The Effects of Training on Pre-Service English Teachers’ Regulation of Their Study Time

Based on Zimmerman et al.’s (1996) learning model, an intervention consisting of seven weekly training sessions to increase students’ awareness of and ability to plan and manage their study time was developed. Weekly journals, in which students reflected on their implementation of each phase of the learning model, were applied for students and the researchers to monitor and evaluate the training process. The results indicate that the training proved to be beneficial in that students reported a frequent use of a variety of strategies throughout the training process

Evaluating an English Language Teacher Education Program Through Peacock’s Model

The main aim of this study is to draw attention to the importance of program evaluation for teacher education programs and to reveal the pre-service English teacher education program components that are in need of improvement or maintenance both from teachers’ and students’ perspectives by using Peacock’s (2009) recent evaluation model in a Turkish university context. The study is based on the data collected from teachers and fourth year student teachers who have had experience with the new teacher education program initiated by Higher Education Council (HEC) in 2006-2007 academic year. The data collected by means of questionnaires and interviews revealed that although participating teachers and student teachers have similar views about some program components, they hold different ideas about the balance among linguistic and pedagogic competences in the program. While teachers believe that the program does not suffice to improve student teachers’ linguistic competence, student teachers think that the pedagogic side of the program needs to be improved

Implementing an Interactive Reflection Model in EAP: Optimizing Student and Teacher Learning through Action Research

In this article, the authors, a teacher-researcher and an English Language Teaching (ELT) professor, report on a colloborative action research study which investigated how integrating systematic reflection into academic English courses at the tertiary level fostered both teacher and student learning. Using constructivist theory as a framework, they developed an interactive reflection model in which the students and teacher engage in a two-way process of reflection to improve their performance. Through reflective dialogue and reflective writing tasks, students explored their strengths and weaknesses in relation to the tasks they performed. Reflecting with students and on students’ reflections became a journey of discovery for the teacher-researcher and contributed to her professional development. Drawing on data from students’ oral and written reflective work, the teacher’s reflective journal and students’ evaluation of the effectiveness of the reflective tasks, the authors identify how adopting an interactive reflection model contributes to the learning process

An Integrated Social and Ecological Model: Impacts of Agricultural Conservation Practices on Water Quality.

Most phosphorus loading to Lake Erie is now attributable to agricultural non-point sources; hence a better understanding of the factors that affect the ecosystem health is crucial. Decisions farmers make regarding the adoption of conservation practices are inherently dynamic, affected by changes in social, economic and environmental conditions, whereas the water quality models used to assess policy interventions lack this dynamic social component. To bridge this gap, this dissertation presents three necessary steps to evaluate the impacts of farmers’ adoption of conservation practices on water quality using a coupled natural human systems modeling approach. The necessary steps are: 1) water quality modeling of the Sandusky watershed, Ohio using Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), 2) development of a farmer typology of conservation practice adoption among Corn Belt farmers and building an agent-based model (ABM) for adoption of conservation practices using the farmer typology, and 3) coupling the ABM with the water quality model to understand impacts of conservation practice adoption on water quality. In Chapter 2, SWAT is used for the Sandusky basin for 1970-2010 to simulate nutrient loading, particularly focusing on dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP). The results indicate that recent increased storm events, interacting with changes in fertilizer application timing and rate, as well as management practices that increase soil stratification at the soil surface, appear to increase DRP runoff. In Chapter 3, the broad literature review on conservation practices adoption by Corn Belt farmers consistently identify four policy-relevant farmer characteristics, namely farm size, land tenure arrangements, source of income, and information networks. In an examination of these characteristics, four broad farmer types emerged: traditional, supplementary, business-oriented, and non-operator farmers. To study the dynamic social component of farmers on water quality, an ABM of conservation practice adoption by farmers using the farmer typology is built. In Chapter 4, the results of ABM are used as input for water quality models to explore the linkages between social and biophysical processes within this coupled system. This linked modeling framework highlights the importance of non-operator owners and the influence of crop revenue insurance in lieu of commodity payments on farmers’ adoption decisions.PHDNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97948/1/daloglu_1.pd

Childhood Chlamydia Infections

Chlamydia pneumoniae and Chlamydia trachomatis are significant human pathogens that affect people of all ages worldwide. Chlamydia psittaci is a cause of zoonosis, and birds are the reservoirs. All are diseases for which there is no effective vaccine. C. pneumoniae is responsible for respiratory tract infections but the majority of recent C. pneumoniae research has focused on the persistent infections associated with chronic diseases and has been considered a childhood infection with potential adult consequences. C. trachomatis is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and the prevalence of the infection is particularly high among young people and adolescents. Prepubertal infection of C. trachomatis may be a warning sign for probable child sexual abuse (CSA). In addition to its role in genital diseases, trachoma is one of the world’s leading preventable causes of blindness. C. trachomatis can also cause Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV), a systemic, sexually transmitted disease characterized by genital ulceration and inguinal lymphadenopathy. This chapter aims to provide an overview of Chlamydia infections in childhood and summarize the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and treatment

Quantization errors in overlapped block digital filtering methods

In digital signal processing applications involving filtering long sequences, block filtering methods like overlapsave and overlap-add are widely used. Like all finite-precision applications, overlap-save and overlap-add methods are also affected by quantization errors. The goal of this paper is to calculate and make a quantitative comparison of the overall quantization noise resulting from the two methods in terms of power (variance) of the quantization noise. Multiple quantization noise sources are taken into consideration in the computation of the variances. The calculations reveal that the overlap-add approach is more prone to quantization noise compared to the overlap-save approach due to the addition of overlapping sections between overlap-add output blocks. Copyright © 2013 IARIA

Diffusion of global climate policy: National depoliticization, local repoliticization in Turkey

Although climate policy diffusion is widely studied, we know comparatively little about how these global policies and the norms that surround them are used by various political actors seeking to advance their own agendas. In this article, we focus on how global climate norms are diffused differently at national and local scales and used to repoliticize or depoliticize climate change. We focus on the case of Turkey, which carries the stark contrast of showing willingness to achieve global climate goals in the international arena but less so in domestic politics and actions. The article employs a novel methodological approach, using topic modeling and network analyses on a range of climate change–related policy documents, and interviews with high-level officers, conducted at the three jurisdictional levels in Turkey. The findings reveal that although global climate policy is diffused to both national and local governments, it is used in different ways at these levels. The national government uses climate policy diffusion to depoliticize climate change by creating ad hoc climate coalitions and limiting local climate actions to seeking external climate-related funds. Meanwhile, the metropolitan municipalities replicate nationally adopted climate goals, whereas the district municipalities domesticate ambitious climate norms and repoliticize climate change via local climate entrepreneurs and civic action. The paper contributes to understanding how climate policy diffusion and norm domestication can have different political outcomes in achieving global climate goals and argues for increased policy attention to the strategic use of climate policy diffusion for the depoliticization of climate change.publishedVersio

Holographic detection of nanoparticles using acoustically actuated nanolenses

The optical detection of nanoparticles, including viruses and bacteria, underpins many of the biological, physical and engineering sciences. However, due to their low inherent scattering, detection of these particles remains challenging, requiring complex instrumentation involving extensive sample preparation methods, especially when sensing is performed in liquid media. Here we present an easy-to-use, high-throughput, label-free and cost-effective method for detecting nanoparticles in low volumes of liquids (25 nL) on a disposable chip, using an acoustically actuated lens-free holographic system. By creating an ultrasonic standing wave in the liquid sample, placed on a low-cost glass chip, we cause deformations in a thin liquid layer (850 nm) containing the target nanoparticles (≥140 nm), resulting in the creation of localized lens-like liquid menisci. We also show that the same acoustic waves, used to create the nanolenses, can mitigate against non-specific, adventitious nanoparticle binding, without the need for complex surface chemistries acting as blocking agents

Holographic Microscopy with Acoustic Modulation for Detection of Nano-Sized Particles and Pathogens in Solution

We present a method for the detection of nanoparticles in solution using an acoustically actuated holographic microscope. This type of microscopy can be used for high-throughput biosensing applications, e.g., detection of viruses in a liquid

Holographic Microscopy with Acoustic Modulation for Detection of Nano-sized Particles and Pathogens in Solution

We present a method for the detection of nanoparticles in solution using an acoustically actuated holographic microscope. This type of microscopy can be used for high-throughput biosensing applications, e.g., detection of viruses in a liquid