sustainable development to their physics classes also were found. Predictions of the monitoring and evaluation of master science trainee educational students of their practicum in teaching physics; students’ skills developments of their physics achievements’ sustainable for the set of actual and preferred environments as a whole and physics related attitudes also were correlated. The R2 values indicate that 58%, 67%, and 84% of the variances in students’ attitudes to their actuale-1, actual-2 and preferred for the PLEI; 42%,science trainee educational students of their practicum in teaching physics; students’ skill developments of their physics achievements’ sustainable for the set of actual and preferred environments as a whole and physics related attitudes also were correlated. The R2 values indicate that 58%, 67%, and 84% of the variances in students’ attitudes to their actuale-1, actual-2 and preferred for the PLEI; 42%, 63%, and 72% for the ICEQ, and 38%, 59%, and 68% for the QTI in physics environment classes were attributable to their perceptions of their actual and preferred physics environments and their developing creative science skills’ sustainable toward physics, consequently. Based on all the findings, suggestions for improving the physics laboratory and individualized classes and teacher interpersonal behaviors with students' perceptions are provided of their improving and creating attitude skills’ sustainable development by the master science trainee educational students ’ instructional administrations.Keywords: promotion, instructional model, qualitative method, reflective thinking, trainee teacher student
Procedia PDF Downloads 2682096 Analytical Study of Educational Theories of Educational Psychology
Authors: Ajay Krishan Tiwari
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Studies on educational psychology have demonstrated the interest of the child's psychological and cognitive environment in the quality of their school commitment. The educational psychologist works with children and adolescents to remedy these factors. The task of the educational psychologist is to liberate the child and adolescent intellectually. Its purpose is to harmonize the child with the system of learning. Psychoanalytic support requires practice in creativity, reading, math, and meditation methods. The goal of educational psychology is to restore the desire and enjoyment of learning. The educational psychologist takes into account the concerns and personality traits that hinder student learning and restores self-esteem. Educational psychologists specialize in supporting children or adolescents who have a different approach to learning. Its role is to consider the child as a whole (cognitive, affective, physical, school, family factors, etc.). It welcomes the child's way of thinking and participates in its development. It is an essential point of contact between the child and his school environment.Keywords: educational psychology, educational theories, psychologist, cognitive environment, psychoanalytic support, enjoyment of learning
Procedia PDF Downloads 802095 An Empirical Assessment of the Effect of War Exposure on the Attitudes towards Violence
Authors: Anastasiia Kuptsevych, Robert J. Johnson, Olena Antonaccio, Ekaterina V. Botchkovar
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Ukraine has recently experienced one of the bloodiest conflicts taking place on the European continent. Many active duty personnel and civilians have died, and millions of people have been displaced. This situation can lead to disorder in the country characterized by acceptance of violence and crime. There is a gap in the literature addressing the issues related to attitudes towards violence resulting from war, as well as focusing on the world’s more vulnerable civilian populations – those that live in lower and middle-income countries, such as Ukraine. Using a random sample of 1200 adults from two major Ukrainian cities, this study explores the relationship between different types of war exposure (direct and vicarious) and attitudes to violence. Multivariate models reveal that multiple types of war exposure (e.g., being injured, being a witness of death, watching war events on TV) are significantly associated with the attitudes to political and interpersonal violence. In addition, the KHB decomposition procedure showed that experiencing certain mental illnesses serve as important mediating mechanisms between war exposure and attitudes towards violence. Finally, in order to prevent society from disorder and high levels of violence, future studies need to pay more attention to exploring how vital and traumatic life events can lead a population to find violent acts acceptable.Keywords: attitudes, Ukraine, violence, war
Procedia PDF Downloads 2632094 Assessment of Non-Timber Forest Products from Community Managed Forest of Thenzawl Forest Division, Mizoram, Northeast India
Authors: K. Lalhmingsangi, U. K. Sahoo
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Non-Timber Forest Products represent one of the key sources of income and subsistence to the fringe communities living in rural areas. A study was conducted for the assessment of NTFP within the community forest of five villages under Thenzawl forest division. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), questionnaire, field exercise, discussion and interview with the first hand NTFP exploiter and sellers was adopted for the field study. Fuel wood, medicinal plants, fodder, wild vegetables, fruits, broom grass, thatch grass, bamboo pole and cane species are the main NTFP harvested from the community forest. Among all the NTFPs, the highest percentage of household involvement was found in fuel wood, i.e. 53% of household and least in medicinal plants 5%. They harvest for their own consumption as well as for selling to the market to meet their needs. Edible food and fruits are sold to the market and it was estimated that 300 (Rs/hh/yr) was earned by each household through the selling of this NTFP from the community forest alone. No marketing channels are linked with fuelwood, medicinal plants and fodder since they harvest only for their own consumption.Keywords: community forest, subsistence, non-timber forest products, Thenzawl Forest Division
Procedia PDF Downloads 1532093 Ancient Latin Language and Haiku Poetry: A Case Study between Teaching and Translation Studies
Authors: Arianna Sacerdoti
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The translation of Haiku Poetry into Latin is fundamentally experimental in nature. One of the first seminal books containing such translations, alongside translations into different modern languages, 'A Piedi Scalzi', was written by Tartamella in 2016. The results of a text-oriented study of this book will be commented upon and analyzed. The author Arianna Sacerdoti made similar translations with high school student. Such an experiment garners interest across a diverse range of disciplines such as teaching, translation studies, and classics reception studies. The methodology employed is text-oriented as the Haiku poem translations will be commented on by considering their relationship with the original. The results of this investigation, conducted within the field of experimental teaching, are expected to confirm the usefulness of this approach to the teaching of Latin and its potential to actively involve students in identifying the diachronic differences between the world of classical antiquity and the contemporary one.Keywords: ancient latin, Haiku, translation studies, reception of classics
Procedia PDF Downloads 1352092 The Impact of Professional Development on Teachers’ Instructional Practice
Authors: Karen Koellner, Nanette Seago, Jennifer Jacobs, Helen Garnier
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Although studies of teacher professional development (PD) are prevalent, surprisingly most have only produced incremental shifts in teachers’ learning and their impact on students. There is a critical need to understand what teachers take up and use in their classroom practice after attending PD and why we often do not see greater changes in learning and practice. This paper is based on a mixed methods efficacy study of the Learning and Teaching Geometry (LTG) video-based mathematics professional development materials. The extent to which the materials produce a beneficial impact on teachers’ mathematics knowledge, classroom practices, and their students’ knowledge in the domain of geometry through a group-randomized experimental design are considered. In this study, we examine a small group of teachers to better understand their interpretations of the workshops and their classroom uptake. The participants included 103 secondary mathematics teachers serving grades 6-12 from two states in different regions. Randomization was conducted at the school level, with 23 schools and 49 teachers assigned to the treatment group and 18 schools and 54 teachers assigned to the comparison group. The case study examination included twelve treatment teachers. PD workshops for treatment teachers began in Summer 2016. Nine full days of professional development were offered to teachers, beginning with the one-week institute (Summer 2016) and four days of PD throughout the academic year. The same facilitator-led all of the workshops, after completing a facilitator preparation process that included a multi-faceted assessment of fidelity. The overall impact of the LTG PD program was assessed from multiple sources: two teacher content assessments, two PD embedded assessments, pre-post-post videotaped classroom observations, and student assessments. Additional data was collected from the case study teachers including additional videotaped classroom observations and interviews. Repeated measures ANOVA analyses were used to detect patterns of change in the treatment teachers’ content knowledge before and after completion of the LTG PD, relative to the comparison group. No significant effects were found across the two groups of teachers on the two teacher content assessments. Teachers were rated on the quality of their mathematics instruction captured in videotaped classroom observations using the Math in Common Observation Protocol. On average, teachers who attended the LTG PD intervention improved their ability to engage students in mathematical reasoning and to provide accurate, coherent, and well-justified mathematical content. In addition, the LTG PD intervention and instruction that engaged students in mathematical practices both positively and significantly predicted greater student knowledge gains. Teacher knowledge was not a significant predictor. Twelve treatment teachers were self-selected to serve as case study teachers to provide additional videotapes in which they felt they were using something from the PD they learned and experienced. Project staff analyzed the videos, compared them to previous videos and interviewed the teachers regarding their uptake of the PD related to content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and resources used.Keywords: teacher learning, professional development, pedagogical content knowledge, geometry
Procedia PDF Downloads 1702091 Information and Communication Technology Skills of Finnish Students in Particular by Gender
Authors: Antero J. S. Kivinen, Suvi-Sadetta Kaarakainen
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Digitalization touches every aspect of contemporary society, changing the way we live our everyday life. Contemporary society is sometimes described as knowledge society including unprecedented amount of information people face daily. The tools to manage this information flow are ICT-skills which are both technical skills and reflective skills needed to manage incoming information. Therefore schools are under constant pressure of revision. In the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) girls have been outperforming boys in all Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries and the gender gap between girls and boys is widest in Finland. This paper presents results of the Comprehensive Schools in the Digital Age project of RUSE, University of Turku. The project is in connection with Finnish Government Analysis, Assessment and Research Activities. First of all, this paper examines gender differences in ICT-skills of Finnish upper comprehensive school students. Secondly, it explores in which way differences are changing when students proceed to upper secondary and vocational education. ICT skills are measured using a performance-based ICT-skill test. Data is collected in 3 phases, January-March 2017 (upper comprehensive schools, n=5455), September-December 2017 (upper secondary and vocational schools, n~3500) and January-March 2018 (Upper comprehensive schools). The age of upper comprehensive school student’s is 15-16 and upper secondary and vocational school 16-18. The test is divided into 6 categories: basic operations, productivity software, social networking and communication, content creation and publishing, applications and requirements for the ICT study programs. Students have filled a survey about their ICT-usage and study materials they use in school and home. Cronbach's alpha was used to estimate the reliability of the ICT skill test. Statistical differences between genders were examined using two-tailed independent samples t-test. Results of first data from upper comprehensive schools show that there is no statistically significant difference in ICT-skill tests total scores between genders (boys 10.24 and girls 10.64, maximum being 36). Although, there were no gender difference in total test scores, there are differences in above mentioned six categories. Girls get better scores on school related and social networking test subjects while boys perform better on more technical oriented subjects. Test scores on basic operations are quite low for both groups. Perhaps these can partly be explained by the fact that the test was made on computers and majority of students ICT-usage consist of smartphones and tablets. Against this background it is important to analyze further the reasons for these differences. In a context of ongoing digitalization of everyday life and especially working life, the significant purpose of this analyses is to find answers how to guarantee the adequate ICT skills for all students.Keywords: basic education, digitalization, gender differences, ICT-skills, upper comprehensive education, upper secondary education, vocational education
Procedia PDF Downloads 1352090 The Use of Semantic Mapping Technique When Teaching English Vocabulary at Saudi Schools
Authors: Mohammed Hassan Alshaikhi
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Vocabulary is essential factor of learning and mastering any languages, and it helps learners to communicate with others and to be understood. The aim of this study was to examine whether semantic mapping technique was helpful in terms of improving student's English vocabulary learning comparing to the traditional technique. The students’ age was between 11 and 13 years old. There were 60 students in total who participated in this study. 30 students were in the treatment group (target vocabulary items were taught with semantic mapping). The other 30 students were in the control group (the target vocabulary items were taught by a traditional technique). A t-test was used with the results of pre-test and post-test in order to examine the outcomes of using semantic mapping when teaching vocabulary. The results showed that the vocabulary mastery in the treatment group was increased more than the control group.Keywords: English language, learning vocabulary, Saudi teachers, semantic mapping, teaching vocabulary strategies
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