Lifelong Learning Tendencies of Prospective Teachers

Stunning developments in this era have brought different meanings in both educational conditions and time and space in education. Developing technologies have made education applicable everywhere. In other words, education has been taken outside of the known space (classic school walls). Individuals’ constant innovation has caused the development of the concept of “lifelong learning”, which is among the primary concepts in today’s educational studies. However, teachers play a key role in accepting and accurately perceiving this approach. Because approaches and tendencies of teachers concerning this subject will be effective upon forming a relevant perception in their environment. Education received by teachers in the preservice period plays an important role in the formation of a positive or a negative tendency. Thus, the determination of lifelong learning tendencies of prospective teachers is very important in terms of educational strategies to be developed in this direction. The objective of this study is to determine lifelong learning tendencies of prospective teachers according to different variables. Target population of the study consisted of students studying in different grades of Gazi University Gazi Faculty of Education. As the group where the study data would be collected was very intense; no sample was selected to represent the population. In this context, 350 students studying in different grades were included in the sample. In the study, the data were collected via a scale that was developed by Coskun Diker (2009). The collected data were analyzed and tabulated via the SPSS package software. Examining the data; it was observed that lifelong learning tendencies of prospective teachers differed according to gender, academic achievement, grade and the state of participating in a personal development course. Keywords: Lifelong Learning, Lifelong Learning Tendency, Prospective Teacher, Teacher Training, Continuing Educatio

Adaptive vibration control of a nonlinear quarter car model with an electromagnetic active suspension

The main goal of the active suspension system used in a vehicle is reducing the vehicle vibration. In this study, an adaptive control approach is applied to a nonlinear quarter car model with an active suspension system. An electromagnetic actuator is used in the active suspension system. The attractive aspect of the applied control method is not required to both vehicle parameters and actuator parameters. Using Lyapunov based stability analysis; it is shown that all the signals in the closed loop system are bounded. Hence, the applied controller ensures the vibration reduction of the nonlinear quarter car model. The simulation results show that the applied adaptive controller provide a good ride comfort despite the parametric uncertainties while keeping suspension travel and tire deflection in acceptable limits

The Attitude Determination Scale for Value Acquisition: A Validity and Reliability Study

This study aims to develop a measurement tool having measurement reliability with the aim of determining attitudes for values acquisition of secondary school students. The study was conducted on totally 325 high school senior students as 200 female and 125 male students in spring semester of 2014-2015 educational year. In the study, expert opinion was taken for extend and appearance validity of the scale, and Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied for structure validity. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, it was detected that the scale had a structure of five factors. This five-point structure consisting of totally 41 items as 25 positive and 16 negative items are named as “minding values acquisition, satisfaction from values acquisition, readiness for values acquisition, belief in attempt for values acquisition, belief in requirement for values acquisition”, respectively. Total variance explanation ratio of this structure consisting of totally five factors relating to scale was 60.767%. Scale reliability was examined with internal consistency and retest methods, and it was detected that reliability coefficients obtained as a consequence of the analyses was in an acceptable level. The results obtained from item analyses show that scale items have a distinctive feature. In line with these results, it may be said that the scale is a measurement tool having required psychometric features that may be used with the aim of measuring the attitudes for values acquisition of the secondary school students. Keywords: values, attitude, scale development, values educatio

Application of Self Tuning Fuzzy Logic Control to Full Railway Vehicle Model

AbstractThis paper presents the dynamic modeling and intelligent control of the full railway vehicle against the railway irregularities. In order to safe and comfortable transportation of passengers, vibration analysis and control studies are investigated by using Matlab–Simulink software. The 54 degrees of freedom railway vehicle model is used for analysis. The controllers are placed between the car body and bogies. For reducing the car body vibrations caused by a lateral and two vertical sinusoidal track irregularities, fuzzy logic and self-tuning fuzzy logic control schemes are applied to railway vehicle. The fuzzy logic based algorithms herein are used for realizing the active control of car body vibrations. The simulations of vibration analysis are obtained in time and frequency domains and compared with uncontrolled case. A good vibration reduction performance is achieved by using applied control algorithms

The Spectrum Of Diseases Causing Fever Of Unknown Origin In Turkey: A Multicenter Study

Objective: The purpose of this trial was to determine the spectrum of diseases with fever of unknown origin (FUO) in Turkey. Methods: A prospective multicenter study of 154 patients with FUO in twelve Turkish tertiarycare hospitals was conducted. Results: The mean age of the patients was 42 +/- 17 years (range 17-75). Fifty-three (34.4%) had infectious diseases (ID), 47 (30.5%) had non-infectious inflammatory diseases (NIID), 22 (14.3%) had malignant diseases (MD), and eight (5.2%) had miscellaneous diseases (Mi). In 24 (15.6%) of the cases, the reason for high fever could not be determined despite intensive efforts. The most common ID etiologies were tuberculosis (13.6%) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection (3.2%). Adult Still's disease was the most common NIID (13.6%) and hematological malignancy was the most common MD (7.8%). In patients with NIID, the mean duration of reaching a definite diagnosis (37 +/- 23 days) was significantly longer compared to the patients with ID (25 +/- 12 days) (p = 0.007). In patients with MD, the mean duration of fever (51 +/- 35 days) was longer compared to patients with ID (37 +/- 38 days) (p = 0.052). Conclusions: Although infection remains the most common cause of FUO, with the highest percentage for tuberculosis, non-infectious etiologies seem to have increased when compared with previous studies. (C) 2007 International Society for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.WoSScopu

Withdrawal of Staphylococcus aureus from intensive care units in Turkey

WOS: 000326241700021PubMed ID: 23663858Background: In the past, Staphylococcus aureus infections have displayed various patterns of epidemiologic curves in hospitals, particularly in intensive care units (ICUs). This study aimed to characterize the current trend in a nationwide survey of ICUs in Turkey. Methods: A total of 88 ICUs from 36 Turkish tertiary hospitals were included in this retrospective study, which was performed during the first 3 months of both 2008 (period [P] 1) and 2011 (P2). A P value <=.01 was considered significant. Results: Although overall rates of hospital-acquired infection (HAI) and device-associated infection densities were similar in P1 and P2, the densities of HAIs due to S aureus and methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA) were significantly lower in P2 (P < .0001). However, the proportion of HAIs due to Acinetobacter was significantly higher in P2 (P < .0001). Conclusions: The incidence of S aureus infections is declining rapidly in Turkish ICUs, with potential impacts on empirical treatment strategies in these ICUs. Copyright (C) 2013 by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved