A STUDY OF THE PERCEPTUAL BELIEFS AND THE USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING

This paper is a temporary report of a project investigating the ICT gadgets in a survey study involving students of Senior High Schools in Central Java, Indonesia. The purpose of this study is to investigate how ICT is perceived and used by high school students as well as to disclose how the students have made use of the technological gadgets for language learning-related activities. The study employs a mixed method by which data were garnered from questionnaire surveys and focus group discussion. This is reported in the very end of the project stages and the results of which suggest that the research subjects perceive the ICT very positively and that, overall, respondents have frequently used them for various dayto-day activities. Another finding also suggests that the majority of respondents admit that they use the gadgets for various learning-related activities despite less so for learning English, bringing with it an implication on the change of policy by schools or educational policy makers to consider integrating the technology into a more purposeful learning uses

Colonization and succession of phytoplankton species in upwelling plumes off the Cape Peninsula

Includes bibliographical references.Colonization and temporal changes in phytoplankton diversity and biomass in the upwelling plumes off the Cape Peninsula are described for two different communities. A drogue study showed the presence of a fast-developing mixed phytoplankton community with Chaetoceros compressus Laud. and Skeletonema costatum (Grev.) Cleve the dominant species. Monthly transect studies, however, revealed the presence of another community consistently dominated by Nitzschia spp. Species succession did not occur in either phytoplankton community. Factors Likely to affect the development of the phytoplankton communities and cause differences in certain community characteristics, e.g. dominance, biomass and diversity, were attributed to differences in: ( 1) the origins of the source water; (2) the wind speed and direction; and (3) the sampling strategies employed. The factors responsible for the successful colonization of the different species in the phytoplankton community were thought to depend on: (1) the initial variations in species diversity and abundance of the seeded population in newly upwelled waters; (2) the extent to which the upwelled waters mixed with neighbouring waters; and (3) the specific selective adaptations for growth of the individual species. Possible adaptive phytoplanktonic mechanisms in a changing environment, were discussed in terms of cell size, growth, nutrient absorption and buoyancy

Phytoplankton growth and zooplankton grazing in the southern Benguela current

Bibliography: pages 135-146.The development and production of several phytoplankton communities and the consumption of these communities plankton were investigated in newly by herbivorous mesozooupwelled waters of the southern Benguela Current by means of an electronic counting and sizing technique (Coulter counter). A feasibility study was initiated to test the accuracy of the Coulter counter (Model TAII) in estimating phytoplankton size and biomass in fresh and preserved samples from the Benguela current. Counting phytoplankton using this method gave a higher degree of reproducibility than the inverted microscope method. Certain recommendations as to the counting procedures were made. The counting of preserved samples was shown to introduce artefacts, resulting in a 77 per cent reduction in particle volume after a year of preservation. Correlations of particle volume with chorophyll a, carbon and nitrogen were calculated, with highest correlations occurring between particle volume and chlorophyll a. Particle volume was shown to represent biomass as accurately as any of the other methods

Corrosion Behaviour of Heat Treated 1060 Aluminium in Dilute Acid Solutions

The electrochemical corrosion behaviour of untreated, quenched and annealed cold rolled 1060 aluminium specimens was studied through weight loss measurement, potentiodynamic polarization technique and optical microscopy in 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2M H2SO4 and HCl solutions. Data obtained from the tests show that the quenched specimens had the highest corrosion resistance as a result of its hardened surface due to retained saturated solid solution. The untreated aluminium specimens exhibited a lower corrosion resistance than the quenched specimens though the corrosion rates from HCl solution are generally higher than values obtained from H2SO4. Annealed specimens had the highest corrosion rate as its passive protective film resulting from the rearrangement of its microstructural constituents could not sustain the aggressive attack of corrosive anions within the acid solution. Micrographs from optical microscopy showed a severely deteriorated annealed morphology resulting from depletion of the grain boundary. Corrosion pits were observed in the untreated specimens while the quenched specimens showed limited deterioration due to general corrosio

Corporate social responsibility and sustainable development

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) meaning the active and voluntary contribution of firms to enhance welfare, is achieving a greater importance in Business administration as an intangible asset which management generates competitive advantages and promotes sustainable development. This work indentifies similarities between CSR management and Intellectual Capital management, this one meant as those activities which help us to manage the knowledge of the firm. Our aim is that firms understand the importance of considering CSR as a corporate strategy that enhances the value of the organization, and that they become conscious about its efficiency and efficacy.peer-reviewe

Behavioral Recovery and Early Decision Making in Patients with Prolonged Disturbance in Consciousness after Traumatic Brain Injury

The extent of behavioral recovery that occurs in patients with traumatic disorders of consciousness (DoC) following discharge from the acute care setting has been under-studied and increases the risk of overly pessimistic outcome prediction. The aim of this observational cohort study was to systematically track behavioral and functional recovery in patients with prolonged traumatic DoC following discharge from the acute care setting. Standardized behavioral data were acquired from 95 patients in a minimally conscious (MCS) or vegetative state (VS) recruited from 11 clinic sites and randomly assigned to the placebo arm of a previously completed prospective clinical trial. Patients were followed for 6 weeks by blinded observers to determine frequency of recovery of six target behaviors associated with functional status. The Coma Recovery Scale-Revised and Disability Rating Scale were used to track reemergence of target behaviors and assess degree of functional disability, respectively. Twenty percent (95% confidence interval [CI]: 13-30%) of participants (mean age 37.2; median 47 days post-injury; 69 men) recovered all six target behaviors within the 6 week observation period. The odds of recovering a specific target behavior were 3.2 (95% CI: 1.2-8.1) to 7.8 (95% CI: 2.7-23.0) times higher for patients in MCS than for those in VS. Patients with preserved language function ("MCS+") recovered the most behaviors (p ≤ 0.002) and had the least disability (p ≤ 0.002) at follow-up. These findings suggest that recovery of high-level behaviors underpinning functional independence is common in patients with prolonged traumatic DoC. Clinicians involved in early prognostic counseling should recognize that failure to emerge from traumatic DoC before 28 days does not necessarily portend unfavorable outcome

The Evolution of Mentorship Capacity Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Case Studies from Peru, Kenya, India, and Mozambique.

Following the Fogarty International Center-supported "Mentoring the Mentors" workshops in South America, Africa, and Asia, approaches and guidelines for mentorship at institutions within these low- and middle-income country (LMIC) contexts, appropriate for the respective regional resources and culture, were implemented. Through the presentation of case studies from these three geographic regions, this article illustrates the institutional mentorship infrastructure before the workshop and the identified gaps used to implement strategies to build mentorship capacity at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Peru), Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kenya), Saint John's Research Institute (India), and Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique). These case studies illustrate three findings: first, that mentorship programs in LMICs have made uneven progress, and institutions with existing programs have exhibited greater advancement to their mentoring capacity than institutions without formal programs before the workshops. Second, mentoring needs assessments help garner the support of institutional leadership and create local ownership. Third, developing a culture of mentorship that includes group mentoring activities at LMIC institutions can help overcome the shortage of trained mentors. Regardless of the stage of mentoring programs, LMIC institutions can work toward developing sustainable, culturally effective mentorship models that further the partnership of early career scientists and global health

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTUAL BELIEFS ABOUT THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING

Abstract: Research indicates that human perception about technologies determines the attitudes towards them (Aviram & Tami, 2004). Thus, prior to attempting to make use of the technology for teaching, understanding of users’ perceptions or beliefs about ICTs is crucial to be established. The purpose of this study is to understand how technologies are used and perceived by the students and how much the technological gadgets have been used for English-skill-related activities. The study employs descriptive quantitative method by which data were collected through questionnaire surveys. This paper will discuss the preliminary findings of an on-going study on the above issues. Implication that this study informs EFL in Indonesia in that technologies indeed have a significant role in school environment and may be optimized for learning purposes will be discussed

Quality of life and rural place of residence in Polish women : population based study

Objective: The purpose of this population-based study was to analyse the association between the health-related quality of life and rural residence among Polish females, including variables related to social environment and clinical characteristics. Methods: The snowball recruitment method was used to invite 1,560 women aged 45-60 to participate in the study. Participants received a questionnaire about demographic characteristics, environmental and work stress, use of anxiolytichypnotic medications and self-reported quality of life based on the SF-36 form. Univariate and multivariate analysis was carried out by means of a logistic regression model. Results: We found worse physical health and better mental health among women living in rural areas compared to those from urban settings. The rural residence was an independent predictor for poor physical health (below 25 percentile) odds ratio [OR] 1.6 95%, confi dence interval [CI] 1.17-2.2). Living in rural areas was also associated at the borderline level of statistical signifi cance, with reduction of risk of low quality of life in mental health (OR = 0.75; 95% CI = 0.55-1.02). According to other results from multivariate analysis, being retired, receiving social pension, long duration of illness symptoms, and consulting a medical specialist were the risk factors of reported bad physical health. Higher education and access to medical specialist protects against having a bad quality of life related to mental health. Being given the sack, stress at work, feeling anger, and long duration of symptoms are the risk factors of poor mental health. Conclusion: The rural residence is strongly associated with environmental and psychosocial factors in women aged 40-65