Vocational teachers’ conceptions of, and approaches to, ICT in professional education

The aim of this research was to investigate vocational teachers’ ways of thinking about ICT enhanced teaching and teaching approaches associated with the use of ICT in teaching. The study focused on teachers’ ways of apprehending the role of ICT in professional work. Phenomenography, a qualitative research approach that places emphasis on the importance of people’s experience of a phenomenon, was selected as a research methodology for this study. A cohort of 23 teachers from three Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions in New South Wales, Australia, participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. These interviews were used to identify the qualitatively different ways in which vocational teachers understand and conceptualise the phenomenon of ICT use in TAFE and workplace settings. Interviews were analysed using an iterative seven-step process through which five conceptions of, and five approaches to, ICT-enhanced teaching were revealed, and three conceptions of ICT in workplaces were discerned. Dimensions of variation among the categories of conceptions are presented and discussed, that extended previous knowledge by identifying new dimensions. Findings of this research enhance the existing teacher-centred and learning-centred frameworks of teachers’ conceptions. The study shows that approaches to ICT-enhanced teaching cover a range of aspects including: conveying information, promoting students’ active learning in development of knowledge and skills, and meeting the needs of industry. New knowledge on the way vocational teachers understand the role of ICT in workplaces also emerged through the study. These findings provide useful information for people who work in: the development of vocational educational, teaching of industrial practices, and academic development programs. The thesis proposes further lines of exploratory research: to investigate discipline-focused ICT-enhanced teaching in vocational education

Introducing ICT into Teacher-Training Programs: Problems in Bangladesh

Information and Communication Technology can offer more adaptable and efficient ways of teacher training for improvement of quality of professional development programs. But the use of ICT into teacher training usually faces certain obstacles. In this paper, we identified different barriers of introducing ICT into teacher training model (this model had been discussed by the authors in a separate paper, titled as “A model for integrating ICT into teacher training programs in Bangladesh based on TPCK) in Bangladesh, a developing country. We then described the strategies to overcome these problems for improving the current status of ICT integration into teacher training. Finally, we concluded with emerging research issues and offered pertinent recommendation with respect to ICT integration into teacher training program for improving quality of teaching in Bangladesh. Keywords: ICT integration, Teacher-training, knowledge and skil

Governance: Exploring the Islamic Approach and its Relevance for the Modern Context

Managing this wealth (amanah) leads to the basic concept of Islamic accountability where proper disclosure and transparency in every business transaction or service is encouraged. This paper attempts to explore the characteristics and application of the principles of Islamic governance. Using qualitative research methods, this study further focuses on trust and accountability with respect to governance mechanisms as required by Islamic principles and in light of today's world affairs. As a doctrinal research, the researcher reviews the relevant literature to identify the main features of government such as shura, caliphate, accountability, transparency, justice and equality as well as the current need for trust in public and private government. The findings of this study are that the Koran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) have provided many guidelines in the field of constitutional affairs that can help the government system. The Qur'an is flexible enough not to mention the details and details that are left for Muslims to formulate according to their particular circumstances. Finally, the aim of this paper is to inform policy makers and practitioners about the main doctrines that have been proposed by the Qur'an and which can be applied for the effective management of our affair

Securitization: An alternative funding mechanism for the microfinance institutions / Shahadat Hossain and Rubaiyet Hasan Khan

Despite microfinance has been widely appreciated as an informal financial mechanism to provide financial services to the poor people in developing countries, this sector is still lacking behind in fulfilling the demand gap due to the dearth of adequate funds. Securitization opens a new horizon that overcomes the funding barriers of microfinance through which the top tier Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) can accumulate funds to enlarge their portfolio without issuing any debt or equity. This paper is a desk study that synthesizes how securitization can be used in the funding of the MFI portfolio and what are the benefits and risks associated with securitization of microfinance portfolio. As a case study, we use the two examples of cross-border securitizations in the microfinance industry to diagnose the role of securitization in microfinanc

Securitization: An Alternative Funding Mechanism for the Microfinance Institutions

Despite microfinance has been widely appreciated as an informal financial mechanism to provide financial services to the poor people in developing countries, this sector is still lacking behind in fulfilling the demand gap due to the dearth of adequate funds. Securitization opens a new horizon that overcomes the funding barriers of microfinance through which the top tier Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) can accumulate funds to enlarge their portfolio without issuing any debt or equity. This paper is a desk study that synthesizes how securitization can be used in the funding of the MFI portfolio and what are the benefits and risks associated with securitization of microfinance portfolio. As a case study, we use the two examples of cross-border securitizations in the microfinance industry to diagnose the role of securitization in microfinance

Integration of Large-Scale Electric Vehicles into Utility Grid: An Efficient Approach for Impact Analysis and Power Quality Assessment

Electric vehicles (EVs) have received massive consideration in the automotive industries due to their improved performance, efficiency and capability to minimize global warming and carbon emission impacts. The utilization of EVs has several potential benefits, such as increased use of renewable energy, less dependency on fossil-fuel-based power generations and energy-storage capability. Although EVs can significantly mitigate global carbon emissions, it is challenging to maintain power balance during charging on-peak hours. Thus, it mandates a comprehensive impact analysis of high-level electric vehicle penetration in utility grids. This paper investigates the impacts of large-scale EV penetration on low voltage distribution, considering the charging time, charging method and characteristics. Several charging scenarios are considered for EVs’ integration into the utility grid regarding power demand, voltage profile, power quality and system adequacy. A lookup-table-based charging approach for EVs is proposed for impact analysis, while considering a large-scale integration. It is observed that the bus voltage and line current are affected during high-level charging and discharging of the EVs. The residential grid voltage sag increases by about 1.96% to 1.77%, 2.21%, 1.96 to 1.521% and 1.93% in four EV-charging profiles, respectively. The finding of this work can be adopted in designing optimal charging/discharging of EVs to minimize the impacts on bus voltage and line current

Biochar research advancement in Bangladesh: challenges and opportunities of biochar in improving soil health

Globally, biochar research and its application for soil improvement have attracted the interest of many researchers, primarily environmental and soil scientists, in the last decade. But, a limited number of biochar research studies have been conducted in Bangladesh. Therefore, a comprehensive study on biochar research is necessary to find out the scope and opportunities of biochar application in the soils of Bangladesh. Generally, biochar can improve the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils. It also has a significant role in greenhouse gas emissions. The contaminated soils can also be remediated through the judicious application of biochar. In Bangladesh, biochar application enhanced soil pH, organic matter, phosphorus availability, and agricultural production while decreasing soil acidification, microbial activity, and heavy metals mobility. Besides that, there were both positive and negative findings regarding nitrogen availability, greenhouse gas emissions, and heavy metal accumulation. However, this review includes the selection of feedstock, the advancement of pyrolysis technology, the characterization of biochar, and the agronomic and environmental benefits of biochar use. This paper also reviews biochar study and application activities in Bangladesh over the last decade. Further research directions have been suggested to ensure the beneficial and safe application of biochar to agricultural property

Technology-enhanced Teaching in Engineering Education: Teachers’ Knowledge Construction Using TPACK Framework

This study investigates the knowledge that engineering teachers should possess in order to effectively implement technology-enhanced instruction in their teaching practice using Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, although its (TPACK) use in HEIs is inadequate. The objectives of this investigation are to investigate what TPACK construct is using in engineering education (Eng. Ed) and to study how different attributes of a teacher affect their level of TPACK knowledge. In order to accumulate engineer teachers’ knowledge, a descriptive self-assessment tool designed in a Google form was administered via email to 220 teachers from two different universities of Bangladesh located in the business district of Dhaka. Descriptive analysis, Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r), Exploratory Factor Analysis, Cronbach Alpha test, ANOVA, and Levene test were carried out to analyse the collected data. The outcomes of this investigation confirmed the practicality of the framework and discovered significant differences regarding technological knowledge (TK), conventional knowledge (PK/PCK) in field of study of the teacher and a significant difference in technology-enhanced instructions in regard to age group of the teacher. The results support the previous argument that only availability of technology and teachers’ technology knowledge in Eng. Ed may not accelerate technology-enhanced teaching. The findings add knowledge to prior research whose objective is to find ways of incorporating technology-enhanced instructions in HEIs and thus, provide recommendation to Eng. Ed towards formulating policies on incorporating TPACK components in their teaching