Assessing Engineering Technology Students' Attitude Toward Problem Solving in Mathematics Using Rasch Model

The students’ attitude towards problem solving (SATPS) is designed to measure attitude based on three aspects that include patience, motivation and willingness. The purpose of the study is to conduct measurement and evaluation of (SATPS) instrument using Rasch Model to ensure the validity of the instrument. The instrument consists of 20 items was then analyzed using WINSTEP 3.69.1.11 with the intention to produce the evidence of validity on the instrument based on item response theory. The data is collected from 153 engineering technology students in a technical institute. The findings revealed that the instrument has reliability value of 0.95 and separation index is 4.42. The person reliability has value of 0.64 and separation index is 1.32. The fit statistics suggests some of the items were modified accordingly. The modification of the instrument would benefit to future study with regard to validation and reliability of SATPS

An Investigation on Ict Application in Learning Mathematics among Engineering Technology Students

Mathematics teaching and learning is an important factor that leads to the success of the students’ achievement. Since mathematics is one of the important subjects at Malaysian Institute of Information Technology (MIIT), Universiti Kuala Lumpur, this study aims to investigate on ICT application in learning mathematics among engineering technology students. The use of e learning and internet resources including social networking medium is integrated in traditional approach teaching mathematics. Ten bachelor students from Networking System program were selected to be the research participants. Semi-structured interviews and documents analysis were used to gather the information on their experience in learning mathematics using the ICT. The research findings revealed that the ICT could assist students in their understanding of the mathematics concept and were able to solve problem solving. This research also draws conclusion and recommendations to improve lecturers’ style of teaching by using ICT equipment as a tool to make the teaching and learning environment more meaningful and interesting

Circular Economy Policies in China and Europe

The idea of a circular economy (CE) has become prominent in both European and Chinese policy making. Chinese and European perspectives on a CE share a common conceptual basis and exhibit many similar concerns in seeking to enhance resource efficiency. Yet they also differ, and this article explores differences in the focus of CE policy in China and Europe. We present evidence on the differing understandings of the CE concept in Chinese and European policy discourse, drawing on qualitative and quantitative analysis of policy documents, media articles, and academic publications. We show that the Chinese perspective on the CE is broad, incorporating pollution and other issues alongside waste and resource concerns, and it is framed as a response to the environmental challenges created by rapid growth and industrialization. In contrast, Europe's conception of the CE has a narrower environmental scope, focusing more narrowly on waste and resources and opportunities for business. We then examine similarities and differences in the focus of policy activity in the two regions and in the indicators used to measure progress. We show differences in the treatment of issues of scale and place and different priorities across value chains (from design to manufacture, consumption, and waste management). We suggest some reasons for the divergent policy articulation of the CE concept and suggest lessons that each region can learn from the other

The verticality of policy mixes for sustainability transitions: A case study of solar water heating in China

Climate change and sustainable development are the defining challenges of the modern era. The field of sustainability transitions seeks systematic solutions for fundamental transformations of socio-technical systems towards sustainability, and exploring the role of policy mixes has been a central research agenda within the field. In the extant literature, there exists a lack of both conceptual and empirical research on the vertical dimension of policy mixes for sustainability transitions. This study provides a multilevel and evolutionary interpretation of the vertical interactions of policy mixes in the process of industrial path development towards sustainability transitions. An exemplary case of solar water heating (SWH) technology in Shandong Province in China is presented, capturing both the bottom-up and top-down processes of interactions. On the one hand, urban-level policy initiatives can inform higher-level policymaking; on the other hand, national-level priorities can greatly configure policy strategies for lower-level governments. Moreover, as the industry matures, the interactions of multilevel policy mixes evolve from simpler, unidirectional patterns to more complex, bidirectional ones through a vertical policy-learning feedback mechanism. This study generates two important policy implications that extend beyond the Chinese context: first, dynamic vertical interactions between multilevel governments indicate the need to develop more nuanced perspectives on the design of policy mixes; second, policy makers need to hold a more dynamic view of policy mixes by recognizing their temporal and coevolutionary nature through the policy learning process