Teachers’ attitudes toward integrating internet technology in English language classes

Today, integrating computer and internet technology in classrooms has had a great influence on educational environments. Based on presence of information technology in the education system of Malaysia, the present study was designed to explore the attitudes of Malaysian English as a second language (ESL) teachers toward integrating the internet technology in English language classes. In addition, it aimed to find out motivating and preventing factors that led these teachers to use or not to use technology in their teaching process. Five Malaysian ESL teachers were selected randomly to take part in the study. In order to get in-depth information, a semi-structured interview was conducted. The analysis of data gathered from interviewing with teachers revealed that Malaysian teachers showed positive attitudes toward internet usage in general, but because of some reasons they utilized it rarely in their teaching. Lack of internet access and computer facilities, insufficient computer skills, and lack of time was reported as obstacles to integrate internet in the classrooms. These findings suggested some implications for policy-makers to help teachers to integrate internet technology in their classrooms

The effect of preservation maintenance activities in asphalt concrete pavement sustainability

Pavement infrastructure is crucial to quality lifestyle and affluence of society. Since the pavement structure deteriorates after a while, appropriate pavement preservation maintenance is essential to attain a superior performing, safety, and economic pavement network for the users. Nowadays, within a modern society resources and budget are restricted that make it necessary for transportation agencies to discover approaches to use the resources to optimize benefits included in daily operation. Simultaneously, focus on the idea of environmental sustainability has increased substantially. Pavement preservation assists environmental sustainability by preserving energy, raw materials, and mitigating greenhouse gases (GHG) by maintaining good roads in the perfect condition. Thereby, a sustainable pavement maintenance program should look into allocating budget and resources to pavement preservation. Various types of pavement preservation treatments use different levels of energy and produce GHG emissions. Preservation treatments considered in this study included thin hot-mix asphalt (HMA) overlay, chip seal, slurry seal and crack seal. This research states the methodology in sustainable pavement preservation maintenance. Its focus is on quantifying and recognizing which of these pavement preservations practices minimize environmental impacts. As the economic is one of the components in triple bottom-line in sustainability, the next step is focusing on cost-benefit of preservation maintenance activity and comparing by rehabilitation activity. This research aims to persuade pavement organization to apply correct perseverance activity on the right time and proper manner to enhance sustainable development

Life Cycle Assessment for Pavement Sustainable Development: Critical Review

Certainly, one of the most cost effective and comprehensive infrastructure assets of the build environment is road infrastructure. The environmental impacts of this asset during its lifecycle drive researchers to create a foundational framework to quantify these effects. Life cycle assessment (LCA), a method for the assessment of all modules in a life cycle, has been examined to evaluate all the environmental modules and components of road projects due to constraints of environmental assessments. The enthusiasm for enhancing the sustainable development of basic infrastructure leads to quick expansion on pavement life cycle assessment. An audit of applicable published LCA studies has recognized that environmental modules, such as the usage module (rolling resistance of pavement, carbonation, and albedo), end of life (EOL) module, and components such as traffic congestion during the construction module are not regarded in most of the articles. These modules potentially have the same environmental impact as other regularly considered modules such as materials, transportation, and construction. The goal of this study is to recognize shortfalls in the fields that bolster pavement LCA, to prepare a comprehensive and straight forward methodology, and to provide a basis on which related studies can move forward

Recycling toward sustainable pavement development: End-of-life considerations in asphalt pavement

As quality aggregate sources are depleted, there is a growing importance given to incorporating recycled co-products and waste materials (RCWMs) in new and rehabilitated pavements. An ideal goal would be using recycled materials to create long-lived, well-performing pavement and then being able to use those materials again at the end of their life to create new pavement, thereby effectively achieving a zerowaste highway construction stream. This would not only produce distinct cost advantages, but it would also significantly reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and eliminate the need for landfill disposal. Drawing from ISO standards and practices, this article reviews the recycling methods and definitions associated with the End-of-Life (EOL) phase and present various EOL considerations for asphalt pavements and the associated challenges to quantify EOL contribution in the pavement life cycle

Sustainable Development Factors in Pavement Life-Cycle: Highway/Airport Review

Sustainability has gained as much importance as management in business. Sustainable pavement development as a business practice should involve making evaluations according to the triple bottom line in the pavement life-cycle. Despite the current approaches to evaluating the social as well as economic and environmental feasibility of pavement projects (involving highway and airport infrastructure), there has recently been a lack of consensus on a methodology to guarantee sustainability upon assessment and analysis during the pavement life-cycle. As sustainability is a complex issue, this study intends to further explore sustainability and elaborate on its meaning. The second step involves a general depiction of the major sustainability appraisal tools, namely cost-benefit analysis, life-cycle cost analysis, life-cycle assessment, multi-criteria decision-making, environmental impact assessment and social life-cycle assessment, and an explanation of their cons and pros. Subsequently, the article addresses the application of an organized methodology to highlight the main factors or concepts that should be applied in sustainable pavement development and, more specifically, in sustainable pavement management. In the final step, research recommendations toward sustainability are given. This study is aimed to assist decision-makers in pavement management to plan sustainability frameworks in accordance with probable boundaries and restrictions

A comparative study of monitoring methods in sustainable pavement system development

Pavement management system (PMS) has been receiving increasing attention from both the government and private sectors in the attempt to ensure and keep the roads in good condition. The appropriate level of road maintenance activity is often contingent upon the type of pavement distress. Valid and reliable pavement data would lead to develop a PMS which is more suitable for agencies. Previous studies which attempted to identify modes of monitoring pavements were limited by constraints such as cost, time, and safety. This study was conducted to review some of the pavement monitoring modes introduced in previous studies. After completing a literature review, three mostly used modes, namely manual survey, smart sensor, and optical image processing, are selected for a comparative study to determine which mode is the most effective method in terms of cost, time, safety, accuracy, and sustainability. A data quality guideline was modified to produce a rating system for ranking the modes. In conclusion, the findings of this study could provide a guideline for the government and private sectors in determining the most effective pavement monitoring mode to be used in the sustainable PMS strategy

Life Cycle Assessment for Pavement Sustainable Development: Critical Review

Certainly, one of the most cost effective and comprehensive infrastructure assets of the build environment is road infrastructure. The environmental impacts of this asset during its lifecycle drive researchers to create a foundational framework to quantify these effects. Life cycle assessment (LCA), a method for the assessment of all modules in a life cycle, has been examined to evaluate all the environmental modules and components of road projects due to constraints of environmental assessments. The enthusiasm for enhancing the sustainable development of basic infrastructure leads to quick expansion on pavement life cycle assessment. An audit of applicable published LCA studies has recognized that environmental modules, such as the usage module (rolling resistance of pavement, carbonation, and albedo), end of life (EOL) module, and components such as traffic congestion during the construction module are not regarded in most of the articles. These modules potentially have the same environmental impact as other regularly considered modules such as materials, transportation, and construction. The goal of this study is to recognize shortfalls in the fields that bolster pavement LCA, to prepare a comprehensive and straight forward methodology, and to provide a basis on which related studies can move forward.This proceeding is published as Babashamsi, P., Yusoff, N. I. M., Ceylan, H., and Nor, N. G. M. (2015). “Life Cycle Assessment for Pavement Sustainable Development: Critical Review,” The Second AWAM International Conference on Civil Engineering (eco-AICCE'15), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia , September 9-11, 2015. Applied Mechanics and Materials, Vol. 802, pp. 333-338. DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.802.333. Posted with permission.</p

Effects of metacognitive strategy instructions on reading comprehension and critical thinking skills of international undergraduate students

Metacognitive strategies have been investigated as facilitating tools for students’ reading comprehension. Few studies have investigated the detailed procedure of systematically delivering and teaching metacognitive strategies in higher education. To fill the gap, the researcher aims to investigate whether explicit training in metacognitive strategies could improve undergraduates’ reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. Quasiexperimental design, repeated measure ANOVA, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with six students in an experimental metacognitive group to support the results of the quantitative data. The data were collected using the reading test, Cornell Critical thinking skill test, and Metacognitive Reading Awareness Strategy inventory. The experimental group and control group underwent 14 sessions of training. Apart from teaching metacognitive strategies to the experimental group, both groups were taught using similar teaching materials. Upon completing the treatment, post-tests of reading and critical thinking skills were administered to all participants. Semi-structured interviews and a Metacognitive Reading Awareness Strategy Assessment were conducted among experimental students. The results showed a statistically significant difference between the scores of students taught in metacognitive reading comprehension and the conventional group (F=2, 126) = 269.445. p <0.05). The results related to critical thinking tests revealed the mean scores of students in the metacognitive group were significantly higher than the mean score of the students in the conventional reading group (F= 1.3,82.3) = 215.973. p <0.001). The results of the Metacognitive Reading Awareness Strategy Assessment showed that students had more awareness of global reading strategies (M= 3.511), followed by supporting reading strategies (M=3.468) and problem-solving strategies (M= 3.427). The thematic analysis result supported that students were moderate users of planning and monitoring strategies while less frequently used evaluative strategies. The results also revealed that students perceived that lack of vocabulary knowledge, heavy dependence on their teachers, and lack of strategy training were the main causes of their reading difficulties. The findings implied that EFL teachers should introduce metacognitive reading strategies through appropriate and systematic instructions to enable the students to implement them in their academic reading