96 research outputs found

    Validating a group oral task in a university entry test:Interactional competence as a target construct in an academic context

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    Increasing seminar-style teaching and assessment diversification in higher education mean that group assessments have become part of degree assessments in many university contexts. In principle, therefore, group oral tasks seem a meaningful task type for university entry tests. However, limited research is available on the validity of such tasks, particularly for local university entrance tests such as the Malaysian University English Test (MUET), of which the scores are used to demonstrate meeting Malaysian university entry requirements. Therefore, this study investigated the interactional features elicited during a group oral task for a university entry test (MUET) and compared them to the interactional features of group oral assessments in the target domain (degree-level study), to shed light on the context validity of MUET’s group oral task. To gain insights into the construct tested by the MUET group oral task versus by degree-level group assessments, video recordings were made of four MUET simulation tests and of two groups of first-year and two groups of final-year students completing assessed group academic discussions in an English language and an IT course, respectively. After transcribing the recordings, Applied Conversation Analysis was conducted to identify the interactional features during group oral performances in the three settings (MUET, English course, IT course). The analyses of the talk revealed differences between the turn and topic management features of the group oral performances in the three contexts with a focus on MUET versus English and IT, and to a lesser extent between groups within the same context. More specifically, differences were found in general features of turn-taking (e.g., organisation of talk in terms of specific strategies used during the initiation, maintaining, and ending of the group interaction), turn length, number of turns, and turn allocations. Topic management features such as opening, topic initiation, extension and closing also differed. In addition, an evaluation of the MUET materials by a group of ten expert language testers suggested that the MUET group interaction task did not lend itself to eliciting all the intended features listed in the MUET test specifications and rating scale. All in all, these findings indicate important shortcomings to the validity of the MUET group oral task. The significance of the study lies in the insights gained into the context validity of the MUET group interaction task and their implications for this high-stakes test. The study also offers insights into the nature of turn and topic management microfeatures in academic group interactions more generally

    Adolescent education, health and wellbeing status in four counties in Kenya: Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic

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    The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in widespread school closures globally, including in Kenya. This educational disruption had potential adverse consequences for adolescent school learners including school dropout, learning loss, opportunity losses, loss of previously acquired skills, and loss of socio-emotional benefits of time spent with peers and teachers. This study was undertaken in four counties in Kenya—two urban (Nairobi, Kisumu) and two rural (Kilifi and Wajir). Focusing on adolescent girls aged 10–19, the study increased understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on girls’ education outcomes to enable implementation of policies and programs to address immediate harms caused, and to be better prepared for future pandemics or crises that could lead to prolonged school closures. The study utilized quantitative and qualitative techniques used for previously established research studies of cohorts in Kenya. Between March and May 2022, 2,784 adolescents participated in phone interviews and 66 adolescents, as well as 46 parents and other adult stakeholders, participated in in-depth interviews. In addition, literacy, comprehension, and numeracy testing was undertaken with 658 of the adolescent respondents

    Usable privacy and security in smart homes

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    Ubiquitous computing devices increasingly dominate our everyday lives, including our most private places: our homes. Homes that are equipped with interconnected, context-aware computing devices, are considered “smart” homes. To provide their functionality and features, these devices are typically equipped with sensors and, thus, are capable of collecting, storing, and processing sensitive user data, such as presence in the home. At the same time, these devices are prone to novel threats, making our homes vulnerable by opening them for attackers from outside, but also from within the home. For instance, remote attackers who digitally gain access to presence data can plan for physical burglary. Attackers who are physically present with access to devices could access associated (sensitive) user data and exploit it for further cyberattacks. As such, users’ privacy and security are at risk in their homes. Even worse, many users are unaware of this and/or have limited means to take action. This raises the need to think about usable mechanisms that can support users in protecting their smart home setups. The design of such mechanisms, however, is challenging due to the variety and heterogeneity of devices available on the consumer market and the complex interplay of user roles within this context. This thesis contributes to usable privacy and security research in the context of smart homes by a) understanding users’ privacy perceptions and requirements for usable mechanisms and b) investigating concepts and prototypes for privacy and security mechanisms. Hereby, the focus is on two specific target groups, that are inhabitants and guests of smart homes. In particular, this thesis targets their awareness of potential privacy and security risks, enables them to take control over their personal privacy and security, and illustrates considerations for usable authentication mechanisms. This thesis provides valuable insights to help researchers and practitioners in designing and evaluating privacy and security mechanisms for future smart devices and homes, particularly targeting awareness, control, and authentication, as well as various roles.Computer und andere „intelligente“, vernetzte Geräte sind allgegenwärtig und machen auch vor unserem privatesten Zufluchtsort keinen Halt: unserem Zuhause. Ein „intelligentes Heim“ verspricht viele Vorteile und nützliche Funktionen. Um diese zu erfüllen, sind die Geräte mit diversen Sensoren ausgestattet – sie können also in unserem Zuhause sensitive Daten sammeln, speichern und verarbeiten (bspw. Anwesenheit). Gleichzeitig sind die Geräte anfällig für (neuartige) Cyberangriffe, gefährden somit unser Zuhause und öffnen es für potenzielle – interne sowie externe – Angreifer. Beispielsweise könnten Angreifer, die digital Zugriff auf sensitive Daten wie Präsenz erhalten, einen physischen Überfall in Abwesenheit der Hausbewohner planen. Angreifer, die physischen Zugriff auf ein Gerät erhalten, könnten auf assoziierte Daten und Accounts zugreifen und diese für weitere Cyberangriffe ausnutzen. Damit werden die Privatsphäre und Sicherheit der Nutzenden in deren eigenem Zuhause gefährdet. Erschwerend kommt hinzu, dass viele Nutzenden sich dessen nicht bewusst sind und/oder nur limitierte Möglichkeiten haben, effiziente Gegenmaßnahmen zu ergreifen. Dies macht es unabdingbar, über benutzbare Mechanismen nachzudenken, die Nutzende beim Schutz ihres intelligenten Zuhauses unterstützen. Die Umsetzung solcher Mechanismen ist allerdings eine große Herausforderung. Das liegt unter anderem an der großen Vielfalt erhältlicher Geräte von verschiedensten Herstellern, was das Finden einer einheitlichen Lösung erschwert. Darüber hinaus interagieren im Heimkontext meist mehrere Nutzende in verschieden Rollen (bspw. Bewohner und Gäste), was die Gestaltung von Mechanismen zusätzlich erschwert. Diese Doktorarbeit trägt dazu bei, benutzbare Privatsphäre- und Sicherheitsmechanismen im Kontext des „intelligenten Zuhauses“ zu entwickeln. Insbesondere werden a) die Wahrnehmung von Privatsphäre sowie Anforderungen an potenzielle Mechanismen untersucht, sowie b) Konzepte und Prototypen für Privatsphäre- und Sicherheitsmechanismen vorgestellt. Der Fokus liegt hierbei auf zwei Zielgruppen, den Bewohnern sowie den Gästen eines intelligenten Zuhauses. Insbesondere werden in dieser Arbeit deren Bewusstsein für potenzielle Privatsphäre- und Sicherheits-Risiken adressiert, ihnen Kontrolle über ihre persönliche Privatsphäre und Sicherheit ermöglicht, sowie Möglichkeiten für benutzbare Authentifizierungsmechanismen für beide Zielgruppen aufgezeigt. Die Ergebnisse dieser Doktorarbeit legen den Grundstein für zukünftige Entwicklung und Evaluierung von benutzbaren Privatsphäre und Sicherheitsmechanismen im intelligenten Zuhause

    Triple Helix as a Strategic Tool to Fast-Track Climate Change Adaptation in Rural Kenya: Case Study of Marsabit County

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    AbstractThe lack of affordable, clean, and reliable energy in Africa's rural areas forces people to resort to poor quality energy source, which is detrimental to the people's health and prevents the economic development of communities. Moreover, access to safe water and food security are concerns closely linked to health issues and children malnourishment. Recent climate change due to global warming has worsened the already critical situation.Electricity is well known to be an enabler of development as it allows the use of modern devices thus enabling the development of not only income-generating activities but also water pumping and food processing and conservation that can promote socioeconomic growth. However, all of this is difficult to achieve due to the lack of investors, local skills, awareness by the community, and often also government regulations.All the above mentioned barriers to the uptake of electricity in rural Kenya could be solved by the coordinated effort of government, private sector, and academia, also referred to as Triple Helix, in which each entity may partially take the other's role. This chapter discretizes the above and shows how a specific county (Marsabit) has benefited from this triple intervention. Existing government policies and actions and programs led by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international agencies are reviewed, highlighting the current interconnection and gaps in promoting integrated actions toward climate change adaptation and energy access

    Route planning for e-scooters

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    According to Wikipedia; The vehicle routing problem (VRP) is a combinatorial integer programming and optimisation problem that asks ¿What is the optimal set of routes that a fleet of vehicles should travel to deliver to a given set of customers?. Many years have passed since Dantzig and Ramser introduced this problem in 1959. They described a real-world application concerning the delivery of gasoline to service stations and proposed the first mathematical programming formulation and algorithmic approach. But even so, route optimisation is now more important than ever. Large delivery companies invest a lot of their capital in VRP consultancy, knowing the most optimal route to deliver saves you a lot of time and money. This project attempts to solve a route planning problem. This problem is based on the primary notions of a TSP (Travel Salesman Problem). Tries to solve a problem where we are in a city on an e-scooter and we want to visit a number of places in that city in the shortest possible time. To reach all the places that are a goal for you, the battery of the e-scooter has to be considered, as it is decreasing through the distance travelled. So you have to consider if it is worth to deviate from the fastest route to take another e-scooter that has enough battery to reach the next destination, changing e-scooter adds extra time (time in which you change from one e-scooter to another). The goal of the thesis is to design and implement an algorithm solving the problem, i.e. that shows you the fastest route and the time it takes to visit all destinations in the shortest possible time.Según la Wikipedia; El problema de enrutamiento de vehículos (VRP) es un problema combinatorio de programación entera y optimización que se pregunta ¿Cuál es el conjunto óptimo de rutas que debe recorrer una flota de vehículos para entregar a un conjunto dado de clientes?. Han pasado muchos años desde que Dantzig y Ramser introdujeron este problema en 1959. Describieron una aplicación del mundo real relativa a la entrega de gasolina en estaciones de servicio y propusieron la primera formulación de programación matemática y un enfoque algorítmico. Pero aún así, la optimización de rutas es ahora más importante que nunca. Las grandes empresas de reparto invierten gran parte de su capital en la consultoría de VRP, ya que conocer la ruta más óptima para el reparto les ahorra mucho tiempo y dinero. Este proyecto trata de resolver un problema de planificación de rutas. Este problema se basa en las nociones primarias de un TSP (Problema del viajante). Trata de resolver un problema en el que nos encontramos en una ciudad en un e-scooter y queremos visitar una serie de lugares de esa ciudad en el menor tiempo posible. Para llegar a todos los lugares que son un objetivo para ti, hay que tener en cuenta la batería del e-scooter, ya que va disminuyendo con la distancia recorrida. Así que hay que considerar si merece la pena desviarse de la ruta más rápida para coger otro e-scooter que tenga suficiente batería para llegar al siguiente destino, el cambio de e-scooter añade tiempo extra (tiempo en el que se cambia de un e-scooter a otro). El objetivo de la tesis es diseñar e implementar un algoritmo que resuelva el problema, es decir, que le muestre la ruta más rápida y el tiempo que tarda en visitar todos los destinos en el menor tiempo posible.Segons la Viquipèdia; El problema d'enrutament de vehicles (VRP) és un problema combinatori de programació sencera i optimització que es pregunta ¿Quin és el conjunt òptim de rutes que ha de recórrer una flota de vehicles per lliurar a un conjunt donat de clients?. Han passat molts anys des que Dantzig i Ramser van introduir aquest problema en 1959. Van descriure una aplicació del món real relativa al lliurament de gasolina en estacions de servei i van proposar la primera formulació de programació matemàtica i un enfocament algorítmic. Però tot i això, l'optimització de rutes és ara més important que mai. Les grans empreses de repartiment inverteixen gran part del seu capital en consultories de VRP, ja que conèixer la ruta òptima per al repartiment els hi estalvia molt de temps i diners. Aquest projecte tracta de resoldre un problema de planificació de rutes. Aquest problema es basa en les nocions primàries d'un TSP (Problema del viatger). Tracta de resoldre un problema en el qual ens trobem en una ciutat en un e-scooter i volem visitar una sèrie de llocs d'aquesta ciutat en el menor temps possible. Per arribar a tots els llocs que s´on un objectiu per a tu, cal tenir en compte la bateria de l'e-scooter, ja que va disminuint amb la distància recorreguda. Així que cal considerar si val la pena desviar-se de la ruta més ràpida per agafar un altre e-scooter que tingui prou bateria per arribar a la següent destinació, el canvi d' e-scooter afegeix temps extra (temps en el qual es canvia d'un e -scooter a un altre). L'objectiu de la tesi és dissenyar i implementar un algoritme que resolgui el problema, és a dir, que li mostri la ruta mès ràpida i el temps que triga a visitar totes les destinacions en el menor temps possible

    Management of intimate partner violence in health care settings: A training manual for health care providers

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    Intimate partner violence (IPV) is any behavior by an intimate partner that causes physical, sexual, or psychological harm. In healthcare settings where providers are well trained, caring, and sensitive, most survivors respond positively to being asked about their exposure to violence. Healthcare providers are in a unique position to identify survivors and offer appropriate management and referrals. The World Health organization developed clinical guidelines to provide evidence-based guidance to healthcare providers on the identification and appropriate response to IPV and sexual violence. Based on this guidance, the Ministry of Health developed a comprehensive training manual to empower healthcare providers with the necessary knowledge and skills to ensure an appropriate health sector response to IPV. This training manual addresses emerging issues, including reproductive coercion, and equips healthcare providers and health management teams with the knowledge, skills, and positive attitudes necessary for provision of integrated, comprehensive quality care to address the management of survivors and ensure appropriate health sector response to IPV

    Globalization and Labour in the Twenty-First Century

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    Globalisation has adversely affected working-class organisation and mobilisation; but international labour movement demobilisation is not necessarily an irreversible trend. Globalisation has prompted workers and their organisations to find new ways to mobilise. This book examines international labour movement opposition to globalisation. It chronicles and critically scrutinizes the emergence of distinctively new forms of labour movement organisation and mobilisation that constitute creative initiatives on the part of labour, which present capitalism with fresh challenges. The author identifies eight characteristics of globalisation that have proven problematic to workers and their organisations and describes and analyses how they have responded to these challenges since 1990 and especially in the past decade. In particular, it focuses attention on new types of labour movement organisation and mobilisation that are not simply defensive reactions but are offensive and innovative responses that compel corporations to behave more responsively and responsibly towards employees and society at large. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of globalisation, political economy, labour politics, economics, Marxism and sociology of work

    THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING CAKE APPLICATION TOWARD STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY OF THE SEVENTH GRADE AT MTsS PSM REJOTANGAN

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    ABSTRACT Fatin, Nurina Almas Laila. NIM. 12203173090. 2021. The Effectiveness of Using Cake Application Toward Students’ Vocabulary Mastery of the Seventh Grade at MTsS PSM Rejotangan. Thesis. English Educationi Department. State Islamic Institute (IAIN) of Tulungagung. Advisor: Dr. Sukarsono, M. Pd. Keywords: Drill, Dictation, Vocabulary, Cake Application. Vocabulary is an important part of English because it of vital element for developing four language skills such as listening, reading, speaking, and writing. Vocabulary is also a basic linguistic element that must be mastered before starting to master the English language. Limited vocabulary makes mastering English be more difficult to achieve. Vocabulary can be mastered or learned through several techniques, one of them is the drill technique using the Cake application which can help students to acquire and practice memorizing vocabulary learned repeatedly by using internet-based applications. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of using the Cake application in improving the vocabulary mastery of the seventh grade students of MTsS PSM Rejotangan Tulungagung. To achieve this goal, in this study, the problem was formulated as follow; "Is using Cake application effective to increase the VII grade students’ vocabulary mastery at MTsS PSM Rejotangan? To answer this question, this research was carried out by using a quantitative approach with pre-experimental research method. The data collected from the population of Junior High School students, especially the sampled students of class VII, MTsS PSM by Rejotangan, selected by using purposive sampling technique. The class consists of 22 students undergoing treatment as an experimental group. The numeric data obtained from the samples were analyzed using a paired sample t-test along with other prerequisite statistical tools to verify the significant difference of mean scores of the pre-test and post-test. The results showed that Cake application is effective in increasing the vocabulary mastery of the sampled group, class VII students at MTsS PSM Rejotangan, which could be seen from the increase in the mean score gain of post test, upto 12.55. The mean score of the pre-test was 46.59 while after being given treatment the mean score of post-test was 59.14. The gained mean score was statistically significant after being tested through paired sample t-test showing that the sig-value was 0.00 that is lower than 0.05. In conclusion, the treatment, that is the use of Cake application is effective to increase the students’ vocabulary mastery

    Plants and Plant Products in Local Markets Within Benin City and Environs

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    AbstractThe vulnerability of agriculture systems in Africa to climate change is directly and indirectly affecting the availability and diversity of plants and plant products available in local markets. In this chapter, markets in Benin City and environs were assessed to document the availability of plants and plant products. Markets were grouped into urban, suburban, and rural with each group having four markets. Majority of the plant and plant product vendors were women and 88 plant species belonging to 42 families were found. Their scientific and common names were documented as well as the parts of the plant and associated products available in the markets. Most of the plant and plant products found in local markets belong to major plant families. Urban markets had the highest diversity of plants and plant products. Three categories of plants and plant products were documented. Around 67% of the plants and plant products were categorized as whole plant/plant parts, 28% as processed plant parts, while 5% as reprocessed plant/plant parts. It was revealed that 86% of these plants are used as foods, 11% are for medicinal purposes, while 3% is used for other purposes. About 35% of plants and plant products across the markets were fruits, which is an indication that city and environs are a rich source of fruits. The local knowledge and practices associated with the plants and plant products can contribute towards formulating a strategic response for climate change impacts on agriculture, gender, poverty, food security, and plant diversity

    ENGLISH TEACHING LEARNING PROCESS FOR READING AT SMP NEGERI 7 MUARO JAMBI

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    Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengetahui strategi proses pembelajaran pemahaman membaca bahasa inggris di SMP Negeri 7 Muaro Jambi dan mengevaluasi proses pembelajaran pemahaman membaca bahasa inggris oleh guru di SMP Negeri 7 Muaro Jambi. Dalam penelitian ini, peneliti menggunakan desain kualitatif dengan studi kasus. Peneliti telah mendapatkan jawaban atas pertanyaan dalam menganalisis strategi pengajaran membaca pemahaman yang diterapkan oleh guru pada siswa kelas VIII SMP Negeri 7 Muaro Jambi. Berdasarkan Hasil penelitian dan pembahasan dapat disimpulkan bahwa : (1) Proses Pembelajaran terbagi menjadi 3 kegiatan. yaitu : pendahuluan, inti dan penutup. a) Pada preliminary guru membiasakan siswa saling menyapa dengan guru menggunakan bahasa inggris. Selain itu guru juga membangkitkan motivasi siswa agar mau belajar lebih giat dan mau berpartisipasi aktif dikelas. b) Pada kegiatan inti guru melaksanakan kegiatan mengajar bahasa inggris secara interaktif, inspiratif, menyenangkan, menantang serta memberikan ruang yang cukup bagi prakarsa, kreativitas, dan kemandirian sesuai bakat, minat, dan perkembangan fisik serta psikologis siswa. c) Terakhir pada kegiatan penutup pembelajaran diakhiri dengan melihat kembali pelajaran yang telah dilakukan dan mempersiapkan materi pelajaran berikutnya. (2) guru SMP Negeri 7 Muaro Jambi menggunakan 3 tahapan dalam penilaian. pertama adalah ulangan harian, kedua penilaian diambil dari tes pikiran yang dilakukan oleh guru. penilaian terakhir adalah tes akhir. Selain itu jika strategi yang digunakan oleh guru dalam mengajar gagal maka guru menerapkan strategi alternatif untuk dapat mengatasi permasalahan tersebut
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