Search results for: secondary schools
403 A Virtual Reality Laboratory for Distance Education in Chemistry
Authors: J. Georgiou, K. Dimitropoulos, A. Manitsaris
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Simulations play a major role in education not only because they provide realistic models with which students can interact to acquire real world experiences, but also because they constitute safe environments in which students can repeat processes without any risk in order to perceive easier concepts and theories. Virtual reality is widely recognized as a significant technological advance that can facilitate learning process through the development of highly realistic 3D simulations supporting immersive and interactive features. The objective of this paper is to analyze the influence of virtual reality-s use in chemistry instruction as well as to present an integrated web-based learning environment for the simulation of chemical experiments. The proposed application constitutes a cost-effective solution for both schools and universities without appropriate infrastructure and a valuable tool for distance learning and life-long education in chemistry. Its educational objectives are the familiarization of students with the equipment of a real chemical laboratory and the execution of virtual volumetric analysis experiments with the active participation of students.
Keywords: Chemistry, simulations, experiments, virtual reality.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2787402 The Role Played by Swift Change of the Stability Characteristic of Mean Flow in Bypass Transition
Authors: Dong Ming, Su Caihong
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The scenario of bypass transition is generally described as follows: the low-frequency disturbances in the free-stream may generate long stream-wise streaks in the boundary layer, which later may trigger secondary instability, leading to rapid increase of high-frequency disturbances. Then possibly turbulent spots emerge, and through their merging, lead to fully developed turbulence. This description, however, is insufficient in the sense that it does not provide the inherent mechanism of transition that during the transition, a large number of waves with different frequencies and wave numbers appear almost simultaneously, producing sufficiently large Reynolds stress, so the mean flow profile can change rapidly from laminar to turbulent. In this paper, such a mechanism will be figured out from analyzing DNS data of transition.Keywords: boundary layer, breakdown, bypass transition, stability, streak.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1490401 Nitrogen Removal in a High-efficiency Denitrification/Oxic Filter treatment System for Advanced Treatment of Municipal Wastewater
Authors: D. W. Kim , D. J. Ryu, M. J. Go, D. Chang, S. B. Han, J. M. Hur, B. R. Chung, B. K. Kim, Yeon Hye Jin
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Biological treatment of secondary effluent wastewater by two combined denitrification/oxic filtration systems packed with Lock type(denitrification filter) and ceramic ball (oxic filter) has been studied for 5months. Two phases of operating conditions were carried out with an influent nitrate and ammonia concentrations varied from 5.8 to 11.7mg/L and 5.4 to 12.4mg/L,respectively. Denitrification/oxic filter treatment system were operated under an EBCT (Empty Bed Contact Time) of 4h at system recirculation ratio in the range from 0 to 300% (Linear Velocity increased 19.5m/d to 78m/d). The system efficiency of denitrification , nitrification over 95% respectively. Total nitrogen and COD removal range from 54.6%(recirculation 0%) to 92.3%(recirculation 300%) and 10% to 62.5%, respectively.Keywords: Advanced treatment , Biofilter, Nitrogen removal, Two combined denitrification/oxic filter
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1981400 Computer Assisted Learning in a Less Resource Region
Authors: Hamidullah Sokout, Samiullah Paracha, Abdul Rashid Ahmadi
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Passing the entrance exam to a university is a major step in one's life. University entrance exam commonly known as Kankor is the nationwide entrance exam in Afghanistan. This examination is prerequisite for all public and private higher education institutions at undergraduate level. It is usually taken by students who are graduated from high schools. In this paper, we reflect the major educational school graduates issues and propose ICT-based test preparation environment, known as ‘Online Kankor Exam Prep System’ to give students the tools to help them pass the university entrance exam on the first try. The system is based on Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS), which introduced an essential package of educational technology for learners that features: (I) exam-focused questions and content; (ii) self-assessment environment; and (iii) test preparation strategies in order to help students to acquire the necessary skills in their carrier and keep them up-to-date with instruction.
Keywords: Web-based test prep systems, Learner-centered design, E-Learning, Intelligent tutoring system.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1942399 Algorithmic Skills Transferred from Secondary CSI Studies into Tertiary Education
Authors: Piroska Biró, Mária Csernoch, János Máth, Kálmán Abari
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Testing the first year students of Informatics at the University of Debrecen revealed that students start their tertiary studies in programming with a low level of programming knowledge and algorithmic skills. The possible reasons which lead the students to this very unfortunate result were examined. The results of the test were compared to the students’ results in the school leaving exams and to their self-assessment values. It was found that there is only a slight connection between the students’ results in the test and in the school leaving exams, especially at intermediate level. Beyond this, the school leaving exams do not seem to enable students to evaluate their own abilities.
Keywords: Deep and surface approaches, metacognitive abilities, programming and algorithmic skills, school leaving exams, tracking code.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1758398 Embodied Cognition and Its Implications in Education: An Overview of Recent Literature
Authors: Panagiotis Kosmas, Panayiotis Zaphiris
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Embodied Cognition (EC) as a learning paradigm is based on the idea of an inseparable link between body, mind, and environment. In recent years, the advent of theoretical learning approaches around EC theory has resulted in a number of empirical studies exploring the implementation of the theory in education. This systematic literature overview identifies the mainstream of EC research and emphasizes on the implementation of the theory across learning environments. Based on a corpus of 43 manuscripts, published between 2013 and 2017, it sets out to describe the range of topics covered under the umbrella of EC and provides a holistic view of the field. The aim of the present review is to investigate the main issues in EC research related to the various learning contexts. Particularly, the study addresses the research methods and technologies that are utilized, and it also explores the integration of body into the learning context. An important finding from the overview is the potential of the theory in different educational environments and disciplines. However, there is a lack of an explicit pedagogical framework from an educational perspective for a successful implementation in various learning contexts.
Keywords: Embodied cognition, embodied learning, education, technology, schools.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1692397 Validity and Reliability of Competency Assessment Implementation (CAI) Instrument Using Rasch Model
Authors: Nurfirdawati Muhamad Hanafi, Azmanirah Ab Rahman, Marina Ibrahim Mukhtar, Jamil Ahmad, Sarebah Warman
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This study was conducted to generate empirical evidence on validity and reliability of the item of Competency Assessment Implementation (CAI) Instrument using Rasch Model for polythomous data aided by Winstep software version 3.68. The construct validity was examined by analyzing the point-measure correlation index (PTMEA), infit and outfit MNSQ values; meanwhile the reliability was examined by analyzing item reliability index. A survey technique was used as the major method with the CAI instrument on 156 teachers from vocational schools. The results have shown that the reliability of CAI Instrument items were between 0.80 and 0.98. PTMEA Correlation is in positive values, in which the item is able to distinguish between the ability of the respondent. Statistical data obtained show that out of 154 items, 12 items from the instrument suggested to be omitted. This study is hoped could bring a new direction to the process of data analysis in educational research.
Keywords: Competency Assessment, Reliability, Validity, Item Analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2817396 Using Heuristic Rules from Sentence Decomposition of Experts- Summaries to Detect Students- Summarizing Strategies
Authors: Norisma Idris, Sapiyan Baba, Rukaini Abdullah
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Summarizing skills have been introduced to English syllabus in secondary school in Malaysia to evaluate student-s comprehension for a given text where it requires students to employ several strategies to produce the summary. This paper reports on our effort to develop a computer-based summarization assessment system that detects the strategies used by the students in producing their summaries. Sentence decomposition of expert-written summaries is used to analyze how experts produce their summary sentences. From the analysis, we identified seven summarizing strategies and their rules which are then transformed into a set of heuristic rules on how to determine the summarizing strategies. We developed an algorithm based on the heuristic rules and performed some experiments to evaluate and support the technique proposed.Keywords: Summarizing strategies, heuristic rules, sentencedecomposition.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1773395 Children and Advertising: Issues in Consumer Socialization Process
Authors: Laimona Sliburyte
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Today advertising is actively penetrating into many spheres of our lives. We cannot imagine the existence of a lot of economic activities without advertising. That mostly concerns trade and services. Everyone of us should look better into the everyday communication and carefully consider the amount and the quality of the information we receive as well as its influence on our behaviour. Special attention should be paid to the young generation. Theoretical and practical research has proved the ever growing influence of information (especially the one contained in advertising) on a society; on its economics, culture, religion, politics and even people-s private lives and behaviour. Children have plenty of free time and, therefore, see a lot of different advertising. Though education of children is in the hands of parents and schools, advertising makers and customers should think with responsibility about the selection of time and transmission channels of child targeted advertising. The purpose of the present paper is to investigate the influence of advertising upon consumer views and behaviour of children in different age groups. The present investigation has clarified the influence of advertising as a means of information on a certain group of society, which in the modern information society is the most vulnerable – children. In this paper we assess children-s perception and their understanding of advertising.
Keywords: Advertising, children, children targeted advertising, consumer socialization process.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2676394 Synthesis of Hard Magnetic Material from Secondary Resources
Authors: M. Bahgat, F. M. Awan, H. A. Hanafy, O. N. Alzeghaibi
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Strontium hexaferrite (SrFe12O19; Sr-ferrite) is one of the well-known materials for permanent magnets. In this study, Mtype strontium ferrite was prepared by following the conventional ceramic method from steelmaking by-product. Initial materials; SrCO3 and by-product, were mixed together in the composition of SrFe12O19 in different Sr/Fe ratios. The mixtures of these raw materials were dry-milled for 6h. The blended powder was presintered (i.e. calcination) at 1000°C for different times periods, then cooled down to room temperature. These pre-sintered samples were re-milled in a dry atmosphere for 1h and then fired at different temperatures in atmospheric conditions, and cooled down to room temperature. The produced magnetic powder has a dense hexagonal grain shape structure. The calculated energy product values for the produced samples ranged from 0.3 to 2.4 MGOe.
Keywords: Ceramic route, Hard magnetic materials, Strontium ferrite.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2350393 Algorithm and Software Based on Multilayer Perceptron Neural Networks for Estimating Channel Use in the Spectral Decision Stage in Cognitive Radio Networks
Authors: Danilo López, Johana Hernández, Edwin Rivas
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The use of the Multilayer Perceptron Neural Networks (MLPNN) technique is presented to estimate the future state of use of a licensed channel by primary users (PUs); this will be useful at the spectral decision stage in cognitive radio networks (CRN) to determine approximately in which time instants of future may secondary users (SUs) opportunistically use the spectral bandwidth to send data through the primary wireless network. To validate the results, sequences of occupancy data of channel were generated by simulation. The results show that the prediction percentage is greater than 60% in some of the tests carried out.
Keywords: Cognitive radio, neural network, prediction, primary user.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 978392 Ethical Perspectives on Implementation of Computer Aided Design Curriculum in Architecture in Nigeria: A Case Study of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli
Authors: Kelechi E. Ezeji
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The use of Computer Aided Design (CAD) technologies has become pervasive in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. This has led to its inclusion as an important part of the training module in the curriculum for Architecture Schools in Nigeria. This paper examines the ethical questions that arise in the implementation of Computer Aided Design (CAD) Content of the curriculum for Architectural education. Using existing literature, it begins this scrutiny from the propriety of inclusion of CAD into the education of the architect and the obligations of the different stakeholders in the implementation process. It also examines the questions raised by the negative use of computing technologies as well as perceived negative influence of the use of CAD on design creativity. Survey methodology was employed to gather data from the Department of Architecture, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Uli, which has been used as a case study on how the issues raised are being addressed. The paper draws conclusions on what will make for successful ethical implementation.Keywords: Computer aided design, curriculum, education, ethics.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2232391 Aggressive Interactions in Hospital Emergency Units
Authors: C. Blatier, M. El Methni, F. Carpentier, S. Abdellaoui, C. Kock, M. Maillard
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International literature emphasizes on the concern regarding the phenomenon of aggression in hospital. This paper focuses on the reality of aggressive interactions reigning within an emergency triage involving three chaps of protagonists: the professionals, the patients and their carers. The data collection was made from a grid of observation, in which the various variables exposed in the literature were integrated. They observations took place around the clock, for three weeks, at the rate of one week a month. In this research 331 aggressive interactions have been listed and analyzed by means of the software SPSS. This research is one of the very few continuous observation surveys in the literature. It shows the various human factors at play in the emergence of aggressive interaction. The data may be used both for taking steps in primary prevention, thanks to the analysis of interaction modes, and in secondary prevention by integrating the useful results in situational prevention.
Keywords: Aggressive interaction, emergency unit, observational study.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1988390 Visual Analytics in K 12 Education - Emerging Dimensions of Complexity
Authors: Linnea Stenliden
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The aim of this paper is to understand emerging learning conditions, when a visual analytics is implemented and used in K 12 (education). To date, little attention has been paid to the role visual analytics (digital media and technology that highlight visual data communication in order to support analytical tasks) can play in education, and to the extent to which these tools can process actionable data for young students. This study was conducted in three public K 12 schools, in four social science classes with students aged 10 to 13 years, over a period of two to four weeks at each school. Empirical data were generated using video observations and analyzed with help of metaphors within Actor-network theory (ANT). The learning conditions are found to be distinguished by broad complexity, characterized by four dimensions. These emerge from the actors’ deeply intertwined relations in the activities. The paper argues in relation to the found dimensions that novel approaches to teaching and learning could benefit students’ knowledge building as they work with visual analytics, analyzing visualized data.
Keywords: Analytical reasoning, complexity, data use, problem space, visual analytics, visual storytelling, translation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1686389 Mathematical Modelling of Partially Filled Fluid Coupling Behaviour
Authors: A. M. Maqableh
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Modelling techniques for a fluid coupling taken from published literature have been extended to include the effects of the filling and emptying of the coupling with oil and the variation in losses when the coupling is partially full. In the model, the fluid flow inside the coupling is considered to have two principal velocity components; one circumferentially about the coupling axis (centrifugal head) and the other representing the secondary vortex within the coupling itself (vortex head). The calculation of liquid mass flow rate circulating between the two halves of the coupling is based on: the assumption of a linear velocity variation in the circulating vortex flow; the head differential in the fluid due to the speed difference between the two shafts; and the losses in the circulating vortex flow as a result of the impingement of the flow with the blades in the coupling and friction within the passages between the blades.Keywords: Fluid Coupling, Mathematical Modelling, partially filled.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2076388 In Search of Bauman’s Moral Impulse in Shadow Factories of China
Authors: Akram Hatami, Naser Firoozi, Vesa Puhakka
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Ethics and responsibility are rapidly becoming a distinguishing feature of organizations. In this paper, we analyze ethics and responsibility in shadow factories in China. We engage ourselves with Bauman’s moral impulse perspective because his idea can contextualize ethics and responsibility. Moral impulse is a feeling of a selfless, infinite and unconditional responsibility towards, and care for, Others. We analyze a case study from a secondary data source because, for such a critical phenomenon as business ethics in shadow factories, collecting primary data is difficult, since they are unregistered factories. We argue that there has not been enough attention given to the ethics and responsibility in shadow factories in China. Our main goal is to demonstrate that, considering the Other, more importantly the employees, in ethical decision-making is a simple instruction beyond the narrow version of ethics by ethical codes and rules.
Keywords: Moral impulse, responsibility, shadow factories, the other.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1788387 Comparison of Chemical Coagulation and Electrocoagulation for Boron Removal from Synthetic Wastewater Using Aluminium
Authors: Kartikaningsih Danis, Yao-Hui Huang
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Various techniques including conventional and advanced have been employed for the boron treatment from water and wastewater. The electrocoagulation involves an electrolytic reactor for coagulation/flotation with aluminium as anode and cathode. There is aluminium as coagulant to be used for removal which may induce secondary pollution in chemical coagulation. The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare the performance between electrocoagulation and chemical coagulation on boron removal from synthetic wastewater. The effect of different parameters, such as pH reaction, coagulant dosage, and initial boron concentration were examined. The results show that the boron removal using chemical coagulation was lower. At the optimum condition (e.g. pH 8 and 0.8 mol coagulant dosage), boron removal efficiencies for chemical coagulation and electrocoagulation were 61% and 91%, respectively. In addition, the electrocoagulation needs no chemical reagents and makes the boron treatment easy for application.
Keywords: Electrocoagulation, chemical coagulation, aluminum electrode, boron removal.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1717386 Funding Innovative Activities in Firms: The Ownership Structure and Governance Linkage - Evidence from Mongolia
Authors: Ernest Nweke, Enkhtuya Bavuudorj
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The harsh realities of the scandalous failure of several notable corporations in the past two decades have inextricably resulted in a surge in corporate governance studies. Nevertheless, little or no attention has been paid to corporate governance studies in Mongolian firms and much less to the comprehension of the correlation among ownership structure, corporate governance mechanisms and trend of innovative activities. Innovation is the bed rock of enterprise success. However, the funding and support for innovative activities in many firms are to a great extent determined by the incentives provided by the firm’s internal and external governance mechanisms. Mongolia is an East Asian country currently undergoing a fast-paced transition from socialist to democratic system and it is a widely held view that private ownership as against public ownership fosters innovation. Hence, following the privatization policy of Mongolian Government which has led to the transfer of the ownership of hitherto state controlled and state directed firms to private individuals and organizations, expectations are high that sufficient motivation would be provided for firm managers to engage in innovative activities. This research focuses on the relationship between ownership structure, corporate governance on one hand and the level of innovation on the hand. The paper is empirical in nature and derives data from both reliable secondary and primary sources. Secondary data for the study was in respect of ownership structure of Mongolian listed firms and innovation trend in Mongolia generally. These were analyzed using tables, charts, bars and percentages. Personal interviews and surveys were held to collect primary data. Primary data was in respect of corporate governance practices in Mongolian firms and were collected using structured questionnaire. Out of a population of three hundred and twenty (320) companies listed on the Mongolian Stock Exchange (MSE), a sample size of thirty (30) randomly selected companies was utilized for the study. Five (5) management level employees were surveyed in each selected firm giving a total of one hundred and fifty (150) respondents. Data collected were analyzed and research hypotheses tested using Chi-Square test statistic. Research results showed that corporate governance mechanisms were better and have significantly improved overtime in privately held as opposed to publicly owned firms. Consequently, the levels of innovation in privately held firms were considerably higher. It was concluded that a significant and positive relationship exists between private ownership and good corporate governance on one hand and the level of funding provided for innovative activities in Mongolian firms on the other hand.
Keywords: Corporate governance, innovation, ownership structure, stock exchange.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1746385 A Remote Sensing Approach to Calculate Population Using Roads Network Data in Lebanon
Authors: Kamel Allaw, Jocelyne Adjizian Gerard, Makram Chehayeb, Nada Badaro Saliba
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In developing countries, such as Lebanon, the demographic data are hardly available due to the absence of the mechanization of population system. The aim of this study is to evaluate, using only remote sensing data, the correlations between the number of population and the characteristics of roads network (length of primary roads, length of secondary roads, total length of roads, density and percentage of roads and the number of intersections). In order to find the influence of the different factors on the demographic data, we studied the degree of correlation between each factor and the number of population. The results of this study have shown a strong correlation between the number of population and the density of roads and the number of intersections.
Keywords: Population, road network, statistical correlations, remote sensing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 981384 Fabric Printing Design: An Inspiration from Thai Kites
Authors: Suwit Sadsunk
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This research paper was aimed to study different motifs found on Thai kites in order to be create new fabric printing designs. The objectives of the study were (1) to examine different motifs of Thai kites; and (2) to create appropriate printing designs for fabric based on an examination of motifs of Thai kites from primary and secondary sources. The study found that designs, motifs and colors found on Thai kites were various based on individual artisans’ imagination in each period. From the historical review, there have been 4 kinds of Thai kites namely I-Loom Kite, Pak Pao Kite, Chula Kite and Dui Dui Kite. Nowadays, the kite designs have been developed to be more various by shape and color such as snake- shaped kite, owl- shaped kite and peacock- shaped kite.
Keywords: Thai Kites, Fabric Printing Design.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2455383 Didactic Material Resources in the Teaching of National History and Geography: Selected Results of a Qualitative Survey
Authors: Martin Skutil, Klára Havlíčková, Renata Matějíčková
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The paper is the first output of a larger research project conducted at the Faculty of Education of the University of Hradec Králové, which deals with an improved understanding of teachers' work in the subject of National History and Geography. Partial findings focusing on the use of didactic material resources in teaching are presented in this phase. With the regard to promotion of independent activity of students within learner based education, material equipment of schools with didactic aids is becoming increasingly important. This paper is based on qualitative research, where the possibilities and mainly the reasons for use of material didactic resources in teaching were investigated through semi-structured interviews. Attention was focused on ways of working with different teaching aids and their implementation in the educational process. It turns out that teachers accept current constructivist and humanistic approaches to education associated with the requirement to prepare students for life in an information society, and accordingly they adjust their teaching.
Keywords: Primary education, National History and Geography, didactic material resources, qualitative research.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3637382 Popularization of the Communist Manifesto in 19th Century Europe
Authors: Xuanyu Bai
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“The Communist Manifesto”, written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, is one of the most significant documents throughout the whole history which covers across different fields including Economic, Politic, Sociology and Philosophy. Instead of discussing the Communist ideas presented in the Communist Manifesto, the essay focuses on exploring the reasons that contributed to the popularization of the document and its influence on political revolutions in 19th century Europe by concentrating on the document itself along with other primary and secondary sources and temporal artwork. Combining the details from the Communist Manifesto and other documents, Marx’s writing style and word choice, his convincible notions about a new society dominated by proletariats, and the revolutionary idea of class destruction has led to the popularization of the Communist Manifesto and influenced the latter political revolutions.
Keywords: Communist Manifesto, The Wealth of Nations, 19th century Europe, word choice, capitalism, communism.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 538381 English Language Teaching and Learning Analysis in Iran
Authors: F. Zarrabi, J. R. Brown
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Although English is not a second language in Iran, it has become an inseparable part of many Iranian people’s lives and is becoming more and more widespread. This high demand has caused a significant increase in the number of private English language institutes in Iran. Although English is a compulsory course in schools and universities, the majority of Iranian people are unable to communicate easily in English. This paper reviews the current state of teaching and learning English as an international language in Iran. Attitudes and motivations about learning English are reviewed. Five different aspects of using English within the country are analysed, including: English in public domain, English in Media, English in organizations/businesses, English in education, and English in private language institutes. Despite the time and money spent on English language courses in private language institutes, the majority of learners seem to forget what has been learned within months of completing their course. That is, when they are students with the support of the teacher and formal classes, they appear to make progress and use English more or less fluently. When this support is removed, their language skills either stagnant or regress. The findings of this study suggest that a dependant approach to learning is potentially one of the main reasons for English language learning problems and this is encouraged by English course books and approaches to teaching.
Keywords: English in Iran, English language learning, English language teaching, evaluation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4644380 Design of a Robust Controller for AGC with Combined Intelligence Techniques
Authors: R. N. Patel, S. K. Sinha, R. Prasad
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In this work Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques like Fuzzy logic, Genetic Algorithms and Particle Swarm Optimization have been used to improve the performance of the Automatic Generation Control (AGC) system. Instead of applying Genetic Algorithms and Particle swarm optimization independently for optimizing the parameters of the conventional AGC with PI controller, an intelligent tuned Fuzzy logic controller (acting as the secondary controller in the AGC system) has been designed. The controller gives an improved dynamic performance for both hydrothermal and thermal-thermal power systems under a variety of operating conditions.
Keywords: Artificial intelligence, Automatic generation control, Fuzzy control, Genetic Algorithm, Particle swarm optimization, Power systems.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1776379 Violent Videogame Playing and Its Relations to Antisocial Behaviors
Authors: Martin Jelínek, Petr Květon
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The presented study focuses on relations between violent videogames playing and various types of antisocial behavior, namely bullying (verbal, indirect, and physical), physical aggression and delinquency. Relevant relationships were also examined with respect to gender. Violent videogames exposure (VGV) was measured by respondents’ most favored games and self-evaluation of its level of violence and frequency of playing. Antisocial behaviors were assessed by self-report questionnaires. The research sample consisted of 333 (166 males, 167 females) primary and secondary school students at the age between 10 and 19 years (m=14.98, sd=1.77). It was found that violent videogames playing is associated with physical aggression (rho=0.288, 95% CI [0.169;0.400]) and bullying (rho=0.369, 95% CI [0.254;0.476]). By means of gender, these relations were slightly weaker in males (VGV - physical aggression: rho=0.104, 95% CI [-0.061;0.264], VGV – bullying: rho=.200, 95% CI [0.032;0.356]) than in females (VGV - physical aggression: rho=0.257, 95% CI [0.089;0.411], VGV – bullying: rho=0.279, 95% CI [0.110;0.432]).Keywords: Aggression, bullying, gender, violent videogames.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3243378 A Condition Rating System for Wastewater Treatment Plants Infrastructures
Authors: Altayeb Qasem, Tarek Zayed, Zhi Chen
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Statistics Canada stated that the wastewater treatment facilities in most provinces are aging and passes 63% of their useful life in 2007 the highest ratio among public infrastructure assets. Currently, there is no standard condition rating system for wastewater treatment plants that give a specific rating index that describe the physical integrity of different infrastructure elements in the treatment plant and its environmental performance. The main objective of this study is to develop a condition-rating index for wastewater treatment plants mainly activated sludge systems. The proposed WWTP CRI, is based on dividing the treatment plant into its three treatment phases; primary phase, secondary phase and the tertiary phase. The condition-rating index will reflect the infrastructures state for each phase, mainly tanks, pipes, blowers and pumps.Keywords: Condition rating index, Wastewater treatment plants, AHP- MUAT.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2778377 Use of Plant Antimicrobials for Food Preservation
Authors: Oladotun A. Fatoki, Deborah A. Onifade
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Spoilage occurs in plant produce due to the action of field and storage microorganisms. The conditions of storage can also cause physiological spoilage. Various methods exist to ensure that these food substances maintain their quality long after harvesting. However, many of these methods either fail to keep the plant for the required period or predispose the plant to other spoilage risks. The major shortcoming posed by the use of many antimicrobials is the chemical residues it deposits in the food substance. The use of plants in preservation has been in use for a long period, though little understood then, it served its purposes. A better understanding of the roles of these plant parts in increasing the shelf life of farm produce has helped in the creation of more effective and safer means of pest and microbial control. This can be extended to plants that have not been used for these purposes initially. Microbial sources should also be investigated as these have provided cheaper sources of secondary metabolites.
Keywords: Antimicrobials, Food preservation, Phytochemicals
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4004376 [The] Creative Art [of] Education
Authors: Cathy Smilan
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In our current political climate of assessment and accountability initiatives we are failing to prepare our children for a participatory role in the creative economy. The field of education is increasingly falling prey to didactic methodologies which train a nation of competent test takers, foregoing the opportunity to educate students to find problems and develop multiple solutions. No where is this more evident than in the area of art education. Due to a myriad of issues including budgetary shortfalls, time constraints and a general misconception that anyone who enjoys the arts is capable of teaching the arts, our students are not developing the skills they require to become fully literate in critical thinking and creative processing. Although art integrated curriculum is increasingly being viewed as a reform strategy for motivating students by offering alternative presentation of concepts and representation of knowledge acquisition, misinformed administrators are often excluding the art teacher from the integration equation. The paper to follow addresses the problem of the need for divergent thinking and conceptualization in our schools. Furthermore, this paper explores the role of education, and specifically, art education in the development of a creatively literate citizenry.Keywords: Art Integration, Creativity, Artist/Teacher/Leaders, Educating for a Creative Economy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1827375 On the Quality of Internet Users- Behavioral Patterns in Using Different Sites and Its Impact on Taboos of Marriage: A Survey among Undergraduate Students in Mashhad City in Iran
Authors: Javadi Alimohammad, Zanjanizadeh Homa, Javadi Maryam
Abstract:
Regarding the multi-media property of internet and the facilities that can be provided for the users, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the users- behavioral patterns and the impact of internet on taboos of marriage. For this purpose a survey technique on the sample size amounted 403 students of governmental guidance schools of city of Mashhad in country of Iran were considered. The results showed, the process of using various internet environments depends on the degree of the users- familiarity with these sites. In order to clarify the effects of the Internet on the taboos of marriage, the non – internet parameters also considered to be controlled. The ttest held among the internet users and non-users, indicated that internet users possess lower taboos of marriage. Extraction of the effects of internet via considering the effects of non-internet parameters, indicate that addiction to the internet, creating a cordial atmosphere, emotional communication, and message attractive factors have significant effects on the family's traditional values.
Keywords: Internet, taboos of marriage, family, masscommunication, computer mediate communication.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1385374 Learning Based On Computer Science Unplugged in Computer Science Education: Design, Development, and Assessment
Authors: Eiko Takaoka, Yoshiyuki Fukushima, Koichiro Hirose, Tadashi Hasegawa
Abstract:
Although, all high school students in Japan are required to learn informatics, many of them do not learn this topic sufficiently. In response to this situation, we propose a support package for high school informatics classes. To examine what students learned and if they sufficiently understood the context of the lessons, a questionnaire survey was distributed to 186 students. We analyzed the results of the questionnaire and determined the weakest units, which were “basic computer configuration” and “memory and secondary storage”. We then developed a package for teaching these units. We propose that our package be applied in high school classrooms.
Keywords: Computer Science Unplugged, computer science outreach, high school curriculum, experimental evaluation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2105