Re-conceptualising how teacher agency/ies are becoming : Thinking with new materialism

In this thesis, I explore the significance of thinking with new materialism to re-conceptualise how teacher agency is becoming. Teacher agency is considered to be one of the most important factors in education reform, because teachers have the strongest influence on students, and their decision-making practices can determine whether they remain in the profession (Buchanan, 2015; Crandall, 2020; Datnow, 2012). The significance of teachers and their influence on students has been particularly salient during the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-pandemic period (Campbell, 2020; Ehren et al., 2021; OECD, 2023). The novelty of the spatial and temporal re-configurations caused by the pandemic has prompted new materialist discussions on developing novel ways of thinking, including a consideration of how nonhuman matter is also significant to the teaching profession (Heikkilä & Mankki, 2021). As such, I think with Karen Barad’s agential realism, a new materialist framework, to explore: how teacher agency is becoming through human-nonhuman intra-actions; the significance of the intertwined re-configuration of space, time, and matter when teacher agency is becoming; and implications for power dynamics in the teaching profession. In addition, I explain throughout the thesis how my doctoral journey has been becoming in a nonlinear manner, which was imperative to describe because thinking with new materialism entails acknowledging the nonrepresentational nature of research (Barad, 2007). I explore how teacher agency is becoming through three boundaries: 1. Exploring how teacher agency is becoming in public school; 2. Exploring how primary teacher agency is becoming; and 3. Exploring how primary teacher agency is becoming in Canada, Australia, and the United States (US). With respect to these bounded areas of inquiry, I employed a qualitative case study approach and generated semi-structured interviews and photo-elicitation data with 10 primary school teachers during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2021. I identified each teacher participant as a case-entanglement which denotes that teachers are not predefined entities because they emerge through their relations with human-nonhuman phenomena. Next, I share the insights that emerged from the interview and photo-elicitation data including: how the COVID-19 pandemic significantly re-configured common temporal, spatial, and material aspects of teaching; how these re-configurations were produced by multicausal human-nonhuman intra-actions and elicited multidirectional effects; and how the research process itself is intra-acting in the entanglement where teacher agency is becoming. Next, I discuss that the interview and photo-elicitation data, along with insights from the rest of the thesis, illuminate how thinking with new materialism and the usage of teacher agency as a term are incommensurable. I address this incompatibility by re-conceptualising teacher agency into teacher agencies. Teacher agencies diverges from teacher agency, because this notion focuses on the causes AND effects on the outcome of whether possibilities emerge for teachers to shape their practice. Lastly, I explain how thinking with teacher agencies, as an apparatus and other material-discursive practices, has significant implications for understanding and addressing the power dynamics of the teaching profession, including in-justices teachers experience. I detail key implications for policy and practice in addressing such in-justices in the teaching profession including: emphasising relationality, not individuality; acknowledging the significance of space, time, and nonhuman matter; and re-configuring key elements of public school teaching such as teacher accountability practices and curriculum development. Through this thesis, I make significant theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions to knowledge. Theoretically, I think with new materialism and agential realism, which is seldom done to explore teacher agency, and provide a novel re-conceptualisation of teacher agency through the notion of teacher agencies. Methodologically, I re-configure the process of doing research by sharing a nonrepresentational account of writing this thesis. Empirically, I provide novel insights on the temporal, spatial, and material aspects of teaching to re-work teacher policies, practices, and power dynamics

Numerical modeling for the evaluation of grout penetration in fractured rock masses

Grouting aims to reduce the permeability of rock mass below the required value and has been widely used in rock engineering field for a long time

Machine Learning Shrewd Approach For An Imbalanced Dataset Conversion Samples

The imbalance data applies to at least one of the classes, which are typically exceeded by the other ones. The Machine Learning Algorithm (Classifier) trained with an imbalance dataset predicts the majority class (frequently occurring) ‎more than the other minority classes (rarely occurring). Training with an imbalance dataset poses challenges for classifiers; ‎however, applying suitable techniques for reducing class imbalance issues can enhance the classifier’s performance. We take an ‎imbalanced dataset from an educational context. Initially, all shortcomings regarding classification of imbalanced dataset have ‎been examined. After that, we apply data-level algorithms for class balancing and compare the performance of classifiers. The ‎performance of the classifier is measured using the underlying information in their confusion matrices such as accuracy, ‎precision, recall, and f-measure. It shows that classification with an imbalance dataset may produce higher accuracy but low ‎precision and recall for the minority class. The analysis confirms that both undersampling and oversampling are effective for ‎balancing datasets, however, oversampling dominates.

Sugar Alcohols Have a Key Role in Pathogenesis of Chronic Liver Disease and Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Whole Blood and Liver Tissues.

The major risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are hepatitis C and B viral infections that proceed to Chronic Liver Disease (CLD). Yet, the early diagnosis and treatment of HCC are challenging because the pathogenesis of HCC is not fully defined. To better understand the onset and development of HCC, untargeted GC-TOF MS metabolomics data were acquired from resected human HCC tissues and their paired non-tumor hepatic tissues (n = 46). Blood samples of the same HCC subjects (n = 23) were compared to CLD (n = 15) and healthy control (n = 15) blood samples. The participants were recruited from the National Liver Institute in Egypt. The GC-TOF MS data yielded 194 structurally annotated compounds. The most strikingly significant alteration was found for the class of sugar alcohols that were up-regulated in blood of HCC patients compared to CLD subjects (p < 2.4 × 10-12) and CLD compared to healthy controls (p = 4.1 × 10-7). In HCC tissues, sugar alcohols were the most significant (p < 1 × 10-6) class differentiating resected HCC tissues from non-malignant hepatic tissues for all HCC patients. Alteration of sugar alcohol levels in liver tissues also defined early-stage HCC from their paired non-malignant hepatic tissues (p = 2.7 × 10-6). In blood, sugar alcohols differentiated HCC from CLD subjects with an ROC-curve of 0.875 compared to 0.685 for the classic HCC biomarker alpha-fetoprotein. Blood sugar alcohol levels steadily increased from healthy controls to CLD to early stages of HCC and finally, to late-stage HCC patients. The increase in sugar alcohol levels indicates a role of aldo-keto reductases in the pathogenesis of HCC, possibly opening novel diagnostic and therapeutic options after in-depth validation

Soybean (Glycine max L) genotype and environment interaction effect on yield and other related traits

Open Access International JournalTo evaluate genetic variability of five soybean genotypes, and assess genotype × environment effect on seed yield and yield related traits. Study Design: Split-plot, replicated three times. Genotypes were fixed effect while plots (main 60 m² and subplot 12 m²) were random effects. The sub-plot consists of 4 rows 5 m long with 60 cm and 10 cm inter and intra-row spacing. Place and Duration: El Gantra, Range and Pasture Farm in Sennar State of the Sudan during 2009 and 2010 cropping season. Methodology: Five soybean genotypes NA 5009 RG; TGx 1904-6F, TGx 1740-2F, TGx 1937-1F and Soja were evaluated. A strain of Rhizobium japonicum was used for inoculation at a rate of 10 g per kg of soybean seed using a sugary solution in 2009. Inoculation was not carried out due to the assumption that the field had the remnant of inoculum effect in 2010. All the recommended soybean agronomic practices were equally applied. Number of days to 50% flowering was recorded on plot basis when almost half of the sub-plot flowers. Ten plants were randomly selected on plot basis to quantify these traits: Plant height was measured as from ground surface to the base of meri-stem of the mother plant. Number of branches was computed as an average count of branches per plant. Leaf area was computed using Iamauti [12] empirical relationship. The first pod height was measured at full bloom. Number of seeds per pod was counted at physiological maturity of the crop. 100-seed weight was determined randomly from a seed bulk using a digital weighing machine. Seed yield was quantified after harvest and converted into kg/hectare. Results: The effect of genotype (G), environment (E) and G × E interactions on pod number per plant; plant height, first pod height, number of branches per plant, leaf area, number of days to 50% flowering and seed yield were found significant at P=0.05. The highest mean seed yield was obtained from TGx 1937-1F (0.98 t/ha). Beside TGx 1740-2F, TGx 1904-6F and Soja were significantly higher than NA 5009 RG in all environments for seed yield. TGx 1937-1F was an intermediate maturing and best in terms of number of pods per plant, number of branches per plant, and leaf area. Correlation coefficient for seed yield showed significant association with days to 50% flowering and leaf area. Conclusion: The best genotype for seed yield across the environments was TGx 1937-1F and TGx 1740-2F, TGx1904-6F and Soja were intermediate and NA 5009 RG was the least. Thus, partitioning G × E into adaptability and phenotypic stability will positively address the information gap on association of traits to yield

The integrated prediction system for geological conditions ahead of tunnel faces

It is essential to employ the observational design and construction method to manage tunnel projects efficiently

Areas of Corruption in the Health Sector in Jordan as Perceived by Local Community Representatives

Corruption is a multifaceted social, political, ethical and economic phenomenon that affects all countries. Despite that Jordan spends about 8% of its GDP on health; very little attention has been paid by researchers and policy makers to corruption and integrity in the health care delivery system. This study aims at identifying areas of corruption in the health sector in Jordan, factors that promote corrupt practices and policy directions to prevent and control them as perceived by local community representatives. The study adopted the qualitative approach utilizing the focus group method to collect data. A total of 36 convenient sample of local community representatives from the Middle, North and South Regions of Jordan participated in the study (12 from each region). A conceptual model which addresses the corrupt practices of the main actors: providers, patients, and suppliers, was used during. The findings of the three focus groups were put together by the investigators and analyzed by the principal investigator.The results showed that areas of corruption among providers were perceived mainly in requesting unneeded investigations and medical procedures, referring patients to certain providers in order to achieve financial gains (commission), prescribing expensive medicine and wasting working hours.  Areas of corruption caused by patients were perceived in the confiscation of the health insurance cards,  trying to get free care by under-reporting their income and deceiving insurers to obtain benefits. Causes of corruption and interventions to improve integrity in the health sector were also addressed by the participants. Keywords: corruption, health sector, integrity, local community representatives

Analytic Solution for the Drainage of Sisko Fluid Film Down a Vertical Belt

This paper deals with the drainage of Sisko fluid film down a vertical belt. It provides an approximate solution of the resulting non-linear and inhomogeneous ordinary differential equation using perturbation method (PM) and Adomian decomposition method (ADM). Comparison of the results obtained by both methods demonstrate that these series solutions are strictly identical but ADM is easy to compute and can be extended to any higher order. The important physical quantities like velocity profile, volume flow rate, average film velocity, shear stress, force exerted by the fluid film and vorticity vector are derived. The effects of fluid behaviour index, Stokes number and Sisko fluid parameter on some of these physical quantities are observed. Furthermore, we also made a comparison between the Sisko fluid film and Newtonian fluid film