Monetary Policy and Equilibrium Indeterminacy in a Cash-in-Advance Economy with Investment

In a cash-in-advance economy where cash is required in advance of purchasing both consumption and investment goods, we find that active interest rate rules generate equilibrium uniqueness, but passive rules can lead to real indeterminacy. Simulation shows that even in the presence of investment, passive rules are very likely to render indeterminacy.indeterminacy

THE USE OF STORY MAP IN IMPROVING THE YEAR FOUR PUPILS’ ABILITY IN READING COMPREHENSION

This is an action research on improving reading comprehension through story map among Year 4 pupils in one of the primary schools in Malaysia. My pupils were unable to answer WH-questions of the narrative texts. The research aimed to use story map to improve pupils’ reading comprehension and improve my teaching practices in reading comprehension. I am the researcher with 24 pupils, 12 males and 12 females. I utilized three data collection methods: pre-reading comprehension test and post-reading comprehension test, pupils’ work and teacher’s reflective journal. I introduced story map through demonstration. Then the participants completed the story through literary elements identification based on the narrative texts. Findings showed that story map helped to improve pupils’ reading comprehension by identifying literary elements and relating the literary elements with the comprehension questions. The story map gave positive impact to reading comprehension. The research has impacted the teaching and learning environment, pupils’ learning, and my teaching practices. I found out that story map was a useful method in attracting pupils’ attention and teaching literary elements. Furthermore, I was developed to be a reflective teacher in terms of strengths and weaknesses of the teaching and learning process. Story map can be an effective tool in improving reading comprehension among pupils. In addition, a more interactive story map which incorporates Information and Communication Technology (ICT) may also be employed in further research

Structures and Stabilities of C3H3- Anions: an ab initio Molecular Orbital Study

The various minima and some of the saddle points on the C3H3- potential energy surface have been studied with ab initio molecular orbital calculations. The structures of these species have been determined by full geometry optimizations at the Hartree- -Fock level with the diffuse-function augmented basis sets 3-21+G and 6-31+G*. In addition, improved energy compairsons have been obtained at the MP3/6-31 + + G** level, and vibrational frequency analysis of the various species have been carried out in order to characterize the stationary points as well as to determine zero-point vibrational energies of these species. Eight stable species have been found on the potential energy surface of C3H3-. In descending order of stability, they are: l-propynyl (1), allenide (3), cyclopropen-l-ide (5), prop-2-en-l-yliden- I-ide (6), three isomers (EZ, EE, ZZ) of prop-l-en-3-yliden-l-ide (7, 8, 9) and cyclopropen-3-ide (10) ions. The transition structures found are those for the methyl migration of 1, the inversion at the anionic center of 3, and the pseudorotation of 10. In addition, for all the equilibrium structures found, the electron affinities of the corresponding free radicals have been calculated. From these results, it is deduced that, among the eight anionic equilibrium structures, only 10 is unstable toward spontaneous electron loss

TESL pre-service teachers’ perceptions on the use of Jazz chants in primary ESL classroom

Learning vocabulary is an essential aspect of mastering English language. In Malaysia, English as a second language (ESL) learners often struggle with memorizing vocabulary, which hinders their language acquisition. Since vocabulary grasp is a pre-requisite for language learning, Jazz chants can be an effective tool for ESL learners to learn vocabulary in the target language. This study used a survey approach to investigate the TESL pre-service teachers’ perceptions on the use of Jazz chants in primary ESL classrooms. A total of 203 TESL pre-service teachers from five Institutes of Teacher Education (ITEs) participated in the study, responding to a questionnaire on the use of Jazz chants to enhance vocabulary learning. The findings indicated that the majority of respondents provided positive feedback and had knowledge of Jazz chants, and they utilized it frequently in teaching vocabulary. Additionally, the researcher found out that there is a weak positive correlation between these two attributes

Idea sharing: process-based approach to writing in Malaysian English education

Malaysia strives to educate its people to be fluent in the English language, and as such the Ministry of Education Malaysia (MOE) has introduced the process-based approach to writing from the early 1980s in school curricula and syllabi. Unfortunately, even from the inclusion of process-based approach to writing in Malaysian national curricula and syllabi, Malaysian students' writing performance in the national primary and secondary school examinations remains low. Concerns arise over the process-based approach, due to its lack of proper implementation in the English as a second language (ESL) writing instruction. This article provides a review of the studies conducted on the implementation of process-based approach in teaching ESL writing in Malaysian English education. It seeks to investigate the problems that have been reported to occur during the implementation of process-based approach in the ESL writing instruction in Malaysia. In order to address the concerns regarding process-based approach to writing and to avoid possible issues in the future concerning the implementation of process-based approach in ESL writing in Malaysia, the researchers believe it is important to truly understand the nature and goals of the process-based approach to writing. 318 | PASAA Vol. 58 July-December 2019 as such, the researchers call all educators in Malaysia to look for possible means to revive the process-based approach in the field of ESL writing

Writing narrative essays using e-book writing software: analyses of students’ digital written works

This study explores the utilization of e-book writing software as a tool for process-based writing approach to enhance the learning of ESL writing among the pre-service teachers. The study adopted a qualitative research design which was conducted using document analysis technique on digital written works of six pre-service teachers in one Institute of Teacher Education Malaysia (ITEM). The pre- service teachers were introduced to narrative essay format and i-Spring Pro 6.2 software to produce e-books. The data gathered (i.e., pre-service teachers’ digital written works) were analyzed using predetermined (i.e., a priori) codes. As induced from the findings, the utilization of e-book writing software as a tool for process-based writing approach is found to enhance the learning of ESL writing among the pre-service teachers, which is evident from their improved accuracy of genre and message,fulfillment of task requirements, use of grammar, spelling, and punctuation, originality, coherence and organization, and use of multimedia in text presentation. These positive results indicate that the utilization of e-book writing software as a tool for process-based writing approach in writing narrative essay type is beneficial to expose pre-service teachers to a more meaningful, fun, and engaging way of learning and practicing ESL writing

Critical thinking skills in early years

Learning to think critically set a good foundation for good thinking development in younger children. The preschool years have to be liable to incorporate strategies and develop appropriates practices of critical thinking into the classroom. However, teaching critical thinking has not been a simple task. The purpose of the research study attempts to identify critical and creative thinking among kindergarten children. In the name of this purpose the ideas are taken from the teacher candidates who teach in kindergarten level. In the study four preschool teacher candidates take part in. To get the teachers’ ideas, in the research a form is applied consisting of 19 open-ended questions was directed to the teachers and principal in a kindergarten. The frequencies of the teacher candidates’ opinions are taken by coding with the content analysis. Looking into the results of the research it is stated that teachers declare that insufficient sources of critical thinking develop in students and teachers have shallow understanding of critical thinking skills. This proposed study is expected to benefit to the education society in order to enrich young children’s capacity and skills to think critically and creatively

An ab initio Molecular Orbital Study of the Insertions of Difluorocarbene into Substituted Ethenes

Ab initio MO calculations predict the activation energies for the insertions of difluorocarbene into substituted ethenes C2H3X (X = F, Cl, Me) to be 61,68 and 52 kJ mol-1, respectively; these results indicate that the monosubstitution on the ethene has no significant effects on the activation energy of the reaction

MNDO Study of the Dimerization of Borane

The dimerization of borane has been investigated with the MNDO method. Three pathways have been studied by imposing different symmetry restrictions: C2h symmetry, least-motion, and with no symmetry at all. The activation energies of the three pathways are 3.8, 31.5, and 2.7 kcal/mol, respectively. In view of the known tendency of MNDO to yield high energy for transition states, the low activation energy of the la\u27St pathway probably means that the dimerization has no or a very small energy barrier. Moreover, it turns out that C, symmetry is retained automatically for this pathway

MIND0/3 Study of the \u27Thermal Rearrangements of Bicyclobutanylidene

It is found that path (i), which is concerted and stereospecific, is favored both thermodynamically and kinetically, in agreement with exp~\u27rimental results. In addition, paths (ii) and (iii) are found to be competitive with each other and both are highly energetic due to steric effects, with activation energy being about 50 kcal/mo!