A Study Of The Impact Of An Electronic Classroom Response System On Student Participation In Class Discussions And Response On Course Assessments.

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact that a classroom response system, often referred to as “clickers”, had on student participation and overall student assessment. This quantitative study was designed to compare and contrast two classes of high school students over a semester time period. One of the classes was equipped with the clicker technology and used the devices frequently during the semester, while the other class had no access to the technology at any point during the semester. The three research questions that were used to guide this study were: How does the use of clickers in the classroom impact the extent of student participation in classroom discussions? How does the use of clickers in the classroom impact the quality of student participation in classroom discussions? How does the use of clickers in the classroom impact student learning of course content? The results from this study suggest that the use of clickers can increase student participation, but had no direct affect on the achievement level of a student. Results also showed that clicker technology did not increase the quality of classroom discussions when compared to discussions taking place in a non clicker classroom. This study can be useful for educators that are considering implementing a classroom response system into their classroom

Poetry and ethos: toward an ontic understanding

Die artikel poneer 'n geintegreerde strukturele sisteem waarvolgens die leser poësie normatief kan ontleed en evaiueer. Hoe weI die religieus gefundeerde fiiosofiese basis rigting gewend op tree, beperk dit die subjektiewe benadering van die leser geensins nie. Aangesien die skrywer van mening is dat die kunsproduk die totale religieuse standpunt van die digter weergee, word dit hier bewys dat dit dus ook moontlik is om die geobjektiveerde etos in die gedig deur middel van die strukturele metode te kan identifiseer en analiseer

Dimensional understanding of poetry

Integrated literary ana! ysis departsfrom the poetic text. A ndyet this hy no means implies the isolation of the poem, excluding all external references like time and belief. It is only by means o f a structural approach in which form, content and contextual relevance cohere, that the valencial potential of a text is unfolded. In this article one particular poem ‘Der Rngel. Advent’ by Reinhold Schneider has been utilized to show how the analytic consideration of the aspects of time and beliefs, reveals the total richness, the depth and dimension in the poem

Conductive deafness following head injury: repair of a dislocated incudostapedial joint by wiring

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Die vertouse (suigtrekker) in die algemene praktyk

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Investigation of the stresses in continuous thin films and patterned lines by x-ray diffraction

Strains and stresses in aluminum thin films and patterned lines were measured using x-ray diffraction. Measurements were performed on pure aluminum and on ion-implanted aluminum, as annealed and six months after an annealing treatment. The results suggest that stresses in passivated lines, starting from an unequitriaxial state of stress, show the tendency to relax in the direction of an equitriaxial state of stress, depending on the ratio of grain size and linewidth or film thickness. The relaxation is particularly rapid in ion-implanted aluminum lines, in contradiction to the expected strengthening effect. Possible implications for electromigration resistance are discussed

A definition-by-example approach and visual language for activity patterns in engineering disciplines

Modeling tools are well established in software development. A model is the result of a series of modeling activities. The ability to recognize when a user is working on a certain modeling activity opens up a range of possibilities for context-sensitive support. One possible way to support the user is offering the auto-completion of the current task. The recognition of modeling activities is typically carried out by matching event patterns against events emitted by a user's editing operations. A user that intends to add or customize auto-completions must be able to easily understand and create activity definitions. However, defining the currently required complex event patterns is a challenging and error-prone task even for a person with an intensive knowledge of event-processing languages. In this paper, we propose the visual definition language VisPaRec accompanied by a method that allows creating activity definitions in a semi-automated and graphical way. We evaluate our visual definition language in a comparative user study against the generic event-processing language Rapide. We found that the proposed visual representation increases comprehensibility while reducing time for constructing and modifying activity definitions significantly

Hearing outcomes in children with meningitis at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa: A silent crisis

Background. Bacterial meningitis is one of the most common causes of hearing loss. Hearing loss develops within the first few days following the onset of meningitis, highlighting the importance of early audiology referrals. Post-meningitis hearing loss may lead to cochlear ossification, making traditional cochlear implantation impossible.Objectives. To determine the duration of time from meningitis diagnosis to audiology referral. A second objective was to determine the prevalence and severity of meningitis-related sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital (RCWMCH), a paediatric tertiary hospital in Cape Town, South Africa (SA).Methods. A retrospective folder review of all children diagnosed with meningitis and referred for audiological evaluation was conducted over an 18-month period between 1 January 2015 and 30 June 2016. Descriptive statistical methods were used for data analysis.Results. The total number of inpatients diagnosed with unspecified meningitis at RCWMCH between January 2015 and June 2016 was 345. The total number diagnosed with bacterial meningitis was 68. Only 16 children with meningitis (23.5%) were referred to the Department of Audiology at RCWMCH over the 18-month period. Twelve children had confirmed bacterial meningitis. All the children had up-to-date immunisations. The mean (standard deviation) time from diagnosis to audiology referral was 17 weeks (16.9; range 1 - 60). The overall prevalence of hearing loss was 42.8%. Four children (28.5%) were diagnosed with severe to profound SNHL.Conclusions. Less than a quarter of all children diagnosed with bacterial meningitis at RCWMCH over the 18-month study period were referred to audiology. Frequent delays in referrals for audiological assessment following meningitis were noted. This may indicate a lack of awareness on the part of doctors. Healthcare practitioners need to be made aware of the need for prompt audiological testing for children with meningitis. In SA, local guidelines for early diagnosis and monitoring of hearing in children who have had meningitis should be developed in order to improve hearing outcomes

Insurance against damage caused by pollution

Universally complications exist concerning insurance cover for the risks posed by pollution damage. Environmental insurance cover can be procured under first-party or third-party insurance. For the latter, the polluter's statutory or civil liability is required. The determination of liability for compensation, especially delictual liability, remains problematic. The right to the environment in section 24 of the Constitution creates a general duty of care. The introduction of a strict liability regime can be recommended to alleviate the burden of proving fault and contributory negligence. Where there is multiple or cumulative causation or the exact identity of the polluter is unknown, potential solutions regarding the allocation of liability include a pollution-share, joint and several, market-share or, as a last resort, a proportional allocation. Actionable damages should include property damage, pure economic loss, clean-up costs and natural resource damages, including compensation for reduced aesthetic value. Due to the uncertainty and potential magnitude of pollution-related claims, insurers have attempted to avoid or limit these risks by including specific pollution exclusion and limitation clauses in policies. Statutory regulation of policy content and prescribed wording for clauses could address problems relating to the interpretation of policy provisions. Various other issues such as the coverage of gradual pollution, the effect of the various triggers of coverage and the potential long-tail liability of insurer, the lack of information and the unpredictability of the risk cause further complications for both the insured and the insurer. Policies should preferably be issued on a `claims-made' basis linked to retroactive dates. Mandatory third-party insurance to the benefit of a third party should be required within specific high-risk industries, specifically for the benefit of the prejudiced person or an environmental remediation fund. The right of a prejudiced party to claim directly from the polluter's liability insurer should be introduced. Currently, the focus appears to be more on protection and environmental remediation than on civil compensation. There is an urgent need for the development of statutory and civil liability compensation mechanisms and for an increased regulation of insurance policies and practices to ensure effective insurance cover to provide compensation for environmental damage.JurisprudenceLL.D