The nature, extent and impact of educator targeted bullying on school teachers in West Malaysia

This study examines the nature, prevalence and impact of educator targeted bullying (ETB) in a sample of 575 Malaysian school teachers. Specifically it was predicted that ethnicity may be related to exposure to ETB; that frequency of exposure would vary by type of ETB; that there would be tenure-related differences in terms of exposure and burnout; and that teaching experience could moderate the exposure burnout relationship. Results suggest that less severe forms of ETB are more prevalent than physical forms; and that educators with increased teaching experience are less exposed to ETB. ETB exhibits a negative impact on burnout; and is strongest for student-related burnout. Increased experience buffers the ETB-student-related burnout relationship while ethnicity is unrelated to exposure to ETB

Normal-Weight Concrete with Improved Stress–Strain Characteristics Reinforced with Dispersed Coconut Fibers

According to the sustainable development concept, it is necessary to solve the issue of replacing fiber from synthetic materials with natural, environmentally friendly, and cheap-to-manufacture renewable resources and agricultural waste. Concrete is the primary material for which fibers are intended. Therefore, the use of vegetable waste in concrete is an essential and urgent task. Coconut fiber has attracted attention in this matter, which is a by-product of the processing of coconuts and makes it relevant. This work aims to investigate the experimental base for the strength properties of dispersed fiber-reinforced concrete with coconut fibers, as well as the influence of the fiber percentage on the mechanical, physical, and deformation characteristics. The samples were made of concrete with a compressive strength at 28 days from 40 to 50 MPa. The main mechanical characteristics such as strength in compression (cubic and prismatic) and tension (axial and bending), as well as the material’s compressive and tensile strains, were investigated. The percentage of reinforcement with coconut fibers was taken in the range of 0% to 2.5% with an increment of 0.25 wt.%. Tests were carried out 28 days after the manufacture. The microstructure of the resulting compositions was investigating using the electron microscopy method. The most rational percentage of coconut fibers was obtained at 1.75%. The increase in mechanical indicators was 24% and 26% for compression and axial compression, respectively, and 42% and 43% for tensile bending and axial tension, respectively. The ultimate strains in compression were raised by 46% and in tension by 51%. The elastic modulus was increased by 16%

Lightweight expanded-clay fiber concrete with improved characteristics reinforced with short natural fibers

Weight reduction should be accompanied by maintaining the strength and quality of materials utilized in construction. One of the comprehensive solutions to this problem can be the utilization of dispersed fiber reinforcement of concrete with plant fibers of various origins, which led to the sustainable production of concrete. Knowledge regarding the behavior of lightweight concrete with plant fibers is currently rather limited. Therefore, the primary aim of this article was to study the possibility of creating lightweight expanded-clay fiber concrete (ECFC) with improved characteristics, considering the dispersed reinforcement of this concrete with coconut (CF) and sisal (SF) fibers. Test methods and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses were used for the structural study. Dispersed reinforcement of lightweight expanded clay concrete with fibers of organic origin has a positive effect on its mechanical characteristics. The optimal content of expanded clay in lightweight concrete was obtained in terms of the ratio of strength and density. The content of CF and SF, which provides the highest increases in compressive and flexural strength, was 2% of the mass of cement. It was found that SF in lightweight ECFC performs better and provides greater strength gains than CF. The compressive strength of ECFC with CF increased by 8.9%, the bending strength by 16.1%, and with SF by 10.1% and 18.3%, respectively, compared to the fiber-free composite. The coefficient of the constructive quality values of lightweight ECFC is up to 16% higher with CF and up to 18% with SF than a concrete composite without fibers. Moreover, formulas were derived to predict the compressive of ECFC with and without CF and SF

Physical, Mechanical and Structural Characteristics of Sulfur Concrete with Bitumen Modified Sulfur and Fly Ash

Industrial waste usage in the technology of construction materials is currently in a relevant and promising direction. Materials made of industrial waste have a lower cost and are highly environmentally friendly. The objective of this study is to develop effective compositions of sulfur concrete based on the maximum possible number of various wastes of the local industry for this and to investigate the characteristics of this composite. Test samples of sulfur concrete were made from sulfur, fly ash, mineral aggregates and bitumen additive. The dosages of fly ash, sand and bitumen varied, while the content of sulfur and crushed stone remained constant. The following main characteristics of sulfur concrete were determined: density; compressive strength; and water absorption. Tests of sulfur concrete were carried out after 1 day and 28 days of hardening. The best values of compressive strength (24.8 MPa) and water absorption (0.9%) were recorded for the composition of sulfur concrete at the age of 28 days with the following content of components: sulfur—25%, modified with 4% bitumen of its mass; fly ash—10%; crushed stone—40%; and sand—25%. The optimal composition of modified sulfur concrete showed compressive strength up to 78% more and water absorption up to 53% less than the control composition. The characteristics of the sulfur concrete samples after 28 days of hardening differ slightly from the values after 1 day of hardening (up to 1.8%). An analysis of the structure confirmed the effectiveness of the developed composition of sulfur concrete in comparison with the control