Non-Formal Adult Education for Sustainability: A Preliminary Survey of the Research Literature

Non-formal education for promoting sustainability has become popular over the last decade. In 2017, the International Review of Education journal dedicated a special issue to non-formal and community learning for sustainable development. This study makes a case for“ non-formal adult education” (NFAE) to also be included in the discussion. It aims to reveal current themes of the research literature related to education for sustainable development (ESD) in the context of NFAE, by analyzing research articles published in 15 peer-reviewed journals during the years 2015-2020. Two main questions structured this study: How is research on sustainability approached by researchers in NFAE? What are the current research themes of NFAE for sustainability? The analysis identified three different approaches of conducting research on promoting sustainability in the field of adult education: place and community-based learning approach, transformative learning approach, and ecological and environmental literacy approach. The study also revealed two research themes of NFAE for promoting sustainability and further identified the research gaps. Accordingly, eco-justice, barriers to sustainability, and social inequalities might be prominent areas of research

Ridge Regression and Ill-Conditioning

Hoerl and Kennard (1970) suggested the ridge regression estimator as an alternative to the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimator in the presence of multicollinearity. This article proposes new methods for estimating the ridge parameter in case of ordinary ridge regression. A simulation study evaluates the performance of the proposed estimators based on the Mean Squared Error (MSE) criterion and indicates that, under certain conditions, the proposed estimators perform well compared to the OLS estimator and another well-known estimator reviewed

The Dilemma of Maternity between Need and Duty: A Feminist Reading of Doris Lessing's the Fifth Child

Doris Lessing is widely known as one of the most celebrated contemporary female writers in English literature. Unlike other feminist writers who advocate equality between women and men, Lessing’s feminism is mainly concerned with defending women in the context of the different social pressures they are exposed to in a given society. The Fifth Child is one of Lessing novels in which she adopts the implicit feminist approach in portraying the character of Harriet Lovatt. Harriet Lovatt wants to lead a free life disregarding the conventions of marriage and maternal life in the sixties by getting married to David and having a large family. Therefore, she is scapegoated by her society for deviating from the prevailing norms. The main aim of the study is to analyze The Dilemma of Maternity between need and obligation, based on the Feminist Reading of Doris Lessing's the Fifth Child. The study demonstrates that how Harriet has to adapt to her adverse situation and, in doing so, she has to overcome a lot of hardships in the process of constructing a new self. In a word, Lessing wants to underscore how the condition of any woman who wants to live on her own is worsened just because of deviating from the prevailing norms in her community. Moreover, in this study, we attempt to point out the maternity dilemma in today’s society, and finally, draw some conclusion

Multicollinearity and A Ridge Parameter Estimation Approach

One of the main goals of the multiple linear regression model, Y = Xβ + u, is to assess the importance of independent variables in determining their predictive ability. However, in practical applications, inference about the coefficients of regression can be difficult because the independent variables are correlated and multicollinearity causes instability in the coefficients. A new estimator of ridge regression parameter is proposed and evaluated by simulation techniques in terms of mean squares error (MSE). Results of the simulation study indicate that the suggested estimator dominates ordinary least squares (OLS) estimator and other ridge estimators with respect to MSE

The Effect of Using Computer Technology Tools to Enhance the Teaching-Learning Process in CAD-CAM-CNC Module in Mechanical Engineering Subject Area

This study presents the evaluation of Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) package included in the teaching and learning methodology of computer aided design- computer aided design - computer numerical control (CAD-CAM-CNC) module. Three groups of students with similar pre-abilities were exposed to three different teaching learning methodologies.The effectiveness of these three methods was determined by questionnaires completed by the students and collected by first author. Their answers were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The various categories used in the questionnaire was student’s attitudes towards learning CAD-CAM-CNC subjects, students’ opinions about their lecturers approaches to teaching process, students’ opinions and views about various aspects the CAD-CAM-CNC. The study concludes that the students taught with a combination of CAL package and traditional methods were more effective, efficient and satisfied with their learning experiences. So the proposed hybrid learning method (CAI plus traditional teaching method) is most suited for CAD-CAM-CNC teaching. Computer Technology; Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI); Computer Assisted Learning (CAL); Computer Aided Design (CAD); Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM); Computer Numerical Control (CNC)

Craniofacial and Oral Manifestations of Non-Syndromic Hypodontia : A Review

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Online traffic grooming using timing information in WDM–TDM networks

AbstractIn this paper, the effect of holding time awareness on the process of time slot assignment in WDM–TDM is considered. Use has been made of Markov model in order to predict the wavelength congestion. A routing algorithm is developed based on the Markov modeling. The results are compared with existing algorithms—ASP, WSP and OTGA. Validation results have shown that the performance of the system is significantly improved in terms of bandwidth blocking ratio, network utilization and fairness

Management of postpartum iron deficiency anemia: review of literature

Anemia is a condition in which either the number of circulating red blood cells or their hemoglobin concentration is decreased. As a result, there is decreased transport of oxygen from the lungs to peripheral tissues. The standard approach to treatment of postpartum iron deficiency anemia is oral iron supplementation, with blood transfusion reserved for more server or symptomatic cases. There are a number of hazards of allogenic blood transfusion including transfusion of the wrong blood, infection, anaphylaxis and lung injury, any of which will be devastating for a young mother. These hazards, together with the national shortage of blood products, mean that transfusion should be viewed as a last resort in otherwise young and healthy women. Currently, there are many iron preparations available containing different types of iron salts, including ferrous sulfate, ferrous fumarate, ferrous ascorbate but common adverse drug reactions found with these preparations are mainly gastrointestinal intolerance like nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, while ferrous bis-glycinate (fully reacted chelated amino acid form of iron) rarely make complication. Two types of intravenous (IV) preparations available are IV iron sucrose and IV ferric carboxymaltose. IV iron sucrose is safe, effective and economical. Reported incidence of adverse reactions with IV iron sucrose is less as compared to older iron preparations (Iron dextran, iron sorbitol), but it requires multiple doses and prolonged infusion time. Intramuscular iron sucrose complex is particularly contraindicated because of poor absorption. It was also stated that when iron dextran is given intravenously up to 30% of patients suffer from adverse effects which include arthritis, fever, urticaria and anaphylaxis

Absence of Typical Haversian System from the Compact Bone of Some Reptile and Bird Species

Background and Objective: Mammalian compact bone is composed mostly of Haversian system. Although there are many studies describing the typical Haversian system in mammals, there are few studies conducted on bones from non-mammalian species. The objective of the current study was to investigate the existence of the typical Haversian system in compact bones from reptiles and birds. Materials and Methods: Femora were collected from geckos, Nile monitors, sparrows, ducks and geese. Samples were then, fixed in 10% paraformaldehyde and embedded in paraffin. Paraffin sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin or Von Kossa and then examined using light microscopy. Results: The current study showed different histological structures of compact bones from studied species and an absence of the typical Haversian system seen in mammals. The compact bone of geckos was mostly avascular, while Nile monitor bone was highly vascular. Sparrow bone showed one side vascular and the other side avascular. The vascularity was represented by primary vascular canals surrounded by a few irregularly arranged osteocytes inside their lacunae forming primary osteons. Bone tissue from ducks and geese were similar and were composed mostly of dense Haversian tissue, while some areas had primary osteons. Conclusion: The compact bone microstructure in some reptile and bird species lack the typical Haversian system described in mammals. This will be of a great importance in developing a better understanding of long bone anatomy and physiology in different species

Ground Target Detection in Forward Scattering Radar Using Hilbert Transform and Wavelet Techniques

This thesis analyzed the electromagnetic signal scattered from the target crossing the Forward Scattering Radar system baseline. The aim of the analysis was to extract the Doppler signal of the target, under the influence of high ground clutter and noise interference. The scattered Doppler signal was processed by the proposed signal processing techniques to predict the existence of a target for the automatic target detection (ATD) in the FSR system. This thesis is dedicated to the detection of ground target, and for this purpose, a typical car was used as target. Two signal processing techniques, namely Hilbert Transform and Wavelet Technique, were used for target detection. The results gathered in this study showed that the detection using Hilbert Transform was only applicable for some conditions and it was used to confirm the wavelet efficiency in the detection process. Similarly, it was also found that the detection using Wavelet Technique became more robust to higher clutter and noise level. At the worst condition of the scenario, the successful detection rate is more than 75%. This good result suggest that the transmit signal can be as low as possible and open a new horizons for FSR to be applied in real applications for example in Radar Sensor Network and Microwave Fence .Two sets of field experimentations were carried out, and the target’s signal under the influence of the high clutter was successfully detected using the proposed method. Finally, an algorithm for an automatic detection of the ground target detection in FSR is proposed