A study on english teachers’ perceptions towards the use of augmented reality (AR) in secondary school ESL classroom / Mohd Sufi Amin Salmee.

In meeting the needs of the new generation of learners, the idea of implementing the use of new technology such as Augmented Reality (AR) in English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms can be a step towards refining the teaching and learning atmosphere. Nevertheless, the use of this technology relies heavily on the teacher’s level of acceptance and skills for it to be successful in classrooms. As the technology is yet to be implemented in the Malaysian Education System, this study can be the early attempt in studying the teachers’ perceptions towards the implementation of this new technology. Thus, the study intended to determine the English language teachers’ perceptions towards the use of AR in secondary school ESL classroom by applying the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as the base of the research model. TAM is a theory that was developed based on the adaptation of Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Theory of Planned Behaviour, which consists of four variables that are perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEoU), attitude towards use (ATT) and behavioural intention (BI). A survey was conducted on 180 English teachers from 20 schools in the district of Petaling Perdana. The items in the questionnaire elicited information on the levels of AR acceptance of the respondents based on the four mentioned variables of TAM towards the use AR in ESL classroom. Findings from the study indicate that the levels of AR acceptance of the English teachers are relatively high, as the respondents recorded a high level of PU, ATT and BI towards the use of AR while PEoU was at moderate level. Analysis of the level of AR acceptance based on the respondents’ gender, years of experience in teaching English and academic qualifications revealed that there is a significant influence of English teachers’ years of experienced in teaching English with their BI to use AR while other studied variables were found statistically insignificant in determining the levels of AR acceptance. The result from multiple regression analysis indicate that PU and ATT of the English teachers directly influence their BI to use AR in ESL classroom. The findings reported suggests that English teachers are acceptive and ready for the implementation of AR technology. Nevertheless, in-service trainings on the use of the technology and also awareness on the knowledge of operating the AR devices and software are needed for the teachers to ensure the smooth-running of the use of AR if it were to be implemented in the national curriculum

Diagnosis of Parotid Gland Mass by the Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) and its Histopathological Correlation - 2 Years Study in BSMMU, Dhaka

Background: Fine needle aspiration cytology is a widely practiced technique in the diagnosis of parotid lump. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a simple, quick, inexpensive and minimally invasive technique used to diagnose different types of masses. In otolaryngology, FNAC’s greatest utility is in the diagnosis of neck masses. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the sensitivity and specificity of FNAC in the diagnosis of parotid mass. Parotid gland lesions form about 2-6.5% of all head and neck neoplasms in adults. They are easily accessible by FNAC, also cytology can provide a distinction between parotid and non-parotid lesion, benign and malignant lesions, and specific and non specific inflammation. Methods: 50 patients were studied prospectively over 2 years. FNAC was done using 10 cc syringes and 20-22 G. needle and stained with papanicular stain. Histopathology was assessed on routine H & E (haematoxylin and eosin) stained paraffin sections. Results: Sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing malignant and benign tumours were 75%, 95.2%, and 92.5%, 80%, respectively, and 90% of benign tumours were accurately typed on fine-needle aspiration cytology compared with 92% in the malignant group. Conclusion: Fine-needle aspiration cytology is useful in the preoperative assessment of parotid tumours as it is more reliable than clinical examination to diagnose malignant parotid tumours. FNA cytology is useful in avoiding surgery (inflammatory lesions) or limiting surgical procedures (benign tumours). Key words: Parotid gland tumour; Fine needle cytology DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bsmmuj.v4i2.8632 BSMMU J 2011; 4(2):65-6

Diagnosis of Parotid Gland Mass by the Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) and its Histopathological Correlation - 2 Years Study in BSMMU, Dhaka

Background: Fine needle aspiration cytology is a widely practiced technique in the diagnosis of parotid lump. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a simple, quick, inexpensive and minimally invasive technique used to diagnose different types of masses. In otolaryngology, FNAC’s greatest utility is in the diagnosis of neck masses. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the sensitivity and specificity of FNAC in the diagnosis of parotid mass. Parotid gland lesions form about 2-6.5% of all head and neck neoplasms in adults. They are easily accessible by FNAC, also cytology can provide a distinction between parotid and non-parotid lesion, benign and malignant lesions, and specific and non specific inflammation. Methods: 50 patients were studied prospectively over 2 years. FNAC was done using 10 cc syringes and 20-22 G. needle and stained with papanicular stain. Histopathology was assessed on routine H & E (haematoxylin and eosin) stained paraffin sections. Results: Sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing malignant and benign tumours were 75%, 95.2%, and 92.5%, 80%, respectively, and 90% of benign tumours were accurately typed on fine-needle aspiration cytology compared with 92% in the malignant group. Conclusion: Fine-needle aspiration cytology is useful in the preoperative assessment of parotid tumours as it is more reliable than clinical examination to diagnose malignant parotid tumours. FNA cytology is useful in avoiding surgery (inflammatory lesions) or limiting surgical procedures (benign tumours). Key words: Parotid gland tumour; Fine needle cytology DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bsmmuj.v4i2.8632 BSMMU J 2011; 4(2):65-6

Knowledge Management practices: Teachers perception

In today’s world, Knowledge Management is considered as a key to organizational growth and competitiveness. This study aim was to investigate the perception of teachers about main factors affecting the teaching learning process in adopting and applying Knowledge Management. The main objectives of the study were (i) to explore the existing Knowledge Management Practices of teachers in International Islamic University Islamabad (ii) to find out the difficulties regarding knowledge management and (iii) to examine the factors affecting the application of Knowledge Management Practices in improving the performance of teachers. Qualitative method was used as mode of inquiry. Data was collected through an Interview guide. Concurrent exploratory design was used in the study while collecting and analyzing data. Qualitative data was analyzed through content analysis and percentage

Peace Education Practices in Pre-Service Teacher Training Programs: and Analysis

This study was designed to investigate peace education in pre-service teacher training programs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The objectives of the present study to find out :( a) to examine prevailing practices of peace education in pre-service teacher training programs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. (b) To evaluate the views of teacher Educators regarding the need of peace education in pre-service teacher training programs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. (c) To suggest way of integrating peace education in pre-service teacher training programs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. Using Survey method the data were collected through questionnaire from 245 teachers using simple random technique. A questionnaire was developed to investigate the opinions of the participants of the study. The data was analyzed by using the mean score, frequency and percentage

Utilisation of an operative difficulty grading scale for laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background A reliable system for grading operative difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy would standardise description of findings and reporting of outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate a difficulty grading system (Nassar scale), testing its applicability and consistency in two large prospective datasets. Methods Patient and disease-related variables and 30-day outcomes were identified in two prospective cholecystectomy databases: the multi-centre prospective cohort of 8820 patients from the recent CholeS Study and the single-surgeon series containing 4089 patients. Operative data and patient outcomes were correlated with Nassar operative difficultly scale, using Kendall’s tau for dichotomous variables, or Jonckheere–Terpstra tests for continuous variables. A ROC curve analysis was performed, to quantify the predictive accuracy of the scale for each outcome, with continuous outcomes dichotomised, prior to analysis. Results A higher operative difficulty grade was consistently associated with worse outcomes for the patients in both the reference and CholeS cohorts. The median length of stay increased from 0 to 4 days, and the 30-day complication rate from 7.6 to 24.4% as the difficulty grade increased from 1 to 4/5 (both p < 0.001). In the CholeS cohort, a higher difficulty grade was found to be most strongly associated with conversion to open and 30-day mortality (AUROC = 0.903, 0.822, respectively). On multivariable analysis, the Nassar operative difficultly scale was found to be a significant independent predictor of operative duration, conversion to open surgery, 30-day complications and 30-day reintervention (all p < 0.001). Conclusion We have shown that an operative difficulty scale can standardise the description of operative findings by multiple grades of surgeons to facilitate audit, training assessment and research. It provides a tool for reporting operative findings, disease severity and technical difficulty and can be utilised in future research to reliably compare outcomes according to case mix and intra-operative difficulty

Population‐based cohort study of outcomes following cholecystectomy for benign gallbladder diseases

Background The aim was to describe the management of benign gallbladder disease and identify characteristics associated with all‐cause 30‐day readmissions and complications in a prospective population‐based cohort. Methods Data were collected on consecutive patients undergoing cholecystectomy in acute UK and Irish hospitals between 1 March and 1 May 2014. Potential explanatory variables influencing all‐cause 30‐day readmissions and complications were analysed by means of multilevel, multivariable logistic regression modelling using a two‐level hierarchical structure with patients (level 1) nested within hospitals (level 2). Results Data were collected on 8909 patients undergoing cholecystectomy from 167 hospitals. Some 1451 cholecystectomies (16·3 per cent) were performed as an emergency, 4165 (46·8 per cent) as elective operations, and 3293 patients (37·0 per cent) had had at least one previous emergency admission, but had surgery on a delayed basis. The readmission and complication rates at 30 days were 7·1 per cent (633 of 8909) and 10·8 per cent (962 of 8909) respectively. Both readmissions and complications were independently associated with increasing ASA fitness grade, duration of surgery, and increasing numbers of emergency admissions with gallbladder disease before cholecystectomy. No identifiable hospital characteristics were linked to readmissions and complications. Conclusion Readmissions and complications following cholecystectomy are common and associated with patient and disease characteristics

The development and validation of a scoring tool to predict the operative duration of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background: The ability to accurately predict operative duration has the potential to optimise theatre efficiency and utilisation, thus reducing costs and increasing staff and patient satisfaction. With laparoscopic cholecystectomy being one of the most commonly performed procedures worldwide, a tool to predict operative duration could be extremely beneficial to healthcare organisations. Methods: Data collected from the CholeS study on patients undergoing cholecystectomy in UK and Irish hospitals between 04/2014 and 05/2014 were used to study operative duration. A multivariable binary logistic regression model was produced in order to identify significant independent predictors of long (> 90 min) operations. The resulting model was converted to a risk score, which was subsequently validated on second cohort of patients using ROC curves. Results: After exclusions, data were available for 7227 patients in the derivation (CholeS) cohort. The median operative duration was 60 min (interquartile range 45–85), with 17.7% of operations lasting longer than 90 min. Ten factors were found to be significant independent predictors of operative durations > 90 min, including ASA, age, previous surgical admissions, BMI, gallbladder wall thickness and CBD diameter. A risk score was then produced from these factors, and applied to a cohort of 2405 patients from a tertiary centre for external validation. This returned an area under the ROC curve of 0.708 (SE = 0.013, p  90 min increasing more than eightfold from 5.1 to 41.8% in the extremes of the score. Conclusion: The scoring tool produced in this study was found to be significantly predictive of long operative durations on validation in an external cohort. As such, the tool may have the potential to enable organisations to better organise theatre lists and deliver greater efficiencies in care

The Cholecystectomy As A Day Case (CAAD) Score: A Validated Score of Preoperative Predictors of Successful Day-Case Cholecystectomy Using the CholeS Data Set

Background Day-case surgery is associated with significant patient and cost benefits. However, only 43% of cholecystectomy patients are discharged home the same day. One hypothesis is day-case cholecystectomy rates, defined as patients discharged the same day as their operation, may be improved by better assessment of patients using standard preoperative variables. Methods Data were extracted from a prospectively collected data set of cholecystectomy patients from 166 UK and Irish hospitals (CholeS). Cholecystectomies performed as elective procedures were divided into main (75%) and validation (25%) data sets. Preoperative predictors were identified, and a risk score of failed day case was devised using multivariate logistic regression. Receiver operating curve analysis was used to validate the score in the validation data set. Results Of the 7426 elective cholecystectomies performed, 49% of these were discharged home the same day. Same-day discharge following cholecystectomy was less likely with older patients (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.15–0.23), higher ASA scores (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.15–0.23), complicated cholelithiasis (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.31 to 0.48), male gender (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.58–0.74), previous acute gallstone-related admissions (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.48–0.60) and preoperative endoscopic intervention (OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.34–0.47). The CAAD score was developed using these variables. When applied to the validation subgroup, a CAAD score of ≤5 was associated with 80.8% successful day-case cholecystectomy compared with 19.2% associated with a CAAD score >5 (p < 0.001). Conclusions The CAAD score which utilises data readily available from clinic letters and electronic sources can predict same-day discharges following cholecystectomy

A study on the use of humour in motivating students to learn English / Sufi Amin Salmee and Marina Mohd Arif.

Throughout the years, a lot of research has been looking at the significance of effective atmosphere in second language classroom. We often overlook the fact that humour is a vital element in attaining a supportive learning environment that can benefit students. There is limited research conducted on the effectiveness of the use of humour in ESL classroom, especially in the context of motivating the students to learn, in which the students are used as the indicator and method in gaining insights as they are the ones who experienced the learning process. Thus, this study was conducted to look at students’ views towards the effects of humour on their intrinsic motivation to learn English. A survey was conducted using questionnaires adapted from Deci & Ryan’s (2003) Intrinsic Motivation Inventory Test (IMI) on 70 students of various programmes from the Faculty of Education, UiTM. The acquired data were then compared based on each of the programmes in the Faculty of Education, UiTM. The findings from this study revealed that majority of the respondents strongly agree that humour has positive effects on students’ intrinsic motivation in learning English. The positive responses received from the respondents indicate that humour is indeed an effective teaching tool in promoting intrinsic motivation in learning second language