Relationship Between Affect and Achievement in Science and Mathematics in Malaysia and Singapore

Background: The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assesses the quality of the teaching and learning of science and mathematics among Grades 4 and 8 students across participating countries. Purpose: This study explored the relationship between positive affect towards science and mathematics and achievement in science and mathematics among Malaysian and Singaporean Grade 8 students. Sample: In total, 4466 Malaysia students and 4599 Singaporean students from Grade 8 who participated in TIMSS 2007 were involved in this study. Design and method: Students’ achievement scores on eight items in the survey instrument that were reported in TIMSS 2007 were used as the dependent variable in the analysis. Students’ scores on four items in the TIMSS 2007 survey instrument pertaining to students’ affect towards science and mathematics together with students’ gender, language spoken at home and parental education were used as the independent variables.Results: Positive affect towards science and mathematics indicated statistically significant predictive effects on achievement in the two subjects for both Malaysian and Singaporean Grade 8 students. There were statistically significant predictive effects on mathematics achievement for the students’ gender, language spoken at home and parental education for both Malaysian and Singaporean students, with R 2 = 0.18 and 0.21, respectively. However, only parental education showed statistically significant predictive effects on science achievement for both countries. For Singapore, language spoken at home also demonstrated statistically significant predictive effects on science achievement, whereas gender did not. For Malaysia, neither gender nor language spoken at home had statistically significant predictive effects on science achievement. Conclusions : It is important for educators to consider implementing self-concept enhancement intervention programmes by incorporating ‘affect’ components of academic self-concept in order to develop students’ talents and promote academic excellence in science and mathematics

Effects of a Mathematics Cognitive Acceleration Program on Student Achievement and Motivation

This paper presents the effects of a cognitive acceleration program in mathematics classes on Tongan students’ achievements, motivation and self-regulation. Cognitive Acceleration in Mathematics Education (CAME) is a program developed at King’s College and implemented worldwide with the aim of improving students’ thinking skills, mathematics performance and attitudes. The first author adapted the program materials to Tongan educational context and provided support to participating teachers for 8 months. This study employed a quasi-experimental design with 219 Year 8 students as the experimental group and 119 Year 8 students as the comparison group. There were a significant differences in the mean scores between the pre-test and post-test of the three instruments that were employed in the study, indicating that learning mathematics under the CAME program had a positive effect on levels of students’ self-regulation, motivation and mathematics achievement. Students also reported changes to the ways they learn mathematics

Attenuation of Zinc Finger Nuclease Toxicity by Small-Molecule Regulation of Protein Levels

Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) have been used successfully to create genome-specific double-strand breaks and thereby stimulate gene targeting by several thousand fold. ZFNs are chimeric proteins composed of a specific DNA-binding domain linked to a non-specific DNA-cleavage domain. By changing key residues in the recognition helix of the specific DNA-binding domain, one can alter the ZFN binding specificity and thereby change the sequence to which a ZFN pair is being targeted. For these and other reasons, ZFNs are being pursued as reagents for genome modification, including use in gene therapy. In order for ZFNs to reach their full potential, it is important to attenuate the cytotoxic effects currently associated with many ZFNs. Here, we evaluate two potential strategies for reducing toxicity by regulating protein levels. Both strategies involve creating ZFNs with shortened half-lives and then regulating protein level with small molecules. First, we destabilize ZFNs by linking a ubiquitin moiety to the N-terminus and regulate ZFN levels using a proteasome inhibitor. Second, we destabilize ZFNs by linking a modified destabilizing FKBP12 domain to the N-terminus and regulate ZFN levels by using a small molecule that blocks the destabilization effect of the N-terminal domain. We show that by regulating protein levels, we can maintain high rates of ZFN-mediated gene targeting while reducing ZFN toxicity

Repair at Single Targeted DNA Double-Strand Breaks in Pluripotent and Differentiated Human Cells

Differences in ex vivo cell culture conditions can drastically affect stem cell physiology. We sought to establish an assay for measuring the effects of chemical, environmental, and genetic manipulations on the precision of repair at a single DNA double-strand break (DSB) in pluripotent and somatic human cells. DSBs in mammalian cells are primarily repaired by either homologous recombination (HR) or nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ). For the most part, previous studies of DSB repair in human cells have utilized nonspecific clastogens like ionizing radiation, which are highly nonphysiologic, or assayed repair at randomly integrated reporters. Measuring repair after random integration is potentially confounded by locus-specific effects on the efficiency and precision of repair. We show that the frequency of HR at a single DSB differs up to 20-fold between otherwise isogenic human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) based on the site of the DSB within the genome. To overcome locus-specific effects on DSB repair, we used zinc finger nucleases to efficiently target a DSB repair reporter to a safe-harbor locus in hESCs and a panel of somatic human cell lines. We demonstrate that repair at a targeted DSB is highly precise in hESCs, compared to either the somatic human cells or murine embryonic stem cells. Differentiation of hESCs harboring the targeted reporter into astrocytes reduces both the efficiency and precision of repair. Thus, the phenotype of repair at a single DSB can differ based on either the site of damage within the genome or the stage of cellular differentiation. Our approach to single DSB analysis has broad utility for defining the effects of genetic and environmental modifications on repair precision in pluripotent cells and their differentiated progeny

Project management between will and representation

This article challenges some deep-rooted assumptions of project management. Inspired by the work of the German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, it calls for looking at projects through two complementary lenses: one that accounts for cognitive and representational aspects and one that accounts for material and volitional aspects. Understanding the many ways in which these aspects transpire and interact in projects sheds new light on project organizations, as imperfect and fragile representations that chase a shifting nexus of intractable human, social, technical, and material processes. This, in turn, can bring about a new grasp of notions such as value,\ud knowledge, complexity, and risk

Targeted genome engineering via zinc finger nucleases

With the development of next-generation sequencing technology, ever-expanding databases of genetic information from various organisms are available to researchers. However, our ability to study the biological meaning of genetic information and to apply our genetic knowledge to produce genetically modified crops and animals is limited, largely due to the lack of molecular tools to manipulate genomes. Recently, targeted cleavage of the genome using engineered DNA scissors called zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) has successfully supported the precise manipulation of genetic information in various cells, animals, and plants. In this review, we will discuss the development and applications of ZFN technology for genome engineering and highlight recent reports on its use in plants