Culturally Diverse Teaching Competence Of Teachers As Perceived By Students At An International University In Thailand

As higher education institutions deal with the increase of international students, teachers areincreasingly concerned with the potential challenges in dealing with teaching and learning ina culturally diverse classroom. The purpose of this study is to examine the level of culturallydiverse teaching competence of teachers in international higher education institutions. Thecultural diverse teaching competence is measured based on the five dimensions typology ofmulticultural education. They are awareness, relationship, instruction, respect, and prejudice.A cross-sectional survey design was employed with a sample of 241 participants was takenfrom a university located in Thailand. The results of the students thought that teachers weremost competent at building respect for diversity and that teachers were least competent atgeneral cultural awareness and combating prejudice. In addition, the majority of studentscome from single cultural and become more multicultural as they progress through school.Lastly, there were differences in cultural competence when comparisons were made byfaculty

Quantitative biomonitoring of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) using the Sydney rock oyster (Saccostrea glomerata)

Increasing our understanding of the bioavailable fractions of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) in an aquatic environment is important for the assessment of the environmental and human health risks posed by PACs. More importantly, the behaviour of polar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (polar PAHs), which are metabolites of legacy PAHs, are yet to be understood. We, therefore, carried out a study involving Sydney rock oysters (Saccostrea glomerata) sourced from two locations, that had been exposed to PAH contamination, within an Australian south-east estuary. Biomonitoring of these oysters, following relocation from the estuary to a relatively isolated waterway, was done at 24 and 72 h after deployment and subsequently at 7, 14, 28, 52 and 86 days. Control samples from Camden Haven River were sampled for PAC analyses just before deployment, after 28 days and at the end of the study (day 86). Lipid-normalised concentrations in oyster tissues across the 86-day sampling duration, elimination rate constants (k2), biological half-lives (t1/2) and time required to reach 95% of steady-state (t95) were reported for parent PAHs and the less-monitored polar PAHs including nitrated/oxygenated/heterocyclic PAHs (NPAHs, oxyPAHs and HPAHs) for the three differently sourced oyster types. Most of the depurating PAHs and NPAHs, as well as 9-FLO (oxyPAH), had k2 values significantly different from zero (p < 0.05). All other oxyPAHs and HPAHs showed no clear depuration, with their concentrations remaining similar. The non-depuration of polar PAHs from oyster tissues could imply greater human health risk compared to their parent analogues