Search results for: teachers attitudes
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 3679

Search results for: teachers attitudes

1069 Evaluating Distance and Blended Learning during COVID-19: Experiences and Innovations from High School and Secondary Educators

Authors: Azzeddine Atibi, Khadija El Kababi, Salim Ahmed, Mohamed Radid

Abstract:

The primary aim of the present study is to undertake an extensive comparative examination of distance learning and blended learning modalities, with a particular focus on assessing their efficacy during the period of confinement imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This investigation is grounded in the firsthand experiences of educators at the high school and secondary levels across both private and public educational institutions. To gather the necessary data, we designed and distributed a meticulously crafted survey to these educators, soliciting detailed accounts of their professional experiences throughout this challenging period. The survey's objectives include elucidating the specific difficulties faced by teachers, as well as highlighting the innovative pedagogical strategies they developed in response to these challenges. By synthesizing the insights gained from this survey, we aim to foster an exchange of experiences among educators and to generate informed recommendations that will guide future educational reforms. Ultimately, this study aspires to contribute to the ongoing discourse on optimizing educational practices in the face of unprecedented disruptions.

Keywords: distance learning, blended learning, covid 19, secondary/ high school, teachingperformance, evaluation

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1068 Effect of Problem Based Learning (PBL) Activities to Thai Undergraduate Student Teachers Attitude and Their Achievement

Authors: Thanawit Tongmai, Chatchawan Saewor

Abstract:

Learning management is very important for students’ development. To promote students’ potential, the teacher should design appropriate learning activity that brings their students potential out. Problem based learning has been using worldwide and it has presented numerous of success. This research aims to study third year students’ attitude and their achievement in scientific research course. To find the results, mix method was used to design research conduction. The researcher used PBL and reflection activity in the class. The students had to choose a topic, reviewed information, designed experimental, wrote academic report and presented their research by themselves. The researcher was only a facilitator. Reflection activity was used to progressing and consulting their research. The data was collected along with research conduction by questionnaire and test, including attitude, opinion and their achievement. The result of this study showed that 74.71% from all of students (n = 87) benefited from PBL and reflection activity, while 25.19% were just satisfied. 100% of students had a positive reflection toward PBL activity and they believed that PBL was the best pedagogy method for scientific research course. The achievements of these students were higher than the previous study (P < 0.05). The student’s learning achievement, A, B+ and B, was 48.28, 28.74 and 22.98% respectively. Therefore, it can conclude that PBL activity is appropriate for scientific research course and it can also promote student’s achievement.

Keywords: reflection, attitude, learning, achievement, PBL

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1067 Design for Classroom Units: A Collaborative Multicultural Studio Development with Chinese Students

Authors: C. S. Caires, A. Barbosa, W. Hanyou

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In this paper, we present the main results achieved during a five-week international workshop on Interactive Furniture for the Classroom, with 22 Chinese design students, in Jiangmen city (Guangdong province, China), and five teachers from Portugal, France, Iran, Macao SAR, and China. The main goal was to engage design students from China with new skills and practice methodologies towards interactive design research for furniture and product design for the classroom. The final results demonstrate students' concerns on improving Chinese furniture design for the classrooms, including solutions related to collaborative learning and human-interaction design for interactive furniture products. The findings of the research led students to the fabrication of five original prototypes: two for kindergartens ('Candy' and 'Tilt-tilt'), two for primary schools ('Closer' and 'Eks(x)'), and one for art/creative schools ('Wave'). From the findings, it was also clear that collaboration, personalization, and project-based teaching are still neglected when designing furniture products for the classroom in China. Students focused on these issues and came up with creative solutions that could transform this educational field in China.

Keywords: product design, collaborative education, interactive design, design research and prototyping

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1066 Civic Engagement and Political Participation in Bangladesh

Authors: Syeda Salina Aziz, Tanvir Ahmed Mozumder

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Citizenship is an important concept of democracy which broadly defines the relationship between the state and its citizens; at the same time, it analyzes the rights and duties of a citizen. The universal citizenship principle demands that citizens should be aware of the political system, possess democratic attitudes, and join the political activity. Bangladesh presents an interesting case for democracy; the democratic practices in the country have been long introduced, have been interrupted several times, and the democratic values and practices have yet to be established in the country. These transitions have influenced citizens’ ideologies and participation in decision-making and also shaped their expectations differently. In this backdrop, this paper aims to understand and explain the citizenship behavior of Bangladeshi nationals. Based on nationally representative household survey data of 4000 respondents, this paper creates a composite citizenship index which is a combination of three separate indices, including participation index, knowledge and awareness index, and ideology index. The paper then tries to explain the factors that affect the citizenship index. Using fixed effect regression analysis, the paper intends to explore the association between citizenship and socio-demographic variables, including education, location, gender, and exposure to the media of respondents. Additionally, using national election polls, the paper creates a variable to measure long-term support towards the current ruling party and tests whether and how this affects the citizenship variables.

Keywords: citizenship, political participation, Bangladesh, stronghold

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1065 Construction of an Assessment Tool for Early Childhood Development in the World of DiscoveryTM Curriculum

Authors: Divya Palaniappan

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Early Childhood assessment tools must measure the quality and the appropriateness of a curriculum with respect to culture and age of the children. Preschool assessment tools lack psychometric properties and were developed to measure only few areas of development such as specific skills in music, art and adaptive behavior. Existing preschool assessment tools in India are predominantly informal and are fraught with judgmental bias of observers. The World of Discovery TM curriculum focuses on accelerating the physical, cognitive, language, social and emotional development of pre-schoolers in India through various activities. The curriculum caters to every child irrespective of their dominant intelligence as per Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence which concluded "even students as young as four years old present quite distinctive sets and configurations of intelligences". The curriculum introduces a new theme every week where, concepts are explained through various activities so that children with different dominant intelligences could understand it. For example: The ‘Insects’ theme is explained through rhymes, craft and counting corner, and hence children with one of these dominant intelligences: Musical, bodily-kinesthetic and logical-mathematical could grasp the concept. The child’s progress is evaluated using an assessment tool that measures a cluster of inter-dependent developmental areas: physical, cognitive, language, social and emotional development, which for the first time renders a multi-domain approach. The assessment tool is a 5-point rating scale that measures these Developmental aspects: Cognitive, Language, Physical, Social and Emotional. Each activity strengthens one or more of the developmental aspects. During cognitive corner, the child’s perceptual reasoning, pre-math abilities, hand-eye co-ordination and fine motor skills could be observed and evaluated. The tool differs from traditional assessment methodologies by providing a framework that allows teachers to assess a child’s continuous development with respect to specific activities in real time objectively. A pilot study of the tool was done with a sample data of 100 children in the age group 2.5 to 3.5 years. The data was collected over a period of 3 months across 10 centers in Chennai, India, scored by the class teacher once a week. The teachers were trained by psychologists on age-appropriate developmental milestones to minimize observer’s bias. The norms were calculated from the mean and standard deviation of the observed data. The results indicated high internal consistency among parameters and that cognitive development improved with physical development. A significant positive relationship between physical and cognitive development has been observed among children in a study conducted by Sibley and Etnier. In Children, the ‘Comprehension’ ability was found to be greater than ‘Reasoning’ and pre-math abilities as indicated by the preoperational stage of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. The average scores of various parameters obtained through the tool corroborates the psychological theories on child development, offering strong face validity. The study provides a comprehensive mechanism to assess a child’s development and differentiate high performers from the rest. Based on the average scores, the difficulty level of activities could be increased or decreased to nurture the development of pre-schoolers and also appropriate teaching methodologies could be devised.

Keywords: child development, early childhood assessment, early childhood curriculum, quantitative assessment of preschool curriculum

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1064 Empirical Evidence to Beliefs and Perceptions on Mental Health Disorder and Substance Abuse: The Role of a Social Worker

Authors: Helena Baffoe

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The US has developed numerous programs over the past 50 years to enhance the lives of those who suffer from mental health illnesses and substance abuse, as well as the effectiveness of their treatments. Despite these advances over the past 50 years, there hasn't been a corresponding improvement in American public attitudes and beliefs about mental health disorders and substance abuse. Highly publicized acts of violence frequently elicit comments that blame the perpetrator's perceived mental health disorder since such people are thought to be substance abusers. Despite these strong public beliefs and perception about mental disorder and substance abuse, concreate empirical evidence that entail this perception is lacking, and evidence of their effectiveness has not been integrated. A rich data was collected from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) with a hypothesis that people who are diagnosed with a mental health disorder are likely to be diagnosed with substance abuse using logit regression analysis and Instrumental Variable. It was found that depressive, anxiety, and trauma/stressor mental disorders constitute the most common mental disorder in the United States, and the study could not find statistically significant evidence that being diagnosed with these leading mental health disorders in the United States does necessarily imply that such a patient is diagnosed with substances abuse. Thus, the public has a misconception of mental health and substance abuse issues, and social workers' responsibilities are outlined in order to assist ameliorate this attitude and perception.

Keywords: mental health disorder, substance abuse, role of a social worker, evidence based research

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1063 The Effect of Racism in the Media to Deal With Migration

Authors: Rasha Ali Dheyab, Edurad Vlad

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Migration is associated with other important global issues, including development, poverty, and human rights. Migrants are often the most dynamic members of society; historically, migration has supported economic development and the rise of nations and enriched cultures. It also presents significant challenges. The word ‘racism’ is not just about beliefs or statements; it also contains the ability to force those beliefs or world views as hegemonic and as a basis for the refusal of rights or equality. For this reason, racism is embedded in power relations of different types. Racism is not only an awareness of distinction and groups, but it also has extremely practical roles in maintaining: First, inequitable social power arrangements; and second, racist behavioral manifestations such as verbal rejection, avoidance, discrimination, physical attack, and elimination. The focus is on aspects of racism in the media to deal with the migration phenomenon. The reproduction and promotion of racism by certain areas of the media is not a simple and straightforward process. It is important to see how the media serves in the reproduction of racism. This article shows attitudes to migration as they have appeared in British periodicals over the last few years. One might conclude that the reproduction of racism by the media is not a simple and straightforward process. It has become obvious that the role of the media in the reproduction of racism is inextricably linked to the general characteristics of racism and white domination in society, particularly the structural and ideological structuring of that kind of group power. This highlights the press's function as a business, social, and cultural institution. The press has to be examined in connection to the institutions of the economic and political as well.

Keywords: British periodicals, culture studies, migration, racism

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1062 An Explanatory Study into the Information-Seeking Behaviour of Egyptian Beggars

Authors: Essam Mansour

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The key purpose of this study is to provide first-hand information about beggars in Egypt, especially from the perspective of their information seeking behaviour including their information needs. The researcher tries to investigate the information-seeking behaviour of Egyptian beggars with regard to their thoughts, perceptions, motivations, attitudes, habits, preferences as well as challenges that may impede their use of information. The research methods used were an adapted form of snowball sampling of a heterogeneous demographic group of participants in the beggary activity in Egypt. This sampling was used to select focus groups to explore a range of relevant issues. Data on the demographic characteristics of the Egyptian beggars showed that they tend to be men, mostly with no formal education, with an average age around 30s, labeled as low-income persons, mostly single and mostly Muslims. A large number of Egyptian beggars were seeking for information to meet their basic needs as well as their daily needs, although some of them were not able to identify their information needs clearly. The information-seeking behaviour profile of a very large number of Egyptian beggars indicated a preference for informal sources of information over formal ones to solve different problems and meet the challenges they face during their beggary activity depending on assistive devices, such as mobile phones. The high degree of illiteracy and the lack of awareness about the basic rights of information as well as information needs were the most important problems Egyptian beggars face during accessing information. The study recommended further research to be conducted about the role of the library in the education of beggars. It also recommended that beggars’ awareness about their information rights should be promoted through educational programs that help them value the role of information in their life.

Keywords: user studies, information-seeking behaviour, information needs, information sources, beggars, Egypt

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1061 Teacher Education: Exploring the Challenges of the Teaching Profession in Nigeria for Sustainable National Development

Authors: Ugabi John Ibak, Odey Boniface Ugbem

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Education is considered the bedrock of any meaningful developments and teacher education plays a critical role in this direction. Teacher education is the master keys that can alleviate poverty, promote peace, conserve the environment, improve the quality of life for all and help achieve all round sustain enable development in Nigeria and the world over. This paper X-rays the nature and character of the teaching profession, historical background to teacher education in Nigeria, national policy on education, problems of teacher education in Nigeria and prospects of teacher education for sustainable national development. The study shows that the misfortunes of the teacher education owes much to it historical antecedent. Also majorly, is the failure of government to adequately fund education at the various levels in the country. It was discovered that in the history of the nation no government has budgeted 13% of its annual budget (half of 26% UNESCO minimum) to education. This has resulted to poor infrastructure, inadequate equipment and poorly motivated personnel in all the nations public schools at all levels. Hence, the paper concludes that in spite of these overwhelming challenges, teachers have a lot of prospects both in the teaching profession and outside teaching.

Keywords: teacher education, teaching profession, sustainable national development, education, development

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1060 Emotion Oriented Students' Opinioned Topic Detection for Course Reviews in Massive Open Online Course

Authors: Zhi Liu, Xian Peng, Monika Domanska, Lingyun Kang, Sannyuya Liu

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Massive Open education has become increasingly popular among worldwide learners. An increasing number of course reviews are being generated in Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platform, which offers an interactive feedback channel for learners to express opinions and feelings in learning. These reviews typically contain subjective emotion and topic information towards the courses. However, it is time-consuming to artificially detect these opinions. In this paper, we propose an emotion-oriented topic detection model to automatically detect the students’ opinioned aspects in course reviews. The known overall emotion orientation and emotional words in each review are used to guide the joint probabilistic modeling of emotion and aspects in reviews. Through the experiment on real-life review data, it is verified that the distribution of course-emotion-aspect can be calculated to capture the most significant opinioned topics in each course unit. This proposed technique helps in conducting intelligent learning analytics for teachers to improve pedagogies and for developers to promote user experiences.

Keywords: Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), course reviews, topic model, emotion recognition, topical aspects

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1059 Patient Service Improvement in Public Emergency Department Using Discrete Event Simulation

Authors: Dana Mohammed, Fatemah Abdullah, Hawraa Ali, Najat Al-Shaer, Rawan Al-Awadhi, , Magdy Helal

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We study the patient service performance at the emergency department of a major Kuwaiti public hospital, using discrete simulation and lean concepts. In addition to the common problems in such health care systems (over crowdedness, facilities planning and usage, scheduling and staffing, capacity planning) the emergency department suffered from several cultural and patient behavioural issues. Those contributed significantly to the system problems and constituted major obstacles in maintaining the performance in control. This led to overly long waiting times and the potential of delaying providing help to critical cases. We utilized the visual management tools to mitigate the impact of the patients’ behaviours and attitudes and improve the logistics inside the system. In addition a proposal is made to automate the date collection and communication within the department using RFID-based barcoding system. Discrete event simulation models were developed as decision support systems; to study the operational problems and assess achieved improvements. The simulation analysis resulted in cutting the patient delays to about 35% of their current values by reallocating and rescheduling the medical staff. Combined with the application of the visual management concepts, this provided the basis to improving patient service without any major investments.

Keywords: simulation, visual management, health care system, patient

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1058 Gender Mainstreaming in Public Universities in Mexico

Authors: Carlos David Carrillo Trujillo, Rebelín Echeverría Echeverría, Nancy Evia Alamilla, Rocío Quintal López

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Gender as a social construct is a term now widely studied. Within the social sciences it has become very important. In this sense, psychology tries to make some contributions from your area. The intention is to promote equal opportunities for men and women. Social, employment and educational inequities perpetuate sexism, violence and other important social problems in Mexico. The gender perspective is conceptualized as a tool to promote laws, policies, plans, programs and procedures where women are made ​​visible and empowered. The aim of this is the pursuit of equality. Thus, gender mainstreaming is one of the main challenges of education in Mexico. Only a few universities have programs, research or subjects related to the topic. Human resources, and time allocated to teachers are identified as obstacles to the institutionalization of gender. The objective was to make a diagnosis on course offerings and policies on gender. A documentary study and interviews with managers of at least 20 higher education institutions (IES's) were performed. The results indicate the need for greater gender courses, research projects and intervention. The need to promote policies that seek equal opportunities between men and women is also noted.

Keywords: gender mainstreaming, institutionalization, universities, intervention

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1057 Divergences in Interpreters’ Oral Interpretation among Pentecostal Churches: Sermonic Reflections

Authors: Rufus Olufemi Adebayo, Sylvia Phiwani Zulu

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Interpreting in the setting of diverse language and multicultural congregants, is often understood as integrating the content of the message. Preaching, similar to any communication, takes seriously people’s multiple contexts. The one who provides the best insight into understanding “the other”, traditionally speaking could be an interpreter in a multilingual context. Nonetheless, there are reflections in the loss of spiritual communication, translation and interpretive dialogue. No matter how eloquent the preacher is, an interpreter can make or mere the sermon (speech). The sermon that the preacher preaches is not always the one the congregation hears from the interpreter. In other occurrences, however, interpreting can lead not only to distort messages but also to dissatisfied audiences and preacher being overshadowed by the pranks of the interpreter. Using qualitative methodology, this paper explores the challenges and the conventional assumptions about preachers’ interpreter as influenced by spirituality, culture, and language in empirical and theoretical perspectives. An emphasis on the bias translation and the basis of reality that suppresses or devalues the spiritual communication is examined. The result indicates that interpretation of the declaration of guilt, history of congregation, spirituality, attitudes, morals, customs, specific practices of a preacher, education, and the environment form an entangled and misinterpretation. The article concludes by re-examining these qualities and rearticulating them into a preliminary theory for practice, as distinguished from theory, which could possibly enhance the development of more sustainable multilingual interpretation in the South African Pentecostal churches.

Keywords: congregants, divergences, interpreting/translation, language & communication, sermon/preaching

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1056 Effect of Cultural Factors on Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Performance: A Study of Selected SMEs in Keffi Local Government Area, Nasarawa State

Authors: Kadiri Kayode Ibrahim

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Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play significant roles in the economic development of Nigeria. However, the performance of these SMEs is influenced by various factors, including cultural factors. Keffi Local Government Area (LGA) in Nasarawa State, Nigeria, has a large number of registered SMEs. Understanding the impact of cultural factors on the performance of these SMEs in Keffi LGA is essential for their growth and sustainability. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of cultural factors on the performance of selected SMEs in Keffi LGA, Nasarawa State. A cross-sectional survey research design was used to collect data from 165 purposefully selected SME owners out of the 283 registered SMEs in Keffi LGA. The data was collected using a questionnaire divided into three sections, and analysed using descriptive and ordinary least square regression (OLS). The results indicate that socio-cultural factors and ethical values have a positive and significant effect on the performance of SMEs in Keffi LGA, while attitude has a negative and significant effect on the performance of SMEs in Keffi LGA. Therefore, the study recommends that SMEs in Keffi LGA should understand the socio-cultural elements of their operating environment, adopt socio-cultural factors as elements to guide their planning and strategizing and take into consideration the ethical values of the business environment when offering new products or services. Additionally, SME Managers should take cognisance of people’s attitudes and use them to gauge their activities and ensure they support the overall performance of the business.

Keywords: cultural, factors, performance, SMEs

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1055 Correlates of Peer Influence and Resistance to HIV/AIDS Counselling and Testing among Students in Tertiary Institutions in Kano State, Nigeria

Authors: A. S. Haruna, M. U. Tambawal, A. A. Salawu

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The psychological impact of peer influence on its individual group members, can make them resist HIV/AIDS counselling and testing. This study investigated the correlate of peer influence and resistance to HIV/AIDS counselling and testing among students in tertiary institutions in Kano state, Nigeria. To achieve this, three null hypotheses were postulated and tested. Cross-Sectional Survey Design was employed in which 1512 sample was selected from a student population of 104,841.Simple Random Sampling was used in the selection. A self-developed 20-item scale called Peer Influence and Psychological Resistance Inventory (PIPRI) was used for data collection. Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMCC) via test-retest method was applied to estimate a reliability coefficient of 0.86 for the scale. Data obtained was analyzed using t-test and PPMCC at 0.05 level of confidence. Results reveal 26.3% (397) of the respondents being influenced by their peer group, while 39.8% showed resistance. Also, the t-tests and PPMCC statistics were greater than their respective critical values. This shows that there was a significant gender difference in peer influence and a difference between peer influence and resistance to HIV/AIDS counselling and testing. However, a positive relationship between peer influence and resistance to HIV/AIDS counselling and testing was shown. A major recommendation offered suggests the use of reinforcement and social support for positive attitudes and maintenance of safe behaviour among students who patronize HIV/AIDS counselling.

Keywords: peer group influence, HIV/AIDS counselling and testing, psychological resistance, students

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1054 Accentuation Moods of Blaming Utterances in Egyptian Arabic: A Pragmatic Study of Prosodic Focus

Authors: Reda A. H. Mahmoud

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This paper investigates the pragmatic meaning of prosodic focus through four accentuation moods of blaming utterances in Egyptian Arabic. Prosodic focus results in various pragmatic meanings when the speaker utters the same blaming expression in different emotional moods: the angry, the mocking, the frustrated, and the informative moods. The main objective of this study is to interpret the meanings of these four accentuation moods in relation to their illocutionary forces and pre-locutionary effects, the integrated features of prosodic focus (e.g., tone movement distributions, pitch accents, lengthening of vowels, deaccentuation of certain syllables/words, and tempo), and the consonance between the former prosodic features and certain lexico-grammatical components to communicate the intentions of the speaker. The data on blaming utterances has been collected via elicitation and pre-recorded material, and the selection of blaming utterances is based on the criteria of lexical and prosodic regularity to be processed and verified by three computer programs, Praat, Speech Analyzer, and Spectrogram Freeware. A dual pragmatic approach is established to interpret expressive blaming utterance and their lexico-grammatical distributions into intonational focus structure units. The pragmatic component of this approach explains the variable psychological attitudes through the expressions of blaming and their effects whereas the analysis of prosodic focus structure is used to describe the intonational contours of blaming utterances and other prosodic features. The study concludes that every accentuation mood has its different prosodic configuration which influences the listener’s interpretation of the pragmatic meanings of blaming utterances.

Keywords: pragmatics, pragmatic interpretation, prosody, prosodic focus

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1053 Security as the Key Factor in Contemporary Tourism: Specificities Identified from the Analysis of Responders' Attitudes

Authors: Petar Kurecic, Josipa Penic

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The paper represents a product of mentor-graduate student cooperation, developed at the graduate study of Business Economics, major Tourism. The analysis was made through the anonymous questionnaire filled by the respondents from Croatia. Following the latest threatening events and having in mind those yet to come, it can be concluded that no country can benefit from the tourism industry if at the same time does not develop its security system as an integral part of the standard tourist offer. Analyzing the trends in contemporary tourism, the safety and security issues became the decisive factors for the choice of a certain destination. Consequently, countries must not perceive security systems and measures as an unnecessary expense but as an essential element in organizing their tourist services. All hotels and respectable tourist agencies should have a crisis management, with detailed, thoroughly elaborated procedures for emergency situations. Tourists should be timely informed about the potential dangers and risks and the measures taken to prevent them, as well as on procedures for emergency situations. Additionally, it would be good to have mobile applications that would enable tourists to make direct emergency calls with instructions on behavior in crisis situations. It is also essential to implement and put into effect sophisticated security measures such as using surveillance cameras, controlling access to buildings, information exchange with colleagues and neighbors, reporting the suspicious occurrences to the security services, and training staff for crisis management. The security issue is definitely one of the crucial factors in the development of tourism in a certain country.

Keywords: security, security measures in tourism, tourism, tourist destinations

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1052 Urban and Rural Children’s Knowledge on Biodiversity in Bizkaia: Tree Identification Skills and Animal and Plant Listing

Authors: Joserra Díez, Ainhoa Meñika, Iñaki Sanz-Azkue, Arritokieta Ortuzar

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Biodiversity provides humans with a great range of ecosystemic services; it is therefore an indispensable resource and a legacy to coming generations. However, in the last decades, the increasing exploitation of the Planet has caused a great loss of biodiversity and its acquaintance has decreased remarkably; especially in urbanized areas, due to the decreasing attachment of humans to nature. Yet, the Primary Education curriculum primes the identification of flora and fauna to guarantee the knowledge of children on their surroundings, so that they care for the environment as well as for themselves. In order to produce effective didactic material that meets the needs of both teachers and pupils, it is fundamental to diagnose the current situation. In the present work, the knowledge on biodiversity of 3rd cycle Primary Education students in Biscay (n=98) and its relation to the size of the town/city of their school is discussed. Two tests have been used with such aim: one for tree identification and the other one so that the students enumerated the species of trees and animals they knew. Results reveal that knowledge of students on tree identification is scarce regardless the size of the city/town and of their school. On the other hand, animal species are better known than tree species.

Keywords: biodiversity, population, tree identification, animal identification

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1051 Instructional Leadership and Competency in Capacity Development among Principals: A Mediation with Self Efficacy in Moderate Performing Schools

Authors: Mohd Ibrahim K. Azeez, Mohammed Sani Ibrahim, Rosemawati Mustapa, Maisarah A. Malik, Chandrakala Varatharajoo, Wee Akina Sia Seng Lee

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The leadership of the principals is known to be a key indicator in development and school performance. Therefore, this study was undertaken to assess the extent of the influence of instructional leadership in the field of supervision and curriculum focus on capacity development competence in the field of communication and teamwork. In addition, this study also examines self-efficacy mediator school leadership in the field of self-improvement and self-management of school principals. The study involved 383 guest teachers from 55 secondary schools for leadership in schools. Data was analyzed using SEM aid program AMOS 21. The final result shows partial mediation model was the best model fit to obtain the best goodness of fit of (X2/df = 4.663, CFI = 0.922, GFI = 0.778, TLI = 0914, NFI = 0.903, and RMSEA = 0.098) compared to the direct effect model of the findings (X2/df = 5.319, CFI = 0.908, GFI = 0755, TLI = 0.899, NFI = 0.889, and RMSEA = 0.106). While the findings of the fully mediator model with a self-efficacy refers principals as a mediator as follows (X2/df = 4.838, CFI = 0918, GFI = 0772, TLI = 0.910, NFI = 0.899, and RMSEA = 0.100). Therefore, it can be concluded that the findings clearly demonstrate self-efficacy variables principals become a mediator in the relationship between instructional leadership capacity and competency development.

Keywords: instructional leadership, capacity development, self-efficacy, competency

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1050 Breaking the Stained-Glass Ceiling: Personality Traits and Ambivalent Sexism in Shaping Gender Income Equality

Authors: Shiza Shahid, Saba Shahid, Kenji Noguchi, Raegan Bishop, Elena Stepanova

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According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2020, in the United States, women who worked full-time earned only 82 cents for every dollar earned by men who worked full-time, year-round. This study examined how personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, openness to experience) interacts with ambivalent sexism to influence acceptance of gender income inequality. Using a quantitative method approach, this study collected data from a sample of N=150 students from Social Science Online Subject Pool (SONA). The study predicted that (a) extraversion and openness to experience would be positively related to acceptance of gender income inequality, while emotional stability and agreeableness would be negatively related to acceptance of gender income inequality, (b) Individuals who scored higher on measures of hostile sexism would show greater acceptance of gender income inequality than individuals who score higher on measures of benevolent sexism. The results were reported according to the predictions for the study. This study broadens the importance of addressing the underlying factors contributing to attitudes towards gender income inequality and contributes to ongoing efforts to achieve gender equality, which is important for promoting economic well-being.

Keywords: gender income ineqaulity, ambivalent sexism, personality traits, sustainable development goals

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1049 Using Peer Instruction in Physics of Waves for Pre-Service Science Teacher

Authors: Sumalee Tientongdee

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In this study, it was aimed to investigate Physics achievement of the pre-service science teacher studying in general science program at Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Bangkok, Thailand. The program has provided the new curriculum that focuses on 21st-century skills development. Active learning approaches are used to teach in all subjects. One of the active learning approaches Peer Instruction, or PI was used in this study to teach physics of waves as a compulsory course. It was conducted in the second semester from January to May of 2017. The concept test was given to evaluate pre-service science teachers’ understanding in concept of waves. Problem-solving assessment form was used to evaluate their problem-solving skill. The results indicated that after they had learned through Peer Instruction in physics of waves course, their concepts in physics of waves was significantly higher at 0.05 confident levels. Their problem-solving skill from the whole class was at the highest level. Based on the group interview on the opinions of using Peer Instruction in Physics class, they mostly felt that it was very useful and helping them understand more about physics, especially for female students.

Keywords: peer instruction, physics of waves, pre-service science teacher, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat university

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1048 An Analysis of Instruction Checklist Based on Universal Design for Learning

Authors: Yong Wook Kim

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The purpose of this study is to develop an instruction analysis checklist applicable to inclusive setting based on the Universal Design for Learning Guideline 2.0. To do this, two self-validation reviews, two expert validity reviews, and two usability evaluations were conducted based on the Universal Design for Learning Guideline 2.0. After validation and usability evaluation, a total of 36 items consisting of 4 items for each instruction was developed. In all questions, examples are presented for the purpose of reinforcing concrete. All the items were judged by the 3-point scale. The observation results were provided through a radial chart allowing SWOT analysis of the universal design for learning of teachers. The developed checklist provides a description of the principles and guidelines in the checklist itself as it requires a thorough understanding by the observer of the universal design for learning through prior education. Based on the results of the study, the instruction criteria, the specificity of the criteria, the number of questions, and the method of arrangement were discussed. As a future research, this study proposed the characteristics of application of universal design for learning for each subject, the comparison with the observation results through the self-report teaching tool, and the continual revision and supplementation of the lecture checklist.

Keywords: inclusion, universal design for learning, instruction analysis, instruction checklist

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1047 Dutch Schools: Their Ventilation Systems

Authors: Milad Golshan, Wim Zeiler

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During the last decade research was done to clarify the importance of good Indoor Air Quality in schools. As a result, measurements were undertaken in different types of schools to see whether naturally ventilated schools could provide adequate indoor conditions. Also, a comparison was made between schools with hybrid ventilation and those with complete mechanical ventilation systems. Recently a large survey was undertaken at 60 schools to establish the average current situation of schools in the Netherlands. The results of the questionnaires were compared with those of earlier measured schools. This allowed us to compare different types of schools as well as schools of different periods. Overall it leads to insights about the actual current perceived quality by the teachers as well as the pupils and enables to draw some conclusions about the typical performances of specific types of school ventilation systems. Also, the perceived thermal comfort and controllability were researched. It proved that in around 50% of the schools there were major complains about the indoor air quality causing concentration problems and headaches by the pupils at the end of class. Although the main focus of the latest research was focused more on the quality of recently finished nearly Zero Energy schools, this research showed that especially the main focus school be on the renovation and upgrading of the existing 10.000 schools in the Netherlands.

Keywords: school ventilation, indoor air quality, perceiver thermal comfort, comparison different types

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1046 Effects of Screen Time on Children from a Systems Engineering Perspective

Authors: Misagh Faezipour

Abstract:

This paper explores the effects of screen time on children from a systems engineering perspective. We reviewed literature from several related works on the effects of screen time on children to explore all factors and interrelationships that would impact children that are subjected to using long screen times. Factors such as kids' age, parent attitudes, parent screen time influence, amount of time kids spend with technology, psychosocial and physical health outcomes, reduced mental imagery, problem-solving and adaptive thinking skills, obesity, unhealthy diet, depressive symptoms, health problems, disruption in sleep behavior, decrease in physical activities, problematic relationship with mothers, language, social, emotional delays, are examples of some factors that could be either a cause or effect of screen time. A systems engineering perspective is used to explore all the factors and factor relationships that were discovered through literature. A causal model is used to illustrate a graphical representation of these factors and their relationships. Through the causal model, the factors with the highest impacts can be realized. Future work would be to develop a system dynamics model to view the dynamic behavior of the relationships and observe the impact of changes in different factors in the model. The different changes on the input of the model, such as a healthier diet or obesity rate, would depict the effect of the screen time in the model and portray the effect on the children’s health and other factors that are important, which also works as a decision support tool.

Keywords: children, causal model, screen time, systems engineering, system dynamics

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1045 The Role of the Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL) Textbook in the RFL System

Authors: Linda Torresin

Abstract:

This paper is devoted to the Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL) textbook, which is understood as a fundamental element of the RFL system. The aim of the study is to explore the role of the RFL textbook in modern RFL teaching theories and practices. It is suggested that the RFL textbook is not a secondary factor but contributes to the advancement and rewriting of both RFL theories and practices. This study applies to the RFL textbook theory's recent pedagogical developments in education. Therefore, the RFL system is conceived as a complex adaptive system whose elements (teacher, textbook, students, etc.) interact in a dynamic network of interconnections. In particular, the author shows that the textbook plays a central role in the RFL system since it may change and even renew RFL teaching from both theoretical and practical perspectives. On the one hand, in fact, the use of an RFL textbook may impact teaching theories: that is, the textbook may either consolidate preexisting theories or launch new approaches. On the other hand, the RFL textbook may also influence teaching practices by reinforcing the preexisting ones or encouraging teachers to try new strategies instead. All this allows the RFL textbook, within the RFL complex adaptive system, to exert an influence on the specific teaching contexts in which Russian is taught, interacting with the other elements of the system itself. Through its findings, this paper contributes to the advancement of research on RFL textbook theory.

Keywords: adaptive system, foreign language textbook, teaching Russian as a foreign language, textbook of Russian as a foreign language

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1044 Simulation Model for Evaluating the Impact of Adaptive E-Learning in the Agricultural Sector

Authors: Maria Nabakooza

Abstract:

Efficient agricultural production is very significant in attaining food sufficiency and security in the world. Many methods are employed by the farmers while attending to their gardens, from manual to mechanized, with Farmers range from subsistence to commercial depending on the motive. This creates a lacuna in the modes of operation in this field as different farmers will take different approaches. This has led to many e-Learning courses being introduced to address this gap. Many e-learning systems use advanced network technologies like Web services, grid computing to promote learning at any time and any place. Many of the existing systems have not inculcated the applicability of the modules in them, the tools to be used and further access whether they are the right tools for the right job. A thorough investigation into the applicability of adaptive eLearning in the agricultural sector has not been taken into account; enabling the assumption that eLearning is the right tool for boosting productivity in this sector. This study comes in to provide an insight and thorough analysis as to whether adaptive eLearning is the right tool for boosting agricultural productivity. The Simulation will adopt a system dynamics modeling approach as a way of examining causality and effect relationship. This study will provide teachers with an insight into which tools they should adopt in designing, and provide students the opportunities to achieve an orderly learning experience through adaptive navigating e-learning services.

Keywords: agriculture, adaptive, e-learning, technology

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1043 Representation of Islamophobia on Social Media: Facebook Comments Analysis

Authors: Nadia Syed

Abstract:

The digital age has inevitably changed the way in which hate crime is committed. The cyber world has become a highly effective means for individuals and groups to be targeted, harmed, and marginalized , largely through online medium. Facebook has become one of the fastest growing social media platforms. At the end of 2013, Facebook had 1,23bn monthly active users and 757 million daily users who log onto Facebook. Within this online space, there are also an increasing number of online virtual communities, and hate groups who are using this freedom to share a violent, Islamophobic and racist description which attempts to create a aggressive virtual environment. This paper is a research on the rise of Islamophobia and the role of media in spreading it. This paper focusing on how the media especially Facebook is portraying Islam as the religion which promotes violence and ultimately playing a significant role in the global rise of Islamophobia against Muslims. It is important to analyse these ‘new’ communities by monitoring the activities they conduct, because the material they post, potentially can have a harmful impact on community cohesion within society. Additionally, as a result of recent figures that shows an increase in online anti-Muslim abuse, there is a pertinent need to address the issue about Islamophobia on social media. On the whole, this study found Muslims being demonized and vilified online which had manifested through negative attitudes, discrimination, stereotypes, physical threats and online harassment which all had the potential to incite violence or prejudicial action because it disparages and intimidates a protected individual or group.

Keywords: Islamophobia, online, social media, facebook, internet, extremism

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1042 A Survey of Online User Perspectives and Age Profile in an Undergraduate Fundamental Business Technology Course

Authors: Danielle Morin, Jennifer D. E. Thomas, Raafat G. Saade, Daniela Petrachi

Abstract:

Over the past few decades, more and more students choose to enroll in online classes instead of attending in-class lectures. While past studies consider students’ attitudes towards online education and how their grades differed from in-class lectures, the profile of the online student remains a blur. To shed light on this, an online survey was administered to about 1,500 students enrolled in an undergraduate Fundamental Business Technology course at a Canadian University. The survey was comprised of questions on students’ demographics, their reasons for choosing online courses, their expectations towards the course, the communication channels they use for the course with fellow students and with the instructor. This paper focused on the research question: Do the perspectives of online students concerning the online experience, in general, and in the course in particular, differ according to age profile? After several statistical analyses, it was found that age does have an impact on the reasons why students select online classes instead of in-class. For example, it was found that the perception that an online course might be easier than in-class delivery was a more important reason for younger students than for older ones. Similarly, the influence of friends is much more important for younger students, than for older students. Similar results were found when analyzing students’ expectation about the online course and their use of communication tools. Overall, the age profile of online users had an impact on reasons, expectations and means of communication in an undergraduate Fundamental Business Technology course. It is left to be seen if this holds true across other courses, graduate and undergraduate.

Keywords: communication channels, fundamentals of business technology, online classes, pedagogy, user age profile, user perspectives

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1041 Peer-Review as a Means to Improve Students' Translation Skills

Authors: Bahia Braktia, Ahlem Ghamri

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Years ago, faculties and administrators realized that students entering college were not prepared for the academic sphere; however, as a type of collaborative learning, peer-review gave students a social context in which they could learn more efficiently. Peer-review has proven its effectiveness in higher education. Numerous studies have been conducted on peer review and its effects on the quality of students’ writing, and several publications recommended peer-review as part of the feedback process. Student writers showed a tendency towards making significant meaning-level revisions and surface-level revisions. Last but not least, studies reported that peer-review helps students develop their self-assessment skills as well as critical thinking. The use of peer-review has become well known and widely adopted to the L2 classroom environment. However, little is known about peer review on translation students. The purpose of this study was to investigate the students' perspective on peer-review, and whether this method affected the quality of their translation. A mixed method design was adopted. Students were requested to translate two texts from Arabic into English, and they gave and received structured feedback to their classmates' translations. A survey was administered, followed by semi-structured interviews, to examine the students' attitudes toward peer-review. The results of the study showed that peer-review was considered a good proofreading method for most students. The students also showed a positive attitude toward it, and they reported that they benefited from the interaction with their peers. The findings implied that the inclusion of peer-review can be an effective pedagogical practice for teaching translation and writing to foreign language learners.

Keywords: language teaching, feedback, peer-review, translation

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1040 Communicative Language Teaching in English as a Foreign Language Classrooms: An Overview of Secondary Schools in Bangladesh

Authors: Saifunnahar

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As a former English colony, the relationship of Bangladesh with the English language goes a long way back. English is taught as a compulsory subject in Bangladesh from an early age starting from grade 1 and continuing through the 12th, yet, students are not competent enough to communicate in English proficiently. To improve students’ English language competency, the Bangladesh Ministry of Education introduced communicative language teaching (CLT) methods in English classrooms in the 1990s. It has been decades since this effort was taken, but the students’ level of proficiency is still not satisfactory. The main reason behind this failure is that CLT-based teaching-learning methods have not been effectively implemented. Very little research has been conducted to address the issues English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms are facing to carry out CLT methodologies in secondary schools (grades 6 to 10) in Bangladesh. Though the secondary level is crucial for students’ language learning and retention, EFL classrooms are marked with various issues that make teaching-learning harder for teachers and students. This study provides an overview of the status of CLT in EFL classrooms and the reasons behind failing to implement CLT in secondary schools in Bangladesh through an analysis of the qualitative data collected from different literature. Based on the findings, effective approaches have been recommended to employ CLT in EFL classrooms.

Keywords: Bangladesh, communicative language teaching, English as a foreign language, secondary schools, pedagogy

Procedia PDF Downloads 155