Development and Validation of a Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale for the Education of Refugee Students

Good education is only possible with highly qualified teachers. Being aware of these competences or deficiencies is also important for teachers’ professional development. In the last 15 years, refugee migration from the Middle East and Central Asia to Europe has challenged Turkey with the problem of refugee education. The aim of this research is to develop and assess a measurement tool to gauge teachers’ self-efficacy perceptions towards refugee students. The validity and reliability studies of the scale with 14 items and 4 sub-factors were carried out by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis from the pool of 45 items created as a result of literature review. A second factor analysis was conducted to see whether the data fit into the predetermined factors. In the exploratory factor analysis phase of the study, 210 primary school teachers participated. The sampling group of the confirmatory factor analysis consisted of 200 teachers. It was concluded that the developed scale is a valid and reliable scale and can be used in the field of refugee education

Clozapine Increases Nestin Concentration in the Adult Male Rat Hippocampus: A Preliminary Study

Patients with schizophrenia, and rodent models of the disease, both exhibit suppressed neurogenesis, with antipsychotics possibly enhancing neurogenesis in pre-clinical models. Nestin, a cytoskeletal protein, is implicated in neuronal differentiation and adult neurogenesis. We hy-pothesized that schizophrenia pathogenesis involves nestin downregulation; however, few studies have related nestin to schizophrenia. We assessed nestin protein concentration, prepulse inhibition (PPI), and social interaction in the MK-801 model of schizophrenia, with or without antipsychotic (clozapine) treatment. Adult male Sprague–Dawley rats were intraperitoneally administered saline or MK-801 (0.1 mg/kg) to produce a schizophrenia-like phenotype, with concomitant subcutaneous injections of vehicle or clozapine (5 mg/kg). PPI was assessed on days 1, 8, and 15, and social interaction was assessed on day 4. Hippocampus tissue samples were dissected for Western blotting of nestin concentration. MK-801 alone did not alter nestin concentration, while clozapine alone enhanced hippocampal nestin concentration; this effect was not apparent in animals with MK-801 and clozapine co-administration. MK-801 also produced schizophrenia-like PPI disruptions, some of which were reversed by clozapine. Social interaction deficits were not detected in this model. This is the first report of clozapine-induced enhancements of hippocampal nestin concentration that might be mediated by NMDA receptors. Future studies will explore the impact of neurodevelopmental nestin concentration on symptom onset and antipsychotic treatment

Examination of age-dependent effects of fetal ethanol exposure on behavior, hippocampal cell counts, and doublecortin immunoreactivity in rats

WOS: 000333998100002PubMed ID: 24302592Ethanol is known as a potent teratogen having adverse effects on brain and behavior. However, some of the behavioral deficits caused by fetal alcohol exposure and well expressed in juveniles ameliorate with maturation may suggest some kind of functional recovery occurring during postnatal development. The aim of this study was to reexamine age-dependent behavioral impairments in fetal-alcohol rats and to investigate the changes in neurogenesis and gross morphology of the hippocampus during a protracted postnatal period searching for developmental deficits and/or delays that would correlate with behavioral impairments in juveniles and for potential compensatory processes responsible for their amelioration in adults. Ethanol was delivered to the pregnant dams by intragastric intubation throughout 7-21 gestation days at daily dose of 6 g/kg. Isocaloric intubation and intact control groups were included. Locomotor activity, anxiety, and spatial learning tasks were applied to juvenile and young-adult rats from all groups. Unbiased stereological estimates of hippocampal volumes, the total number of pyramidal and granular cells, and double cortin expressing neurons were carried out for postnatal days (PDs) PD1, PD10, PD30, and PD60. Alcohol insult during second trimester equivalent caused significant deficits in the spatial learning in juvenile rats; however, its effect on hippocampal morphology was limited to a marginally lower number of granular cells in dentate gyrus (DG) on PD30. Thus, initial behavioral deficits and the following functional recovery in fetal-alcohol subjects may be due to more subtle plastic changes within the hippocampal formation but also in other structures of the extended hippocampal circuit. Further investigation is required. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 74: 498-513, 2014METU Scientific Research Fund; Turkish Scientific and Technical Council (TUBITAK) [SBAG-107S069]; TUBITAK PhD scholarshipTurkish Scientific and Technical Council (TUBITAK) [SBAG-107S069]Contract grant sponsor: METU Scientific Research Fund.; Contract grant sponsor: Turkish Scientific and Technical Council (TUBITAK); contract grant number: SBAG-107S069 (to E.J.D.).; Contract grant sponsor: TUBITAK PhD scholarship (to B.E.C.)

Trait determinants of impulsive behavior: a comprehensive analysis of 188 rats

Impulsivity is a naturally occurring behavior that, when accentuated, can be found in a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. The expression of trait impulsivity has been shown to change with a variety of factors, such as age and sex, but the existing literature does not reflect widespread consensus regarding the influence of modulating effects. We designed the present study to investigate, in a cohort of significant size (188 rats), the impact of four specific parameters, namely sex, age, strain and phase of estrous cycle, using the variable delay-to-signal (VDS) task. This cohort included (i) control animals from previous experiments; (ii) animals specifically raised for this study; and (iii) animals previously used for breeding purposes. Aging was associated with a general decrease in action impulsivity and an increase in delay tolerance. Females generally performed more impulsive actions than males but no differences were observed regarding delay intolerance. In terms of estrous cycle, no differences in impulsive behavior were observed and regarding strain, Wistar Han animals were, in general, more impulsive than Sprague-Dawley. In addition to further confirming, in a substantial study cohort, the decrease in impulsivity with age, we have demonstrated that both the strain and sex influences modulate different aspects of impulsive behavior manifestations.FEDER funds, through the Competitiveness Factors Operational Programme (COMPETE) and the Northern Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement as well as national funds, through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) [projects POCI-01–0145-FEDER-007038, NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000013, NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000023 and PTDC/NEU-SCC/5301/2014]. Researchers were supported by FCT [grant numbers SFRH/BD/52291/2013 to ME and PD/BD/114117/2015 to MRG via Inter-University Doctoral Programme in Ageing and Chronic Disease, PhDOC; PDE/BDE/113601/2015 to PSM via PhD Program in Health Sciences (Applied) and Phd-iHES; SFRH/BD/109111/2015 to AMC; SFRH/BD/51061/2010 to MMC; SFRH/SINTD/60126/2009 to AM; SFRH/BD/98675/2013 to BC; IF/00883/2013 to AJR; IF/00111/2013 to AJS; SFRH/BPD/80118/2011 to HLA]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Humanizing sociotechnical transitions through energy justice: an ethical framework for global transformative change

Poverty, climate change and energy security demand awareness about the interlinkages between energy systems and social justice. Amidst these challenges, energy justice has emerged to conceptualize a world where all individuals, across all areas, have safe, affordable and sustainable energy that is, essentially, socially just. Simultaneously, new social and technological solutions to energy problems continually evolve, and interest in the concept of sociotechnical transitions has grown. However, an element often missing from such transitions frameworks is explicit engagement with energy justice frameworks. Despite the development of an embryonic set of literature around these themes, an obvious research gap has emerged: can energy justice and transitions frameworks be combined? This paper argues that they can. It does so through an exploration of the multi-level perspective on sociotechnical systems and an integration of energy justice at the model’s niche, regime and landscape level. It presents the argument that it is within the overarching process of sociotechnical change that issues of energy justice emerge. Here, inattention to social justice issues can cause injustices, whereas attention to them can provide a means to examine and potential resolve them

Investigation of the Reversal Loads in a Tapping Process

In the manufacturing industry, tapping tools are widely used for threading screws in drilled holes. It is expected that cutting loads would be affected by both the geometry of the tools and the cutting parameters in a tapping process. However, it is thought that such a simple mechanism does not exist. It is supposed that the tapping tools will encounter different loads while they are going forward and backward in the holes. Therefore, the unsteady loads that can lead to breaking the tools in the holes are important. In this study, tapping tests were performed on AISI 1050 steel. TiN-coated and uncoated HSS-E tools were used to cut M10 standard right screws on test parts. For this purpose, the test parts were thoroughly drilled with ø8.5 mm HSS drill bits. Then the tapping tools, which were manufactured in four different forms, were used to thread the screws in the holes. The tapping loads that are axial forces and torques were measured with a standard dynamometer. The experiments were carried out by using cutting fluid on a CNC milling machine. In conclusion, it is figured out that the axial forces and torques while the taps are going down the holes are more different than in the period the taps are going up the holes. While the tools were coming back at the end of the threading process the torques decreased, but the axial forces increased. Moreover, the heights values for the axial force and torque occurred by the TiN HSS-E tools that got straight-flute

THE IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS 0N THE INCREMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT : TAI

Örgütsel bağlılık, çalışanların performansını ve iş tatminini artırarak örgütsel başarı üzerinde olumlu etkilerde bulunmaktadır. Bu araştırmada çalışanlara yönelik halkla ilişkiler uygulamalarının değişik boyutlarının örgütsel bağlılık üzerindeki etkileri incelenmiştir. Çalışanların örgütsel bağlılıklarını belirlemede Allen ve Meyer'e ait üç boyutlu; duygusal bağlılık, devam bağlılığı ve normatif bağlılık ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Halkla ilişkiler açısından örgütsel bağlılığı etkileyen faktörler ise; motivasyon araçları, örgütsel iletişim ve yönetim tarzı başlıkları altında ele alınmıştır. Örgütsel bağlılığa etki eden faktörler literatür incelemesiyle geliştirilerek bir alan araştırması yapılmıştır. Alan araştırması, Ankara'da savunma sanayi sektöründe faaliyet gösteren Türk Havacılık ve Uzay Sanayi A.Ş. (TUSAŞ) çalışanları üzerinde uygulanmıştır. Yapılan araştırmada, TUSAŞ'da çalışanların en yüksek değerdeki örgütsel bağlılık bileşeninin duygusal bağlılık olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Örgütsel bağlılığı en yüksek düzeyde etkileyen motivasyon aracı ise yükselme değişkeni olmuştur. Ayrıca etkin ve işlevsel örgüt içi iletişimin örgütsel bağlılığı olumlu yönde etkilediği görülmüştür. Demokratik yönetim tarzının ise örgütsel bağlılığı artırdığı sonucuna varılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda örgütsel bağlılığın artırılmasında halkla ilişkilerin önemi üzerinde durulmuş ve önerilerde bulunulmuştur.Organizational commitment affects positively the organizational success by increasing the performance of employees and job satisfaction. In this research, the effects of different dimensions of public relations applications towards the employees on organizational commitment were investigated. In determination of organizational commitment, Allen and Meyer's three dimensional instrument: emotional (affective) commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment was used. The factors affecting organizational commitment in terms of public relations were grouped under three headings: motivational tools, organizational communication and administrative style. A pilot study was conducted through improving the factors affecting the organizational commitment in the literature review. The pilot study data were collected from Turkish Aerospace Industries employees in defence industry in Ankara. In this study, it was found that the highest organizational commitment component of Turkish Aerospace Industries employees was affective commitment. The motivational tool affecting organizational commitment at the highest level was promotion variable. In adition, it was found that active 170 and functional inter-organizational communication was a factor affecting the organizational commitment positively. It was concluded that democratic administration style increased the organizational commitment. In the result of this study, the importance of public relations on the increment of organizational commitment was emphasized and suggestions were made