Assessing the Gap between Theory and Practice in Implementing CLT at Secondary Level in Bangladesh: A Case Study

The Ministry of Education (MOE) of Bangladesh introduced Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) at the Primary and Secondary levels in 1990s in a hope to bring a qualitative change in the field of language teaching. But the outcome has not been up to the mark. There is a gap between theory of CLT and its implementation in our language teaching scheme. Some mismatches are reported in CLT implementation process in Bangladesh. This study aims at identifying the mismatches –factors- that hinder the implementation of CLT at the Secondary level of Bangladesh with a view to drawing the attention of the education administrators to bring necessary changes towards making language teaching more effectiv

Factors Affecting Academic Performance of Undergraduate Students at International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC), Bangladesh

This study was conducted to examine different factors influencing socio-economic background and the academic performance of undergraduate students enrolled at International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC) with a view to assessing their individual performances and improvements. The assessment covers comparative achievements of different faculties of IIUC-Shariah & Islamic Studies, Business Administration, Science & Engineering, Arts &Humanities and Laws. The data were collected from 200 undergraduate students from different faculties of International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC) through separate structured questionnaire using the simple random sampling technique. For analysis, simple percentage and linear regression model were run to evaluate comparative importance of the factors. The result shows that over all CGPA of IIUC student is 3.25 (Out of 4.00). Regression results of academic performance of students have varied from faculty to faculty. The result also reveals that age, gender, past academic track, medium of education and absence in the classes have also influenced the academic performances of a student. The study has covered the period of academic year Autumn-2013 to Spring-2014. Keywords: Socio-economic Background, Regression, Faculties, IIUC, Bangladesh

Navigating Cultural Desolation: Exploring T.S. Eliot's Depiction of Anxiety and Fragmentation in The Waste Land

Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888–1965), a remarkable English literary figure, is best known for the depiction of his age in his literary works. In this regard, scholars suggest that he lived and wrote in “an age of anxiety” and this very “anxiety” is often attributed to “profound transformations in human modes of life” engendered by cultural and institutional practices of modern condition. In Eliot, one can easily sense this phenomenon particularly in his early poems. These poems are said to have embodied this “anxiety” with great depth. In this regard, The Waste Land considered as one of the representative poems of modernist English literature, captures the crisis and anxiety of his age provocatively. Here, he draws the picture of a cultural waste land of post war Europe where the traditional way of life was disintegrating through the decline of traditional values, authority and order. The waste-landers of Eliot, to a large extent, suffer from loss of faith, loss of social nature of personality that created fragmentations in their lives. In this paper, through a method of analytical understanding and interpretation of the poem The Waste Land relating to its social and historical contexts, we will make an understanding of it focusing nature and extent of cultural anxiety depicted by Eliot. Thus, our study would contribute further to clarify the Eliotic understanding of cultural anxiety in the context of modernity as depicted in The Waste Land

A Review on Channel Access Control Mechanism to Improve the Dependability in Body Area Networks

The Body Area Networks (BANs) are quick growth to develop e-health care system for monitoring to various patients and are convenient and accessible for both patients and physicians. Many researchers are focused on different area like-signal processing, biosensor design, power efficiency and so on in BANs. However, still numerous issues are plagued in BANs to development and implementation effectively at present. One of these is to increase dependability which includes-reliability, security, availability etc from both communication perspectives intra and extra BAN. This review paper aims to investigate the exist BANs and highlights the merits and demerits of the current BANs. In addition, the proposed paper displays the challenges of present BANs and proposed a mechanism to improve the dependability of BANs

The Impact of Body Resistance Training Exercise on Biomedical Profile at High Altitude: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background. Obesity causes different diseases, eventually. In our study, the results of resistance exercises were examined on selected biochemical markers in Abha City, Saudi Arabia, which is at the height of 2,270 meters above sea level. Methods. A randomized controlled research was conducted with 60 participants equally divided into three groups, 20 subjects in each group: group 1 was composed of obese people who received resistance training exercise, group 2 was composed of the obese control group who did not receive resistance training exercise, and group 3 was composed of normal individuals who received resistance exercise training. The resistance exercises were done in the 6th and 12th weeks. Biochemical blood tests were done. Results. Comparing to the control group, glucose decreased very little with insulin also showing little difference. It has been seen that TC, TG, and LDL reduced to a reasonable extent after resistance exercise, while HDL was increased (p≤0.01). Plasma urea and creatinine showed no differences. Interleukin-6 and leptin decreased significantly (p≤0.01), while there was a significant elevation in adiponectin and testosterone (p≤0.01) once comparing group 1 with group 2 and group 3. Conclusion. We have seen that resistance exercise helps in reducing lipid profile which will result in a decrease of the cardiac and related risk factors when conducted in obese patients in high-altitude regions. Also, alterations of the levels of interleukin-6, leptin, adiponectin, and testosterone showed that resistance exercise is of benefit and favourable in obese persons in high-altitude regions, which can also pave the way for added development of drugs related to the above parameters

BCL-2 (-938C>A), BAX (-248G>A), and HER2 Ile655Val Polymorphisms and Breast Cancer Risk in Indian Population

Breast cancer is the most common carcinoma in women worldwide. The present case-control study was aimed to examine the association of BCL-2 (-938C> A), BAX (-248G > A), and HER2 (I655V i.e. A > G) polymorphisms with breast cancer risk in Indian population. This study enrolled 117 breast cancer cases and 104 controls. BCL-2 (-938C > A), BAX (-248G > A), and HER2 Ile655Val polymorphisms were screened by PCR-RFLP method. There was no significance difference in the allelic and genotype frequency of the BCL-2 (-938C > A) and BAX (-248G > A) polymorphisms between cases and controls. In relation to HER2 Ile655Val polymorphism, the statistical analysis of observed genotypic frequencies showed significant association (p-0.0059). Compared to Ile/Ile (A/A) genotype, frequency of Ile/Val (A/G) genotype was significantly higher among cases than in control group and observed to increase the breast cancer risk (OR, 2.43; 95%CI, 1.32–4.46; p-0.004). The frequency of Val (G) allele was significantly higher in cases as compared to controls (6.83% vs 2.88%, resp.). Compared to Ile (A) allele, significant increase in the risk of breast cancer was observed with Val (G) allele (OR, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.35–3.63; p-0.0016). We observed significant association between HER2 Ile655Val polymorphism and breast cancer risk under the dominant (OR = 2.52; 95% CI: 1.41–4.51; p-0.001) and codominant (OR, 2.24; 95% CI: 1.23–4.09; p-0.008) model. In our study, BCL-2 (-938C > A) and BAX (-248G > A) polymorphism were not found to be associated with breast cancer risk. This present study for the first time shows significant association of HER2 Ile655Val polymorphism with risk of breast cancer in Indian population. Therefore, we suggest that each population need to evaluate its own genetic profile for breast cancer risk that may be helpful for better understanding the racial and geographic differences reported for breast cancer incidence and mortality

Community People Preparedness and Response on Prevention and Control of COVID-19 Best Practice in Bangladesh

Purpose: The major objectives of the study were to assess the knowledge, attitude & practice (KAP) towards community preparedness and response on prevention of COVID-19 among the community people. Method: A sample survey was conducted to collect data from people admitted to a district-level tertiary hospital for the treatment of various health complications during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 300 randomly selected patients and their attendants were interviewed in the hospital setting. Results: The mean knowledge score was 18.73 out of 24 and the main sources of information were TV (86.5%), radio (13%), newspaper (13%), social media (13.5%), friends/relatives (14%), formal healthcare providers (6%) and religious leaders (3%). Knowledge was significantly poor among aged people, women, less educated, and less earning. The majority of the participants (79%) suggested wearing facemasks as effective tools to prevent COVID-19 from spreading, whereas 56% mentioned maintaining physical or social distance as crucial to prevent the infection. We found strong relationship between monthly total family expenses and wearing of facemasks by gender to prevent the COVID-19 (x2= 18.405; Cramer’s V= .17, df = 8; sig; P= < .018). Similarly maintaining physical/social distance to prevent COVID-19 is also related to respondents’ economic strata (x2= 43.741; Cramer’s V= .14, df = 20; Sig; P= < .002). Conclusions: Awareness program on COVID-19 is very important to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.  Effective communication intervention with increasing treatment facilities is essential for the prevention and control of COVID-19. Government and development agencies should prioritize the COVID-19 response program with regular health care services. 

Thigh-length compression stockings and DVT after stroke

Controversy exists as to whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy improves survival in patients with invasive bladder cancer, despite randomised controlled trials of more than 3000 patients. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effect of such treatment on survival in patients with this disease