Search results for: dual career couples

Authors: Zsofia Patyi

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While empirical studies under socialism in Hungary focused on the lawyer society as a whole, current research deals with law students in specific. The change of regime and the mutation of legal education have influenced the motivation, efficiency, social background and self-concept of law students. This shift needs to be acknowledged, and the education system improved for students and together with students. A new law student society requires a different legal education system, different legal studies, or, at the minimum, a different approach to teaching law. This is to ensure that competitive lawyers be trained who understand the constantly changing nature of the law and, as a result, can potentially transform or create legislation themselves. A number of developments can affect law students’ awareness of legal relations in a democratic state. In today’s Hungary, these decisive factors are primarily the new regulation of the financing of law students, and secondly, the new Hungarian constitution (henceforth: Alaptörvény), which has modified the base of the Hungarian legal system. These circumstances necessitate a new, comprehensive, and empirical, investigation of law students. To this end, our research team (comprising a professor, a Ph.D. student, and two law students), is conducting a new type of study in February 2017. The first stage of the research project uses the desktop method to open up the research antecedents. Afterward, a structured questionnaire draft will be designed and sent to the Head of Department of Sociology and the Associate Professor of the Department of Constitutional Law at the University of Szeged to have the draft checked and amended. Next, an open workshop for students and teachers will be organized with the aim to discuss the draft and create the final questionnaire. The research team will then contact each Hungarian university with a Faculty of Law to reach all 1st- and 4th-year law students. 1st-year students have not yet studied the Alaptörvény, while 4th-year students have. All students will be asked to fill in the questionnaire (in February). Results are expected to be in at the end of February. In March, the research team will report the results and present the conclusions. In addition, the results will be compared to previous researches. The outcome will help us answer the following research question: How should legal studies and legal education in Hungary be reformed in accordance with law students and the future lawyer society? The aim of the research is to (1) help create a new student- and career-centered teaching method of legal studies, (2) offer a new perspective on legal education, and (3) create a helpful and useful de lege ferenda proposal for the attorney general as regards legal education as part of higher education.

Keywords: change, constitution, investigation, law students, lawyer society, legal education, legal studies, motivation, reform

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Authors: William Thomas Worster

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This paper will highlight the failure of international adjudication to prevent a state from evading an order of provisional measures by simply issuing a diplomatic assurance to the court. This practice changes the positions of the litigants as equals before a court, prevents the court from inquiring into the reliability of the political pledge as it would with assurances from a state to an individual, and diminishes the court’s ability to control its own proceedings in the face of concerns over sovereignty. Both the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and International Court of Justice (ICJ) will entertain these kinds of unilateral pledges, but they consider them differently when the declaration is made between states or between a state and an individual, and when made directly to the court. In short, diplomatic assurances issued between states or to individuals are usually considered not to be legally binding and are essentially questions of fact, but unilateral assurances issued directly to an international court are questions of law, and usually legally binding. At the same time, orders for provisional measures are now understood also to be legally binding, yet international courts will sometimes permit a state to substitute an assurance in place of an order for provisional measures. This emerging practice has brought the nature of a state as a sovereign capable of creating legal obligations into the forum of adjudication where the parties should have equality of arms and permitted states to create legal obligations that escape inquiry into the reliability of the outcome. While most recent practice has occurred at the ICJ in state-to-state litigation, there is some practice potentially extending the practice to human rights courts. Especially where the litigants are factually unequal – a state and an individual – this practice is problematic since states could more easily overcome factual failings in their pledges and evade the control of the court. Consider, for example, the potential for evading non-refoulement obligations by extending the current diplomatic assurances practice from the state-to-state context to the state-to-court context. The dual nature of assurances, as both legal and factual instruments, should be considered as addressed to distinct questions, each with its own considerations, and that we need to be more demanding about their precise legal and factual effects.

Keywords: unilateral, diplomacy, assurances, undertakings, provisional measures, interim measures

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Authors: Tirimisiyu Olaide Gbadamosi

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Individuals go into business for the sake of obtaining regular income, becoming self-employed. Although, there different kinds of business enterprises that female and male can go into, often times, some businesses are regarded more suitable for a particular sex and not the other. This means that there is some gender discrimination in the choice of business one goes into and by extension in entrepreneurship development. Apparently, gender attitudes and behaviors will have positive or negative effects on entrepreneurship development in a society or economy. This research work therefore intends to take a critical look at gender discrimination as they affect entrepreneurship development with particular reference to northern Nigeria in general, using Exceptional Production Services Limited Kaduna, Kaduna North Local Government area as a case study, and also to suggest the possible solution to unidentified problems and give recommendation where necessary. Statement of research problem: Entrepreneurship has generally been recognised as a good medium or strategy for economic development of an individual, a community and a nation. It is also a known a known fact that some gender discrimination are often used in the choice of business or even the decision to go into business. For example, some businesses are regarded as more suitable to men than women. The question here is, is this the right approach to economic development through entrepreneurship? Of what effect is this approach to entrepreneurship development? These and the other questions are what this research intends to find answers to and if possible make recommendations. Significance of the study: The findings of this study will provide a guide for anyone for the establishment of a business in Nigeria. The study will help any prospective entrepreneur to make the right decision of which business to go into and how to contend with gender related issues that might influence its success in business. Furthermore, it is hoped that the study will assist the government and her agencies in the process in developing entrepreneurship development programs. Conclusion: There has been growing recognition that various types of discrimination do not always affect women and men in the same way. Moreover, gender discrimination may be intensified and facilitated by all other forms of discrimination. It has been increasingly recognized that without gender analysis of all forms of discrimination in business, including multiple forms of discrimination, and, in particular, in this context, related intolerance, violations of the human rights of women might escape detection and remedies to address racism may also fail to meet the needs of women and girls. It is also important that efforts to address gender discrimination incorporate approaches to the elimination of all forms of discrimination. Recommendation: Campaigning and raising awareness among young men and women, parents, teachers and employers about gender stereotypical attitudes towards academic performances and the likely consequences of overall educational choices for employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, career progression and earnings.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, economic development, small medium enterprises, gender discrimination

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Authors: Deog-Gyu Seo, Jin-Soo Ahn

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Objectives: Recently, the development of adhesive primers on stable bonding between zirconia and resin cement has been on the increase. The bond strength of zirconia-resin cement can be effectively increased with the treatment of primer composed of the adhesive monomer that can chemically bond with the oxide layer, which forms on the surface of zirconia. 10-methacryloyloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate (10-MDP) that contains phosphate ester and acidic monomer 4-methacryloxyethyl trimellitic anhydride(4-META) have been suggested as monomers that can form chemical bond with the surface oxide layer of zirconia. Also, these suggested monomers have proved to be effective zirconia surface treatment for bonding to resin cement. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of primer treatment on the bond strength of Zirconia-resin cement by using three different kinds of primers on the market. Methods: Zirconia blocks were prepared into 60 disk-shaped specimens by using a diamond saw. Specimens were divided into four different groups: first three groups were treated with zirconiaLiner(Sun Medical Co., Ltd., Furutaka-cho, Moriyama, Shiga, Japan), Alloy primer (Kuraray Noritake Dental Inc., Sakaju, Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan), and Universal primer (Tokuyama dental Corp., Taitou, Taitou-ku, Tokyo, Japan) respectively. The last group was the control with no surface treatment. Dual cured resin cement (Biscem, Bisco Inc., Schaumburg, IL, USA) was luted to each group of specimens. And then, shear bond strengths were measured by universal tesing machine. The significance of the result was statistically analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey test. The failure sites in each group were inspected under a magnifier. Results: Mean shear bond strength were 0.60, 1.39, 1.03, 1.38 MPa for control, Zirconia Liner (ZL), Alloy primer (AP), Universal primer (UP), respectively. Groups with application of each of the three primers showed significantly higher shear bond strength compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Among the three groups with the treatment, ZL and UP showed significantly higher shear bond strength than AP (p < 0.05), and there were no significant differences in mean shear bond strength between ZL and UP (p < 0.05). While the most specimens of control groups showed adhesive failure (80%), the most specimens of three primer-treated groups showed cohesive or mixed failure (80%).

Keywords: primer, resin cement, shear bond strength, zirconia

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Authors: Karen V. Lee

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The background and significance of this study involves an autoethnographic story that shares research results about how music and movies influence the suicide of a new music teacher working in a public school. The performative narrative duet demonstrates how music and movies highlight social issues when the new teacher cannot cope with allegations surrounding professional issues. Both university advisors are drawn into deep reflection about the wider political issues that arise around the transition from the student-teacher internship process to the teaching career with the stark reality of teaching profession in the 21st century. This performance of story and music creates a transformative composition of reading, hearing, feeling while provoking visceral and emotional responses. Sometimes, young teachers are forced to take a leave of absence to reflect upon their practice with adolescents. In this extreme circumstance, the outcome was suicide. The qualitative research method involves an autoethnographic story as the author is methodologist, theoretician, and participant. Sub-themes surround film, music education and how movie resources have influenced his tragic misguided decision regarding social, emotional, physical, spiritual, and practical strategies to cope with the allegations. Major findings from this story demonstrate how lived experiences can resonate the importance of providing more education and resources to new teachers. The research provides substantive contribution, aesthetic merit, as the impact of movies and music influences the suicide. The reflexive account of storied sensory experiences situated in culture settings becomes a way to describe and seek verisimilitude by evoking lifelike and believable feelings from others. Sadly, the circumstance surrounding the story involving the allegations of a teacher sexually harassing a student is not uncommon in society. However, the young teacher never received counseling to cope with the allegations but instead was influenced by music and movies and opted for suicide. In conclusion, stories share the implications for film and media studies as music and movies can encourage a moral mission to empower individuals with despair and emotional impairment to embrace professional support to assist with emotional and legal challenges encountered in the field of teaching. It is from media studies that education and awareness surrounding suicide can disseminate information about the tragic outcome.

Keywords: music, movies, suicide, narrative, autoethnography

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Authors: David Sarpong, Waleed Khursheed, Ernest Danquah, Erin Murphy

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Shigella is a pathogenic bacterium responsible for shigellosis, a severe diarrheal disease that claims the lives of immunocompromised individuals worldwide. To develop therapeutics against this disease, an understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogen’s physiology is crucial. Small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) have emerged as important regulators of bacterial physiology, including as components of toxin-antitoxin systems. In this study, we investigated the role of RyfA in S. flexneri physiology and virulence. RyfA, originally identified as an sRNA in Escherichia coli, is conserved within the Enterobacteriaceae family, including Shigella. Whereas two copies of ryfA are present in S. dysenteriae, all other Shigella species contain only one copy of the gene. Additionally, we identified a putative open reading frame within the RyfA transcript, suggesting that it may be a dual-functioning gene encoding a small protein in addition to its sRNA function. To study ryfA in vitro, we cloned the gene into an inducible plasmid and observed the effect on bacterial growth. Here, we report that RyfA production inhibits the growth of S. flexneri, and this inhibition is dependent on the contained open reading frame. In-silico analyses have revealed the presence of two divergently transcribed sRNAs, RyfB1 and RyfB2, which share nucleotide complementarity with RyfA and thus are predicted to function as anti-toxins. Our data demonstrate that RyfB2 has a stronger antitoxin effect than RyfB1. This regulatory pattern suggests a novel form of a toxin-antitoxin system in which the activity of a single toxin is inhibited to varying degrees by two sRNA antitoxins. Studies are ongoing to investigate the regulatory mechanism(s) of the antitoxin genes, as well as the downstream targets and mechanism of growth inhibition by the RyfA toxin. This study offers distinct insights into the regulatory mechanisms underlying Shigella physiology and may inform the development of new anti-Shigella therapeutics.

Keywords: sRNA, shigella, toxin-antitoxin, Type 1 toxin antitoxin

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Authors: Lamia Emam

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The attractiveness of entrepreneurship education stems from its perceived value as a venue through which students can develop an entrepreneurial mindset, skill set, and practice, which may not necessarily lead to them starting a new business, but could, more importantly, be manifested as a life skill that could be applied to all types of organizations and career endeavors. This, in turn, raises important questions about what happens in our classrooms; our role as educators, the role of students, center of learning, and the instructional approach; all of which eventually contribute to achieving the desired EE outcomes. With application to an undergraduate entrepreneurship course -Entrepreneurship as Practice- the current paper aims to explore the effect of entrepreneurship education on the development of students’ general entrepreneurial tendencies. Towards that purpose, the researcher herein uses a pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental research design where the Durham University General Enterprising Tendency Test (GET2) is administered to the same group of students before and after course delivery. As designed and delivered, the Entrepreneurship as Practice module is a highly applied and experiential course where students are required to develop an idea for a start-up while practicing the entrepreneurship-related knowledge, mindset, and skills that are taught in class, both individually and in groups. The course is delivered using a combination of short lectures, readings, group discussions, case analysis, guest speakers, and, more importantly, actively engaging in a series of activities that are inspired by diverse methods for developing successful and innovative business ideas, including design thinking, lean-start up and business feasibility analysis. The instructional approach of the course particularly aims at developing the students' critical thinking, reflective, analytical, and creativity-based problem-solving skills that are needed to launch one’s own start-up. The analysis and interpretation of the experiment’s outcomes shall simultaneously incorporate the views of both the educator and students. As presented, the study responds to the rising call for the application of experimental designs in entrepreneurship in general and EE in particular. While doing so, the paper presents an educator’s perspective of EE to complement the dominant stream of research which is constrained to the students’ point of view. Finally, the study sheds light on EE in the MENA region, where the study is applied.

Keywords: entrepreneurship education, andragogy and heutagogy, scholarship of teaching and learning, experiment

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Authors: Chen Chuanzhi, Guo Yunyun

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The large linear array feeding parabolic cylindrical antenna of the satellite has the ability of large-area line focusing, multi-directional beam clusters simultaneously in a certain azimuth plane and elevation plane, corresponding quickly to different orientations and different directions in a wide frequency range, dual aiming of frequency and direction, and combining space power. Therefore, the large-diameter parabolic cylindrical antenna has become one of the new development directions of spaceborne antennas. Limited by the size of the rocked fairing, the large-diameter spaceborne antenna is required to be small mass and have a deployment function. After being orbited, the antenna can be deployed by expanding and be stabilized. However, few types of structures can be used to construct large cylindrical shell structures in existing structures, which greatly limits the development and application of such antennas. Aiming at high structural efficiency, the geometrical characteristics of parabolic cylinders and mechanism topological mapping law to the expandable truss are studied, and the basic configuration of deployable truss with cylindrical shell is structured. Then a modular truss parabolic cylindrical antenna is designed in this paper. The antenna has the characteristics of stable structure, high precision of reflecting surface formation, controllable motion process, high storage rate, and lightweight, etc. On the basis of the overall configuration comprehensive theory and optimization method, the structural stiffness of the modular truss parabolic cylindrical antenna is improved. And the bearing density and impact resistance of support structure are improved based on the internal tension optimal distribution method of reflector forming. Finally, a truss-type cylindrical deployable support structure with high constriction-deployment ratio, high stiffness, controllable deployment, and low mass is successfully developed, laying the foundation for the application of large-diameter parabolic cylindrical antennas in satellite antennas.

Keywords: linear array feed antenna, truss type, parabolic cylindrical antenna, spaceborne antenna

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Authors: Xue Li, Hui Xu

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Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a clinical stage that occurs between normal aging and dementia. Although MCI increases the risk of developing dementia, individuals with MCI may maintain stable cognitive function and even recover to a typical cognitive state. An intervention to prevent or delay the progression to dementia in individuals with MCI may involve promoting social engagement. Social participation is the engagement in socially relevant social exchanges and meaningful activities. Older adults with MCI may encounter restricted cognitive abilities, mood changes, and behavioral difficulties during social participation, influencing their willingness to engage. Therefore, this study aims to employ qualitative research methods to gain an in-depth comprehension of the authentic social participation experiences of older adults with mild cognitive impairment, which will establish a foundation for designing appropriate intervention programs. A phenomenological research was conducted. The study participants were selected using the purposive sampling method in combination with the maximum differentiation sampling strategy. Face-to-face semistructured interviews were conducted among 12 elderly individuals suffering from mild cognitive impairment in a community in Zhengzhou City from May to July 2023. Colaizzi 7-step method was used to analyze the data and extract the theme. The real experience of social participation in older adults with mild cognitive impairment can be summarized into 3 themes: (1) a single social relationship but a strong desire to participate, (2) a dual experience of social participation with both positive and negative aspects, (3) multiple barriers to social participation, including impaired memory capacity, heavy family responsibilities and lack of infrastructure. The study found that elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment and one social interaction display an increased desire to engage in society. To improve social participation levels and reduce cognitive function decline, healthcare providers should work with relevant government agencies and the community to create a comprehensive social participation system. It is important for healthcare providers to note the social participation status of the elderly with mild cognitive impairment.

Keywords: mild cognitive impairment, the elderly, social participation, qualitative research

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Authors: Louise Bunce, Jill Childs, Adam J. Lonsdale, Naomi King

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A major concern for the Social Work profession concerns the frequency of burn-out and high turnover of staff. The characteristic of resilience has been identified as playing a crucial role in social workers’ ability to have a satisfying and successful career. Thus a critical role for social work education is to develop resilience in social work students. We currently need to know more about how to train resilient social workers who will also increase the academic standing of the profession. The specific aim of this research was to quantify characteristics that may contribute towards resilience and academic success among student social workers in order to mitigate against the problems of burn-out and low academic standing. These three characteristics were competence (effectiveness at mastering the environment), autonomy (sense of control and free will), and relatedness (interacting and connecting with others), as specified in Self-Determination Theory (SDT). When these three needs are satisfied, we experience higher degrees of motivation to succeed and wellbeing. Thus when these three needs are met in social work students, they have the potential to raise academic standards and promote wellbeing characteristics that contribute to the development of resilience. The current study tested the hypothesis that higher levels of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, as defined by SDT, will predict levels of academic success and resilience in social work students. Two hundred and ten social work students studying at a number of universities completed well-established questionnaires to assess autonomy, competence, and relatedness, level of academic performance and resilience (The Brief Resilience Scale). In this scale, students rated their agreement with items e.g., ‘I bounce back quickly after hard times’ and ‘I usually come through difficult times with little struggle’. After controlling for various factors, including age, gender, ethnicity, and course (undergraduate or postgraduate) preliminary analysis revealed that the components of SDT provided useful predictive value for academic success and resilience. In particular, autonomy and competence provided a useful predictor of academic success while relatedness was a particularly useful predictor of resilience. This study demonstrated that SDT provides a valuable framework for helping to understand what predicts academic success and resilience among social work students. This is relevant because the psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness can be affected by external social and cultural pressures, thus they can be improved by the right type of supportive teaching practices and educational environments. These findings contribute to the growing evidence-base to help build an academic and resilient social worker student body and workforce.

Keywords: education, resilience, self-determination theory, student social workers

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Authors: Yu-Chen Wei

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The relationship between organizational human capital and organizational effectiveness have been a common topic of interest to organization researchers. Much of this research has concluded that higher human capital can predict greater organizational outcomes. Whereas human capital research has traditionally focused on organizations, the current study turns to the team level human capital. In addition, there are no known empirical studies assessing the effect of human capital divergence on team performance. Team human capital refers to the sum of knowledge, ability, and experience embedded in team members. Team human capital divergence is defined as the variation of human capital within a team. This study is among the first to assess the role of human capital divergence as a moderator of the effect of team human capital on team performance. From the traditional perspective, team human capital represents the collective ability to solve problems and reducing operational risk of all team members. Hence, the higher team human capital, the higher the team performance. This study further employs social learning theory to explain the relationship between team human capital and team performance. According to this theory, the individuals will look for progress by way of learning from teammates in their teams. They expect to have upper human capital, in turn, to achieve high productivity, obtain great rewards and career success eventually. Therefore, the individual can have more chances to improve his or her capability by learning from peers of the team if the team members have higher average human capital. As a consequence, all team members can develop a quick and effective learning path in their work environment, and in turn enhance their knowledge, skill, and experience, leads to higher team performance. This is the first argument of this study. Furthermore, the current study argues that human capital divergence is negative to a team development. For the individuals with lower human capital in the team, they always feel the pressure from their outstanding colleagues. Under the pressure, they cannot give full play to their own jobs and lose more and more confidence. For the smart guys in the team, they are reluctant to be colleagues with the teammates who are not as intelligent as them. Besides, they may have lower motivation to move forward because they are prominent enough compared with their teammates. Therefore, human capital divergence will moderate the relationship between team human capital and team performance. These two arguments were tested in 510 team-seasons drawn from major league baseball (1998–2014). Results demonstrate that there is a positive relationship between team human capital and team performance which is consistent with previous research. In addition, the variation of human capital within a team weakens the above relationships. That is to say, an individual working with teammates who are comparable to them can produce better performance than working with people who are either too smart or too stupid to them.

Keywords: human capital divergence, team human capital, team performance, team level research

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Authors: Sreekanth Reddy Ballarapu

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The perception of the whole process of teaching and learning is undergoing a drastic and radical change. More and more student-centered, pragmatic, and flexible approaches are gradually replacing teacher-centered lecturing and structural-syllabus instruction. The issue of teaching English as a Foreign language is no exception in this regard. The traditional Present-Practice-Produce (P-P-P) method of teaching English is overtaken by Task-Based Teaching which is a subsidiary branch of Communicative Language Teaching. At this juncture this article strongly tries to convey that - Task-based learning, has an advantage over other traditional methods of teaching. All teachers of English must try to customize their texts into productive tasks, apply them, and evaluate the students as well as themselves. Task Based Learning is a double edged tool which can enhance the performance of both the teacher and the taught. The sample for this case study is a class of 35 students from Semester III - Network branch at TVTC College of Technology, Adhum - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The students are high school passed out and aged between 19-21years.For the present study the prescribed textbook Technical English 1 by David Bonamy was used and a number of language tasks were chalked out during the pre- task stage and the learners were made to participate voluntarily and actively. The Action Research methodology was adopted within the dual framework of Communicative Language Teaching and Task-Based Learning. The different tools such as questionnaires, feedback and interviews were used to collect data. This study provides information about various techniques of Communicative Language Teaching and Task Based Learning and focuses primarily on the advantages of using a Task Based Learning approach. This article presents in detail the objectives of the study, the planning and implementation of the action research, the challenges encountered during the execution of the plan, and the pedagogical outcome of this project. These research findings serve two purposes: first, it evaluates the effectiveness of Task Based Learning and, second, it empowers the teacher's professionalism in designing and implementing the tasks. In the end, the possibility of scope for further research is presented in brief.

Keywords: action research, communicative language teaching, task based learning, perception

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Authors: Masanori Kimura

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Due to the decline of the 18-year-old population, Japanese universities have a tendency to convert their form of employment from tenured positions to fixed-term positions for newly hired teachers. The advantage of this is that universities can be more flexible in their employment plans in case they fail to fill the enrollment of quotas of prospective students or they need to supplement teachers who can engage in other academic fields or research areas where new demand is expected. The most serious disadvantage of this, however, is that if secure positions cannot be provided to faculty members, there is the possibility that coherence of education and continuity of research supported by the university cannot be achieved. Therefore, the question of this presentation is as follows: Are universities aiming to give first priority to management, or are they trying to prioritize educational and research rather than management? To answer this question, the author examined the number of job offerings for college foreign language teachers posted on the JREC-IN (Japan Research Career Information Network, which is run by Japan Science and Technology Agency) website from April 2012 to October 2015. The results show that there were 1,002 and 1,056 job offerings for tenured positions and fixed-term contracts respectively, suggesting that, overall, today’s Japanese universities show a tendency to give first priority to management. More detailed examinations of the data, however, show that the tendency slightly varies depending on the types of universities. National universities which are supported by the central government and state universities which are supported by local governments posted more job offerings for tenured positions than for fixed-term contracts: national universities posted 285 and 257 job offerings for tenured positions and fixed-term contracts respectively, and state universities posted 106 and 86 job offerings for tenured positions and fixed-term contracts respectively. Yet the difference in number between the two types of employment status at national and state universities is marginal. As for private universities, they posted 713 job offerings for fixed-term contracts and 616 offerings for tenured positions. Moreover, 73% of the fixed-term contracts were offered for low rank positions including associate professors, lectures, and so forth. Generally speaking, those positions are offered to younger teachers. Therefore, this result indicates that private universities attempt to cut their budgets yet expect the same educational effect by hiring younger teachers. Although the results have shown that there are some differences in personal strategies among the three types of universities, the author argues that all three types of universities may lose important human resources that will take a pivotal role at their universities in the future unless they urgently review their employment strategies.

Keywords: higher education, management, employment status, foreign language education

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Authors: A. Ham, A. Kuckert-Wostheinrich

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Demographic changes, like the ageing population in European countries and shortage of nursing staff, the increasing number of people with severe cognitive impairment, and elderly socially isolated people raise important questions about who will provide long-term care for ageing citizens. Due to the so-called refugee crisis in 2015, some health care institutions for ageing citizens in Europe invited first generation immigrants to start a nursing career and providing them language skills, nursing training, and internships. The aim of this ethnographic research was to explore the social processes affecting workforce integration and how newcomers enact good care in ageing citizens in a German nursing home. By ethnographic fieldwork, 200 hours of participant observations, 25 in-depth interviews with immigrants and established staff, 2 focus groups with 6 immigrants, and 6 established staff members, data were analysed. The health care institution provided the newcomers a nursing program on psychogeriatric theory and nursing skills in the psychogeriatric field and professional oriented language skills. Courses of health prevention and theater plays accompanied the training. The knowledge learned in education could be applied in internships on the wards. Additionally, diversity and inclusivity courses were given to established personal for cultural awareness and sensitivity. They learned to develop a collegial attitude of respect and appreciation, regardless of gender, nationality, ethnicity, religion or belief, age sexual orientation, or disability and identity. The qualitative data has shown that social processes affected workforce integration, like organizational constraints, staff shortages, and a demanding workload. However, zooming in on the interactions between newcomers and residents, we noticed how they tinkered to enact good care by embodied caring, playing games, singing and dancing. By situational acting and practical wisdom in nursing care, the newcomers could meet the needs of ageing residents. Thus, when health care institutions open up nursing programs for newcomers with refugees’ backgrounds and focus on talent instead of shortcomings, we might as well stimulate the unknown competencies, attitudes, skills, and expertise of newcomers and create excellent nurses for excellent care.

Keywords: established staff, Germany, nursing, refugees

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Authors: L. Agneni, F. Carta, C. Micheletta, V. Tersigni

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The development of a qualitative method to profile jobseekers is needed to improve the quality of the Public Employment Services (PES) in Italy. This is why the National Agency for Active Labour Market Policies (ANPAL) decided to introduce a Qualitative Profiling Service in the context of the activities carried out by local employment offices’ operators. The qualitative profiling service provides information and data regarding the jobseeker’s personal transition status, through a semi-structured questionnaire administered to PES clients during the guidance interview. The questionnaire responses allow PES staff to identify, for each client, proper activities and policy measures to support jobseekers in their reintegration into the labour market. Data and information gathered by the qualitative profiling tool are the following: frequency, modalities and motivations for clients to apply to local employment offices; clients’ expectations and skills; difficulties that they have faced during the previous working experiences; strategies, actions undertaken and activated channels for job search. These data are used to assess jobseekers’ personal and career characteristics and to measure their employability level (qualitative profiling index), in order to develop and deliver tailor-made action programmes for each client. This paper illustrates the use of the above-mentioned qualitative profiling service on the national territory and provides an overview of the main findings of the survey: concerning the difficulties that unemployed people face in finding a job and their perception of different aspects related to the transition in the labour market. The survey involved over 10.000 jobseekers registered with the PES. Most of them are beneficiaries of the “citizens' income”, a specific active labour policy and social inclusion measure. Furthermore, data analysis allows classifying jobseekers into a specific group of clients with similar features and behaviours, on the basis of socio-demographic variables, customers' expectations, needs and required skills for the profession for which they seek employment. Finally, the survey collects PES staff opinions and comments concerning clients’ difficulties in finding a new job and also their strengths. This is a starting point for PESs’ operators to define adequate strategies to facilitate jobseekers’ access or reintegration into the labour market.

Keywords: labour market transition, public employment services, qualitative profiling, vocational guidance

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Authors: Lianne M. Q. Lee, Mohammed Sharaf Shaiban

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The importance of bank liquidity management took center stage as policy makers promoted a more resilient global banking system after the market turmoil of 2007. The growing recognition of Islamic banks’ function of intermediating funds in the economy warrants the need to investigate its balance sheet structure which is distinct from its conventional counterparts. Given that asymmetric risk, transformation is inevitable; Islamic banks need to identify the liquidity risk within their distinctive balance sheet structure. Thus, there is a strong need to quantify and assess the liquidity position to ensure proper functioning of a financial institution. It is vital to measure bank liquidity because liquid banks face less liquidity risk. We examine this issue by using two alternative quantitative measures of liquidity creation “cat fat” and “cat nonfat” constructed by Berger and Bouwman (2009). “Cat fat” measures all on balance sheet items including off balance sheet, whilst the latter measures only on balance sheet items. Liquidity creation is measured over the period 2007-2014 in 14 countries where Islamic and conventional commercial banks coexist. Also, separately by bank size class as empirical studies have shown that liquidity creation varies by bank size. An interesting and important finding shows that all size class of Islamic banks, on average have increased creation of aggregate liquidity in real dollar terms over the years for both liquidity creation measures especially for large banks indicating that Islamic banks actually generates more liquidity to the economy compared to its conventional counterparts, including from off-balance sheet items. The liquidity creation for off-balance sheets by conventional banks may have been affected by the global financial crisis when derivatives markets were severely hit. The results also suggest that Islamic banks have the higher volume of assets and deposits and that borrowing/issues of bonds are less in Islamic banks compared to conventional banks because most products are interest-based. As Islamic banks appear to create more liquidity than conventional banks under both measures, it translates that the development of Islamic banking is significant over the decades since its inception. This finding is encouraging as, despite Islamic banking’s overall size, it represents growth opportunities for these countries.

Keywords: financial institution, liquidity creation, liquidity risk, policy and regulation

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Authors: David Lynch, Jake Madden

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There exists a body of literature that reports on the many benefits of partnerships between universities and schools, especially in terms of teaching improvement and school reform. This is because such partnerships can build significant teaching capital, by deepening and expanding the skillsets and mindsets needed to create the connections that support ongoing and embedded teacher professional development and career goals. At the same time, this literature is critical of such initiatives when the partnership outcomes are short- term or one-sided, misaligned to fundamental problems, and not expressly focused on building the desired teaching capabilities. In response to this situation, research conducted by Professor David Lynch and his TeachLab research team, has begun to shed light on the strengths and limitations of school/university partnerships, via the identification of key conceptual elements that appear to act as critical partnership success factors. These elements are theorised as an inter-play between professional knowledge acquisition, readiness, talent management and organisational structure. However, knowledge of how these elements are established, and how they manifest within the school and its teaching workforce as an overall system, remains incomplete. Therefore, research designed to more clearly delineate these elements in relation to their impact on school/university partnerships is thus required. It is within this context that this paper reports on the development and testing of a Professional Learning (PL) model for schools and their teachers that incorporates school-university research partnering within a systematic, whole-of-school PL strategy that is underpinned and structured by a micro-credentialing (MC) regime. MC involves learning a narrow-focused certificate (a micro-credential) in a specific topic area (e.g., 'How to Differentiate Instruction for English as a second language Students') and embedded in the teacher’s day-to-day teaching work. The use of MC is viewed as important to the efficacy and sustainability of teacher PL because it (1) provides an evidence-based framework for teacher learning, (2) has the ability to promote teacher social capital and (3) engender lifelong learning in keeping professional skills current in an embedded and seamless to work manner. The associated research is centred on a primary school in Australia (P-6) that acted as an arena to co-develop, test/investigate and report on outcomes for teacher PL that uses MC to support a whole-of-school partnership with a university.

Keywords: teaching improvement, teacher professional learning, talent management, education partnerships, school-university research

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Authors: Fateme Montazeri

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Literary approaches towards the text of the Quran predate the modern period. Suyuti (d.1505)’s encyclopedia of Quranic sciences, Al-Itqan, provides a notable example. In the modern era, the study of the Quranic rhetorics received particular attention in the second half of the twentieth century by Egyptian scholars. Amin Al-Khouli (d. 1966), who might be considered the first to argue for the necessity of applying a literary-rhetorical lens toward the tafseer, Islamic exegesis, and his students championed the literary analysis as the most effective approach to the comprehension of the holy text. Western scholars continued the literary criticism of the Islamic scripture by applying to the Quran similar methodologies used in biblical studies. In the history of the literary examination of the Quran, the scope of the critical methods applied to the Quranic text has been limited. For, the rhetorical approaches to the Quran, in the premodern as well as the modern period, concerned almost exclusively with the lexical layer of the text, leaving the narratological dimensions insufficiently examined. Recent contributions, by Leyla Ozgur Alhassen, for instance, attempt to fill this lacunae. This paper aims at advancing the studies of the Quranic narratives by investigating the application of a literary device whose role in the Quranic stories remains unstudied, that is, “foreshadowing.” This paper shall focus on Chapter 12, “Surah al-Yusuf,” as its case study. Chapter 12, the single chapter that includes the story of Joseph in one piece, contains several instances in which the events of the story are foreshadowed. As shall be discussed, foreshadowing occurs either through a monolog or dialogue whereby one or more of the characters allude to the future happenings or through the manner in which the setting is described. Through a close reading of the text, it will be demonstrated that the usage of the rhetorical tool of foreshadowing meets a dual purpose: on the one hand, foreshadowing prepares the reader/audience for the upcoming events in the plot, and on the other hand, it highlights the psychological dimensions of the characters, their thoughts, intentions, and disposition. In analyzing the story, this study shall draw on psychoanalytical criticism to explore the layers of meanings embedded in the Quranic narrative that are unfolded through foreshadowing.

Keywords: foreshadowing, quranic narrative, literary criticism, surah yusuf

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Authors: Mohd Fairus Humar, Ibrahim Sulaiman, Pedro Cruz, Hasry Harun

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This paper presents the propose knowledge transfer program on railway signaling and communication by Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Thales Portugal. The fundamental issue is that there is no rail related course offered by local universities and colleges in Malaysia which could be an option to pursue student career path. Currently, dedicated trainings related to the rail technology are provided by in-house training academies established by the respective rail operators such as Malaysia Railway Academy (MyRA) and Rapid Rail Training Centre. In this matter, the content of training and facilities need to be strengthened to keep up-to-date with the dynamic evolvement of the rail technology. This is because rail products have evolved to be more sophisticated and embedded with high technology components which no longer exist in the mechanical form alone but combined with electronics, information technology and others. These demand for a workforce imbued with knowledge, multi-skills and competency to deal with specialized technical areas. Talent is needed to support sustainability in Southeast Asia. Keeping the above factors in mind, an Industrial Collaboration Program (ICP) was carried out to transfer knowledge on curricula of railway signaling and communication to a selected railway operators and tertiary educational institution in Malaysia. In order to achieve the aim, a partnership was formed between Technical Depository Agency (TDA), Thales Portugal and MyRA for two years with three main stages of program implementation comprising of: i) training on basic railway signaling and communication for 1 month with Thales in Malaysia; ii) training on advance railway signaling and communication for 4 months with Thales in Portugal and; iii) a series of workshop. Two workshops were convened to develop and harmonize curricula of railway signaling and communication course and were followed by one training for installation equipment of railway signaling and Controlled Train Centre (CTC) system from Thales Portugal. With active involvement from Technical Depository Agency (TDA), railway operators, universities, and colleges, in planning, executing, monitoring, control and closure, the program module of railway signaling and communication course with a lab railway signaling field equipment and CTC simulator were developed. Through this program, contributions from various parties help to build committed societies to engage important issues in relation to railway signaling and communication towards creating a sustainable future.

Keywords: knowledge transfer program, railway signaling and communication, curricula, module and teaching aid simulator

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Authors: Roger M. Wall, David G. Proverbs, Yamina Silva, Danny Scipion

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This paper critically reviews the outcomes of a 4 day workshop focused on building resilience to El Niño related Flood Events in northern Perú. The workshop was run jointly by Birmingham City University (BCU) in partnership with Instituto Geofísico del Perú (IGP) and was hosted by the Universidad de Piura (UDEP). The event took place in August 2018 and was funded by the Newton-Paulet fund administered by the British Council. The workshop was a response to the severe flooding experienced in Piura during the El Niño event of March 2017 which damaged over 100,000 homes and destroyed much local infrastructure including around 100 bridges. El Niño is a recurrent event and there is concern that its frequency and intensity may change in the future as a consequence of climate change. A group of 40 early career researchers and practitioners from the UK and Perú were challenged with working together across disciplines to identify key cross-cutting themes and make recommendations for building resilience to similar future events. Key themes identified on day 1 of the workshop were governance; communities; risk information; river management; urban planning; health; and infrastructure. A field study visit took place on day 2 so that attendees could gain first-hand experience of affected and displaced communities. Each of the themes was then investigated in depth on day 3 by small interdisciplinary teams drawing on their own expertise, local knowledge and the experiences of the previous day’s field trip. Teams were responsible for developing frameworks for analysis of their chosen theme and presenting their findings to the whole group. At this point, teams worked together to develop links between the different themes so that an integrated approach could be developed and presented on day 4. This paper describes the approaches taken by each team and the way in which these were integrated to form an holistic picture of the whole system. The findings highlighted the importance of risk-related information and the need for strong governance structures to enforce planning regulations and development. The structured facilitation approach proved to be very effective and it is recommended that the process be repeated with a broader group of stakeholders from across the region.

Keywords: El Niño, integrated flood risk management, Perú, structured facilitation, systems approach, resilience

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Authors: Saeed Ullah Jan, Muhammad Ali, Misbah Ullah Awan

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Purpose: This study investigated the information needs and seeking behaviour, and hurdles to information seeking of Post Graduate students of Kohat University of Science and Technology (KUST), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It focused on the information requirements of the post-graduate students of the university, the pattern they use for seeking information, and the difficulties they face while seeking information. Design/Methodology/approach: This study used a quantitative approach, adapting a survey questionnaire method for data collection. The population of this study was composed of M.Phil. and Ph.D. students of 2019 and 2020 in the faculties of Physical and Numerical Sciences, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Social Sciences of KUST. The sample size was 260. Students were selected randomly. The study response rate was 77%, and data were analyzed through SPSS (22 versions). Key findings: The study revealed that Most students' information needs were for study and research activities, new knowledge, and career development. To fulfill these needs, the scholars use various sources and resources. The sources they used for information needs were journal articles, textbooks, and research projects commonly. For the information-seeking purpose, often, students prefer books that have some importance. The other factors that played an essential role in selecting material were topical relevance, Novelty, Recommended by colleagues, and publisher's reputation. Most of the students thought that Book Exhibitions, Open Access systems in the Library, and the Display of new arrivals could enhance the students' information-seeking. The main problem seeking information was faced by them was a shortage of printed information resources. Overall they wanted more facilities, enhancement in the library collection, and better services. Delimitations of the study: This study has not included 1) BS and M.Sc. Students of KUST; 2) The colleges and institutions affiliated with KUST; 3) This study was delimited only to the Post Graduate students of KUST. Practical implication(s): The findings of the study motivate the policymakers and authorities of KUST to restructure the information literacy programs to fulfill the scholars' information needs. It may inform the policymakers to know the difficulties faced by scholars during information seeking. Contribution to the knowledge: No significant work has been done on the students' information needs and seeking behaviour at KUST. The study analyzed the information needs and seeking behaviour of post graduate students. It brought a clear picture of information needs and seeking behaviour of scholars and addressed the problems faced by them during the seeking process.

Keywords: information needs of Pakistan, information-seeking behaviors, postgraduate students, university libraries, Kohat university of science and technology, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

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Authors: Rui-heng Ray Huang

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This study compares the syntax and semantics of two kinds of passives in Mandarin Chinese: bèi passives and yóu passives. To express a Chinese equivalent for ‘The thief was taken away by the police,’ either bèi or yóu can be used, as in Xiǎotōu bèi/yóu jǐngchá dàizǒu le. It is shown in this study that bèi passives and yóu passives differ semantically and syntactically. The semantic observations are based on the theta theory, dealing with thematic roles. On the other hand, the syntactic analysis draws heavily upon the generative grammar, looking into thematic structures. The findings of this study are as follows. First, the core semantics of bèi passives is centered on the Patient NP in the subject position. This Patient NP is essentially an Affectee, undergoing the outcome or consequence brought up by the action represented by the predicate. This may explain why in the sentence Wǒde huà bèi/*yóu tā niǔqū le ‘My words have been twisted by him/her,’ only bèi is allowed. This is because the subject NP wǒde huà ‘my words’ suffers a negative consequence. Yóu passives, in contrast, place the semantic focus on the post-yóu NP, which is not an Affectee though. Instead, it plays a role which has to take certain responsibility without being affected in a way like an Affectee. For example, in the sentence Zhèbù diànyǐng yóu/*bèi tā dānrèn dǎoyǎn ‘This film is directed by him/her,’ only the use of yóu is possible because the post-yóu NP tā ‘s/he’ refers to someone in charge, who is not an Affectee, nor is the sentence-initial NP zhèbù diànyǐng ‘this film’. When it comes to the second finding, the syntactic structures of bèi passives and yóu passives differ in that the former involve a two-place predicate while the latter a three-place predicate. The passive morpheme bèi in a case like Xiǎotōu bèi jǐngchá dàizǒu le ‘The thief was taken away by the police’ has been argued by some Chinese syntacticians to be a two-place predicate which selects an Experiencer subject and an Event complement. Under this analysis, the initial NP xiǎotōu ‘the thief’ in the above example is a base-generated subject. This study, however, proposes that yóu passives fall into a three-place unergative structure. In the sentence Xiǎotōu yóu jǐngchá dàizǒu le ‘The thief was taken away by the police,’ the initial NP xiǎotōu ‘the thief’ is a topic which serves as a Patient taken by the verb dàizǒu ‘take away.’ The subject of the sentence is assumed to be an Agent, which is in a null form and may find its reference from the discourse or world knowledge. Regarding the post-yóu NP jǐngchá ‘the police,’ its status is dual. On the one hand, it is a Patient introduced by the light verb yóu; on the other, it is an Agent assigned by the verb dàizǒu ‘take away.’ It is concluded that the findings in this study contribute to better understanding of what makes the distinction between the two kinds of Chinese passives.

Keywords: affectee, passive, patient, unergative

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Authors: Christina Tafadzwa

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Global HIV and AIDS trends show that Sub-Saharan Africa is the hardest-hit region, and women are disproportionately affected and infected by HIV. The trend is conspicuous in South Africa, where adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), female university students included, bear the burden of HIV infection. Although the female condom (FC) is the only female-oriented HIV and AIDS technology that provides dual protection against unwanted pregnancy and HIV, its uptake and use remain erratic, especially among the youth and young women in institutions of higher learning. This paper explores empirical evidence from the University of Venda (UniVen), which is in the rural areas of Limpopo Province in South Africa, and also among higher learning institutions experiencing low uptake and use of the FC. A phenomenological approach consisting of in-depth interviews was utilized to collect data from a total of 20 female university students at UniVen who were purposively sampled based on their participation in HIV and AIDS dialogues and campaigns conducted on campus. The findings that were analysed thematically revealed that notions of rurality and sociocultural beliefs surrounding women's sexual and reproductive health are key structural factors that influence the low use and uptake of the FC at the rural university. The evidence thus far revealed that female students are discouraged from collecting or initiating FC because of cultural dictates or prescripts which place the responsibility to collect and initiate condom use on men. Hence the inference that UniVen female students' realities are compounded by notions of rurality and society's patriarchal nature that intersect and limit women's autonomy in matters of sex. Guided by the women empowerment theory, this paper argues that such practices take away UniVen female students' agency to decide on their sexual and reproductive health. The normalisation of socio-cultural and harmful gender practices is also a retrogression in the women's health agenda. The paper recommends a holistic approach that engages traditional and community leaders, particularly men, to unlearn and uproot harmful gender norms and patriarchal elements that hinder the promotion and use of the FC.

Keywords: female condom, UniVen, socio-cultural factors, female students, HIV and AIDS

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Authors: Oksana Domkina

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According to the modern economic theory, human capital became one of the main production factors and the most promising direction of investment, as such investment provides opportunity of obtaining high and long-term economic and social effects. Informational technology (IT) sector is the representative of this new economy which is most dependent on human capital as the main competitive factor. So the question for this sector is not whether investment in development of personal should be made, but what are the most effective ways of executing it and who has to pay for the education: Worker, company or government. In this paper we examine the IT sector, describe the labor market of IT workers and its development, and analyze the risks that IT companies may face if they invest in the development of their workers and what factors influence it. The main problem and difficulty of quantitative estimation of risk of investment in human capital of a company and its forecasting is human factor. Human behavior is often unpredictable and complex, so it requires specific approaches and methods of assessment. To build a comprehensive method of estimation of the risk of investment in human capital of a company considering human factor, we decided to use the method of analytic hierarchy process (AHP), that initially was created and developed. We separated three main group of factors: Risks related to the worker, related to the company, and external factors. To receive data for our research, we conducted a survey among the HR departments of Ukrainian IT companies used them as experts for the AHP method. Received results showed that IT companies mostly invest in the development of their workers, although several hire only already qualified personnel. According to the results, the most significant risks are the risk of ineffective training and the risk of non-investment that are both related to the firm. The analysis of risk factors related to the employee showed that, the factors of personal reasons, motivation, and work performance have almost the same weights of importance. Regarding internal factors of the company, there is a high role of the factor of compensation and benefits, factors of interesting projects, team, and career opportunities. As for the external environment, one of the most dangerous factor of risk is competitor activities, meanwhile the political and economical situation factor also has a relatively high weight, which is easy to explain by the influence of severe crisis in Ukraine during 2014-2015. The presented method allows to take into consideration all main factors that affect the risk of investment in human capital of a company. This gives a base for further research in this field and allows for a creation of a practical framework for making decisions regarding the personnel development strategy and specific employees' development plans for the HR departments.

Keywords: risks, personnel development, investment in development, factors of risk, risk of investment in development, IT, analytic hierarchy process, AHP

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Authors: K. Ghosh, S. N. Tripathi, Manish Joshi, Y. S. Mayya, Arshad Khan, B. K. Sapra

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We have developed a CFD coupled aerosol microphysics model in the context of aerosol generation from a glowing wire. The governing equations can be solved implicitly for mass, momentum, energy transfer along with aerosol dynamics. The computationally efficient framework can simulate temporal behavior of total number concentration and number size distribution. This formulation uniquely couples standard K-Epsilon scheme with boundary layer model with detailed aerosol dynamics through residence time. This model uses measured temperatures (wire surface and axial/radial surroundings) and wire compositional data apart from other usual inputs for simulations. The model predictions show that bulk fluid motion and local heat distribution can significantly affect the aerosol behavior when the buoyancy effect in momentum transfer is considered. Buoyancy generated turbulence was found to be affecting parameters related to aerosol dynamics and transport as well. The model was validated by comparing simulated predictions with results obtained from six controlled experiments performed with a laboratory-made hot wire nanoparticle generator. Condensation particle counter (CPC) and scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) were used for measurement of total number concentration and number size distribution at the outlet of reactor cell during these experiments. Our model-predicted results were found to be in reasonable agreement with observed values. The developed model is fast (fully implicit) and numerically stable. It can be used specifically for applications in the context of the behavior of aerosol particles generated from glowing wire technique and in general for other similar large scale domains. Incorporation of CFD in aerosol microphysics framework provides a realistic platform to study natural convection driven systems/ applications. Aerosol dynamics sub-modules (nucleation, coagulation, wall deposition) have been coupled with Navier Stokes equations modified to include buoyancy coupled K-Epsilon turbulence model. Coupled flow-aerosol dynamics equation was solved numerically and in the implicit scheme. Wire composition and temperature (wire surface and cell domain) were obtained/measured, to be used as input for the model simulations. Model simulations showed a significant effect of fluid properties on the dynamics of aerosol particles. The role of buoyancy was highlighted by observation and interpretation of nucleation zones in the planes above the wire axis. The model was validated against measured temporal evolution, total number concentration and size distribution at the outlet of hot wire generator cell. Experimentally averaged and simulated total number concentrations were found to match closely, barring values at initial times. Steady-state number size distribution matched very well for sub 10 nm particle diameters while reasonable differences were noticed for higher size ranges. Although tuned specifically for the present context (i.e., aerosol generation from hotwire generator), the model can also be used for diverse applications, e.g., emission of particles from hot zones (chimneys, exhaust), fires and atmospheric cloud dynamics.

Keywords: nanoparticles, k-epsilon model, buoyancy, CFD, hot wire generator, aerosol dynamics

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Authors: Monica Karlsson

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The positive effect of a supportive written context on comprehension and retention when faced with a previously unknown idiomatic expression is today an indisputable fact, especially if relevant clues are given in close proximity of the item in question. Also, giving learners a chance of visualizing the meaning of an idiom by offering them its source domain and/or by elaborating etymologically, i.e. providing a mental picture in addition to the spoken/written form (referred to as dual coding), seems to enhance comprehension and retention even further, especially if the idiom is of a more transparent kind. For example, by explaining that walk the plank has a maritime origin and a canary in a coal mine comes from the time when canaries were kept in cages to warn miners if gas was leaking out at which point the canaries succumbed immediately, learners’ comprehension and retention have been shown to increase. The present study aims to investigate whether contextualization of an audiovisual kind could help increase comprehension and retention of L2 idioms. 40 Swedish first-term university students studying English as part of their education to become middle-school teachers participated in the investigation, which tested 24 idioms, all of which were ascertained to be previously unknown to the informants. While half of the learners were subjected to a test in which they were asked to watch scenes from various TV programmes, each scene including one idiomatic expression in a supportive context, the remaining 20 students, as a point of reference, were only offered written contexts, though equally supportive. Immediately after these sessions, both groups were given the same idioms in a decontextualized form and asked to give their meaning. After five weeks, finally, the students were subjected to yet another decontextualized comprehension test. Furthermore, since mastery of idioms in one’s L1 appears to correlate to a great extent with a person’s ability to comprehend idioms in an L2, all the informants were also asked to take a test focusing on idioms in their L1. The result on this test is thus seen to indicate each student’s potential for understanding and memorizing various idiomatic expressions from a more general perspective. Preliminary results clearly show that audiovisual contextualization indeed has a positive effect on learners’ retention. In addition, preliminary results also show that those learners’ who were able to recall most meanings were those who had a propensity for idiom comprehension in their L1.

Keywords: English, L2, idioms, audiovisual context

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Authors: Betül Ersoy, Deniz Özalp Kizilay, Gül Gümüşer, Fatma Taneli

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Introduction: Peak bone mass is reached in late adolescence in females. Age at menarche influences estrogen exposure, which plays a vital role in bone metabolism. The relationship between age at menarche and bone mineral density (BMD) is still controversial. In this study, we investigated the relationship between age at menarche, BMD, socioeconomic status (SES) and body composition in female university student. Participant and methods: A total of 138 healthy girls at late adolescence period (mean age 20.13±0.93 years, range 18-22) were included in this university school-based cross-sectional study in the urban area western region of Turkey. Participants have been randomly selected to reflect the university students studying in all faculties. We asked relevant questions about socioeconomic status and age at menarche to female university students. Students were grouped into three SES as lower, middle and higher according to the educational and occupational levels of their parents using Hollingshead index. Height and weight were measured. Body Mass Index (BMI) (kg/m2 ) was calculated. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was performed using the Lunar DPX series, and BMD and body composition were evaluated. Results: The mean age of menarche of female university student included in the study was 13.09.±1.3 years. There was no significant difference between the three socioeconomic groups in terms of height, body weight, age at menarche, BMD [BMD (gr/cm2 ) (L2-L4) and BMD (gr/cm2 ) (total body)], and body composition (lean tissue, fat tissue, total fat, and body fat) (p>0.05). While no correlation was found between the age at menarche and any parameter (p>0.05), a positive significant correlation was found between lean tissue and BMD L2-L4 (r=0.286, p=0.01). When the relationships were evaluated separately according to socioeconomic status, there was a significant correlation between BMDL2-L4 (r: 0.431, p=0.005) and lean tissue in females with low SES, while this relationship disappeared in females with middle and high SES. Conclusion: Age at menarche did not change according to socioeconomic status, nor did BMD and body composition in female at late adolescents. No relationship was found between age at menarche and BMD and body composition determined by DEXA in female university student who were close to reaching peak bone mass. The results suggested that especially BMDL2-L4 might increase as lean tissue increases.

Keywords: bone, osteoposis, menarche, dexa

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Authors: Andrew Freiburger, Sergi Molins

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Freshwater is a vital resource; yet, the supply of clean freshwater is diminishing as the consequence of melting snow and ice from global warming, pollution from industry, and an increasing demand from human population growth. The unsustainable trajectory of diminishing water resources is projected to jeopardize water security for billions of people in the 21st century. Membrane desalination technologies may resolve the growing discrepancy between supply and demand by filtering arbitrary feed water into a fraction of renewable, clean water and a fraction of highly concentrated brine. The leading hindrance of membrane desalination is fouling, whereby the highly concentrated brine solution encourages micro-organismal colonization and/or the precipitation of occlusive minerals (i.e. scale) upon the membrane surface. Thus, an understanding of brine formation is necessary to mitigate membrane fouling and to develop efficacious desalination technologies that can bolster the supply of available freshwater. This study presents a reactive transport simulation of brine formation and scale deposition during reverse osmosis (RO) desalination. The simulation conceptually represents the RO module as a one-dimensional domain, where feed water directionally enters the domain with a prescribed fluid velocity and is iteratively concentrated in the immobile layer of a dual porosity model. Geochemical PHREEQC code numerically evaluated the conceptual model with parameters for the BW30-400 RO module and for real water feed sources – e.g. the Red and Mediterranean seas, and produced waters from American oil-wells, based upon peer-review data. The presented simulation is computationally simpler, and hence less resource intensive, than the existent and more rigorous simulations of desalination phenomena, like TOUGHREACT. The end-user may readily prepare input files and execute simulations on a personal computer with open source software. The graphical results of fouling-potential and brine characteristics may therefore be particularly useful as the initial tool for screening candidate feed water sources and/or informing the selection of an RO module.

Keywords: desalination, PHREEQC, reactive transport, scaling

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Authors: Chidiebere Joy Nwankwo, Benjamin S. C. Uzochukwu, Florence T. Sibeudu

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Background: Family planning is one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent maternal, infant, and child mortality. It can decrease maternal mortality by reducing the number of unintended pregnancies, the number of abortions, and the proportion of births at high risk. It has been seen to improve the health and economic well-being of families and communities and ensures women’s planned childbearing in order to achieve education and career goals which could raise family income thereby reducing poverty. The choice and use of a particular family planning method and their sources vary globally. Rural Communities often face significant challenges in accessing and utilizing family planning services. Aim: This study set out to assess Access and Utilization of Family Planning Services among Women of Reproductive Age in a Rural Community of Enugu state, Nigeria. Rural communities were chosen for this study because past demographic surveys have shown that women in urban areas are more likely to accept and practice family planning compared to those in rural areas. Method: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Research design was employed to achieve the aim and objectives of the study. Data collected from 177 consenting participants using interviewer-administered questionnaires was analysed using Descriptive statistics to summarize the Socio-demographic characteristics of the participants and Access and Utilization of Family Planning Services among the participants including Reasons for using different Family Planning Methods and Barriers encountered in Access and Utilization of these services. A Cross-tabulation between Socio-demographic Characteristics of respondents and the use of Family Planning services was carried out. Result: The findings of this study revealed that majority of the participants (72.9%) have not utilized any family planning service. Out of those (27.1%) that have used any family planning service, majority of them are still currently using a form of family planning service and have access to them in health facilities, patent medicine vendors and others based on multiple responses. Male condoms were the most utilized modern family planning service. Based on multiple responses, inaccessibility, personal beliefs and partner’s objection were the most identified barriers encountered in accessing family planning services. Conclusion: Access and uptake of family planning services in rural communities is lower than the national average. Increasing access to family planning is an urgent priority for rural areas Interventions that will scale up Access and Utilization of family planning services in rural communities should be intensified.

Keywords: access, family planning, rural community, utilization

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Authors: Mariam A. Abu-Alim

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The purpose of this study was to validate muscle activation amplitudes of two field base dynamic balance tests that are used as strengthen and motor control exercises too in the activation of selected hip and knee stabilizer muscles. Methods: Eighteen college-age females students (21±2 years; 65.6± 8.7 kg; 169.7±8.1 cm) who participated at least for 30 minutes in physical activity most days of the week volunteered. The wireless BIOPAC (MP150, BIOPAC System. Inc, California, USA) surface electromyography system was used to validate the activation of the Gluteus Medius and the Adductor Magnus of hip stabilizer muscles; and the Hamstrings, Quadriceps, and the Gastrocnemius of the knee stabilizer muscles. Surface electrodes (EL 503, BIOPAC, System. Inc) connected to dual wireless EMG BioNormadix Transmitters were place on selected muscles of participants dominate side. Manual muscle testing was performed to obtain the maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) in which all collected muscle activity data during the three reaching direction: anterior, posteromedial, posterolateral of the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) and the Y-balance Test (YBT) data could be normalized. All participants performed three trials for each reaching direction of the SEBT and the YBT. The domanial leg trial for each participant was selected for analysis which was also the standing leg. Results: the selected hip stabilizer muscles (Gluteus Medius, Adductor Magnus) were both greater than 100%MVIC during the performance of the SEBT and in all three directions. Whereas, selected knee stabilizer muscles had greater activation 0f 100% MVIC and were significantly more activated during the performance of the YBT test in all three reaching directions. The results showed that the posterolateral and the postmedial reaching directions for both dynamic balance tests had greater activation levels and greater than 200%MVIC for all tested muscles expect of the hamstrings. Conclusion: the results of this study showed that the SEBT and the YBT had validated high levels of muscular activity for the hip and the knee stabilizer muscles; which can be used to represent the improvement, strength, control and the decreasing in the injury levels. Since these selected hip and knee stabilizer muscles, represent 35% of all athletic injuries depending on the type of sport.

Keywords: dynamic balance tests, electromyography, hip stabilizer muscles, nee stabilizer muscles

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