The Effect of Teacher Interactions on Classroom Management in a Montessori Environment

Abstract The investigation was intended to find the effect of teacher interactions on classroom control and management in a Montessori environment. The research was conducted in three Montessori classrooms of early childhood: two primary and one toddler, in a private school. The participants were the lead teachers of each classroom and selected parents who have had two or more children in different classrooms. The data collection instruments used were observations and interviews with teachers, surveys with parents, analyzing student records and student work samples. The data showed that positive teacher interactions and positive usage of language had a great impact on classroom management and negative interactions and poor communications had a negative effect on classroom management. Further, the teachers had better control and management of the classroom if they had more knowledge of Montessori principles and adhered to those guidelines. The result of the research indicates that teachers who had more training, experience and knowledge may have better classroom management and also the capability to work within Montessori guidelines and principles

Burnout of Sri Lankan Prison Officers: Exploring the Prevalence and Correlates

Background: High work demands and low work resources predispose employees to occupational burnout. Burnout of Sri Lankan prison officers has not been studied previously. Prison guards and prison rehabilitation officers are the staff categories who come into regular and direct contact with prison inmates. Aim: The study aimed to describe the prevalence of burnout and its three sub-domains in Sri Lankan prison officers and to explore the personal and work-related correlates of their burnout. Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was carried out in 2017, among 1803 prison officers including 1683 prison guards and 120 prison rehabilitation officers working in 32 prison institutions island-wide. Prison guards were selected using multi-stage stratified sampling, while all the eligible Rehabilitation Officers were included. Self-administered, translated and validated Sinhala version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory – Human Services Survey and a self-developed questionnaire on correlates were used for collecting data. Results: The response rate was 98.53%. Majority of the participants were male (88%) and currently married (80.6%). True prevalence of burnout was 31.1% (95%CI:22.1-40.1). More than one third (37.8% - 95%CI:28.3–47.3) were suffering from diminished personal accomplishment, while over one fourth were suffering from emotional exhaustion (28.6% - 95%CI:19.7–37.5) and depersonalization (26.9% - 95%CI:18.2–35.6). Feeling overburdened by housework (OR–3.9,95%CI:1.6-9.3), working in closed prisons (OR–5.4,95%CI:1.3–21.7), remand prisons (OR–4.9,95%CI:1.2–19.3) and work camps (OR–6.7,95%CI:1.6–28.4), perceived difficulty in shift work (OR–2.4,95%CI:1.4–4.0) and in taking leave (OR–2.8,95%CI:1.5–5.4), work overload (OR–2.1,95%CI:1.1–3.7), poor relationship with colleagues (OR–10.6,95%CI:1.1–103.3) and with families of inmates (OR–4.7,95%CI:1.4–16.0), poor welfare facilities (OR–3.8,95%CI:1.6–8.7) and job dissatisfaction (OR:14.3,95%CI:4.4–46.8) were associated with a higher risk for burnout. Conclusion: Burnout among prison officers is a significant issue requiring prompt interventions including basic and in-service trainings focusing on stress management

The health of young people in Sri Lanka: conducive environment for road to adulthood – a desk review

Investing in young people is considered a high priority for developing a strong foundation for the future and it has higher benefit-cost ratios. Identifying the present environment in Sri Lanka for the health of young people is important for providing recommendations for the future.  This desk review was carried out to review the current environment that is facilitating the health of young people in Sri Lanka. The documents relevant for understanding the current context of policies and strategies on the health of young people were studied. Databases including Google Scholar and PubMed, websites, and documents collected from the experts and key persons were searched. A narrative report with key recommendations was prepared by synthesis of the information extracted. According to the review, there are policies, laws guidelines, and programs in Sri Lanka that address youth health and support access for services and also provide an environment that is conducive for access. These are supported directly and indirectly to the access and provision of the health of youth. There are many positive aspects for youth in the areas of education and health, although there are certain challenges and gaps yet to be addressed. There are very few misleading legal frameworks that prevent youth from accessing sexual health services. Restructuring of school and higher education systems, focusing on a skill-based education system, is an investment that will have a direct effect on promoting the health status of youth. The establishment and strengthening of youth-friendly services will be of utmost importance to improve the status of Sri Lankan youth, addressing the health issues in youth will need inter-sectoral collaboration

TRANSPORT AND SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF LIQUID AND POLYMER ELECTROLYTES

Liquid and polymer electrolytes are interesting and important materials to study as they are used in Li rechargeable batteries and other electrochemical devices. It is essential to investigate the fundamental properties of electrolytes such as ionic conductivity, diffusion, and ionic association to enhance battery performance in different battery markets. This dissertation mainly focuses on the temperature-dependent charge and mass transport processes and ionic association of different electrolyte systems. Impedance spectroscopy and pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were used to measure the ionic conductivity and diffusion coefficients of ketone and acetate based liquid electrolytes. In this study, charge and mass transport in non-aqueous liquid electrolytes have been viewed from an entirely different perspective by introducing the compensated Arrhenius formalism. Here, the conductivity and diffusion coefficient are written as an Arrhenius-like expression with a temperature-dependent static dielectric constant dependence in the exponential prefactor. The compensated Arrhenius formalism reported in this dissertation very accurately describes temperature-dependent conductivity data for acetate and ketone-based electrolytes as well as temperature-dependent diffusion data of pure solvents. We found that calculated average activation energies of ketone-based electrolytes are close to each other for both conductivity and diffusion data (in the range 24-26 kJ/mol). Also, this study shows that average activation energies of acetate-based electrolytes are higher than those for the ketone systems (in the range 33-37 kJ/mol). Further, we observed higher dielectric constants and ionic conductivities for both dilute and concentrated ketone solutions with temperature.Vibrational spectroscopy (Infrared and Raman) was used to probe intermolecular interactions in both polymer and liquid electrolytes, particularly those which contain lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate, LiCF3SO3, abbreviated here as lithium triflate(LiTf). The molar absorption coefficients of &nus(SO3), &deltas(CF3), and &deltas(SO{3) vibrational modes of triflate anion in the LiTf-2-pentanone system were found to be 6708&plusmn89, 5182&plusmn62, and 189&plusmn2 kg mol-1 cm-1, respectively using Beer-Lambert law. Our results show that there is strong absorption by &nus(SO3) mode and weak absorption by &deltas(CF3) mode. Also, the absorptivity of each mode is independent of the ionic association with Li ions. This work allows for the direct quantitative comparison of calculated concentrations in different samples and different experimental conditions. In addition, this dissertation reports the temperature-dependent vibrational spectroscopic studies of pure poly(ethylene oxide) and LiTf-poly(ethylene oxide) complexes.A significant portion of this dissertation focuses on crystallographic studies of ketone-salt (LiTf:2-pentanone and NaTf:2-hexanone) and amine-acid (diethyleneamine: H3PO4, N,N'-dimethylethylenediamine:H3PO4, and piperazine:H3PO4) systems. Here, sodium trifluoromethanesulfonate, NaCF3SO3 is abbreviated as NaTf. As model compounds, these systems provide valuable information about ion-ion interactions, which are helpful for understanding complex polymer systems. During this study, five crystal structures were solved using single X-ray diffractometry, and their vibrational modes were studied in the mid-infrared region. In the secondary amine/phosphoric acid systems, the nature of hydrogen-bonding network was examined

Evaluation of a Community-Based Program That Integrates Joyful Movement Into Fall Prevention for Older Adults

Background: Despite the development of evidence-based fall-prevention programs, there remains a need for programming that will engage older adults in real-world settings. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate a community-based group program that integrates joyful movement into fall prevention. The curriculum emphasizes a positive experience of movement, cultivating a healthy body image, and retraining of biomechanics. Design: Program evaluation was conducted using a one-group pre–post test study design. Key outcomes were functional balance and confidence. Qualitative feedback was gathered at the final class sessions. Results: Two hundred fifteen older adults enrolled at four sites over the period from 2010 to 2014. Among 86 participants who provided feedback, most credited the program for an increased sense of optimism and/or confidence (70%), and better walking ability (50%). Among 102 participants who completed both initial and final assessments, there was evidence of significant improvements on the Functional Reach Test ( d = .60, p < .001) and Modified Falls Efficacy Scale ( d = .17, p < .001). Conclusion: A joyful movement curriculum is acceptable to older participants, and they show improvements in functional balance and confidence. Future research should examine whether the positive changes encouraged by joyful movement lead to lasting reductions in fall risk and additional health benefits

Type 2 diabetes in Sri Lanka : Genetic epidemiology and periodontal association.

Prevalence rates of type 2 diabetes and impaired fasting glyceamia (IFG) in Sri Lanka are high and an increasing number of people are succumbing to disease. Identifying people at risk of developing complications is a healthcare priority of the county to prevent morbidity and mortality. Type 2 diabetes is familiarly aggregated and maternal influence for disease transmission has been observed in European countries but not in South India. The severity of periodontitis is reported to be high when diabetes control decreases but data relating to periodontitis as a complication of diabetes is not present in this population. Periodontal associated genotype (PAG), presence of allele 2 of both {ILIA (+4845) & IL1B (+3954)}) is positively associated with periodontal disease in some populations but ruled out in other populations. Heightened levels of TNF-? level have been observed in both patients with type 2 diabetes and periodontitis.This study aimed to determine familial aggregation of type 2 diabetes and parental influence of disease transmission in the Sri Lankan population. The project also aimed to investigate periodontal status in diabetic patients and the effect of glycaemic control on periodontal status. The final aim of the project was to investigate the role of cytokine polymorphisms PAG and TNFA (-308) in association with periodontitis in people with type 2 diabetes.Family history data for one thousand patients was collected and analyzed. Subjects with established diabetes were recruited to the periodontal study (n=285) with an age and sex matched control population (n=72). All subjects underwent both periodontal and general health examination. Their periodontal parameters and metabolic parameters were measured including blood pressure, TG and LDL values. Patients were genotyped by PCR/RFLP method.The results of the study indicated that 59.4% of the diabetic subjects had at least one affected first degree relative in the family. It was also observed that 15.6% of mothers transfer the disease compared to (12.5%) of fathers (p 4mm, PD >5mm and maximum loss of attachment (LOA) scores than the non diabetic population (p0.05). Subjects with periodontitis were significantly older than those with gingivitis or periodontally healthy (p0.05). The percentage of PAG (12.5%) is low compared to Caucasians but higher compared to Chinese population. TNFA (-308) allele distribution had no significant effect on periodontal status. TNFA (-308) genotypes were significantly correlated with HDL.The results of the present study indicate that type 2 diabetes is familiarly aggregated in the Sri Lankan diabetic population and maternal excess is observed in the transmission pattern. There is a trend towards periodontital status to be higher in the diabetic population. Severity of periodontitis is higher in people with diabetes than those without and there is an indication that periodontitis may induce hyperglycaemia. PAG distribution shows population variation and the TNFA (-308) polymorphism may be associated with diabetes

A comparison of erect weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing radiography of the cervical spine in non-trauma patients

Introduction: Various positioning techniques are utilized to enhance the visualization of lower cervical vertebrae on lateral radiographs. However, the effectiveness of these techniques still remains unclear. This study was conducted to determine the effect of the weight-bearing (WB) technique in visualizing lower cervical vertebrae and cervicothoracic junction (C7-T1) on standing lateral cervical radiographs of adult non-trauma patients. The study was conducted using both computed radiography (CR) and digital radiography (DR) systems. Methods: Forty-four CR (29 WB and 15 non-WB – NWB) and 61 DR (26 WB and 35 NWB) lateral C-spine radiographs were prospectively evaluated to assess the visible number of cervical vertebral bodies and C7-T1 junction. The instructions given by the radiographer to the patient for the imaging procedure were also assessed on the Likert scale (very good, good, fair, poor, very poor). Results: There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the visualization of the number of vertebral bodies between the two techniques of WB and NWB for CR or DR. Further, no significant relationship (p > 0.05) was observed between the WB technique and the visualization of C7-T1 junction in DR systems. However, a significant difference was identified for CR (p = 0.012). The instruction given to the patient significantly correlated with the visibility of the lower C-spine region within each group of WB and NWB in both imaging systems. Conclusions: The visibility of the number of vertebral bodies in the lower C-spine region in either CR or DR systems did not demonstrate any enhancement with the WB technique. Regardless of the imaging system or techniques used, adequate instructions given to the patient before and during the imaging procedure of C-spine lateral radiography demonstrated a significant improvement in visualizing the lower C-spine region. In this preliminary study, the application of erect WB radiography technique in evaluating the lower cervical region of adult non-trauma patients gives limited advantage

Lessons learned from the COVID-19 response in Sri Lankan hospitals: an interview of frontline healthcare professionals

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic revealed the lack of preparedness in health systems, even in developed countries. Studies published on COVID-19 management experiences in developing countries, including Sri Lanka, are significantly low. Therefore, lessons learned from pandemic management would be immensely helpful in improving health systems for future disaster situations. This study aimed to identify enablers and barriers to COVID-19 management in Sri Lankan hospitals through healthcare workers’ perceptions.MethodsFrontline doctors and nurses from different levels of public hospitals were interviewed online. Both inductive and deductive coding and thematic analysis were performed on the transcribed data.Result and discussionThis study identified four themes under enablers: preparing for surge, teamwork, helping hands and less hospital-acquired infections. Seven themes were identified as barriers: lack of information sharing, lack of testing facilities, issues with emergency equipment, substandard donations, overwhelmed morgues, funding issues and psychological impact. These preparedness gaps were more prominent in smaller hospitals compared with larger hospitals. Recommendations were provided based on the identified gaps.ConclusionThe insights from this study will allow health administrators and policymakers to build upon their hospital’s resources and capabilities. These findings may be used to provide sustainable solutions, strengthening the resilience of the local Sri Lankan health system as well as the health systems of other countries

Penguatan Modal Sosial dan Komunikasi bagi Relawan Guru Pendidikan Agama Kristen di Salatiga Jawa Tengah

Badan Kerja Sama Antar Gereja (BKGS) di Salatiga merasa prihatin dengan pelayanan pendidikan agama Kristen di beberapa Sekolah Dasar (SD) baik SD Negeri maupun swasta di kota Salatiga yang ternyata masih memiliki kekurangan guru. Persoalan kurangnya guru PAK khususnya di tingkat Sekolah Dasar inilah yang kemudian BPGS merekrut sukarelawan guru Pendidikan Agama Kristen (PAK). Penyelenggara Bimas Kristen Salatiga menginformasikan bahwa sejak bulan September 2018 terdapat 12 SD yang tidak terlayani pendidikan agama bagi para siswa yang beragama Kristen dan 8 SD yang tidak terlayani pendidikan agama bagi para siswa yang beragama Katolik. Sebagai sukarelawan guru-guru tidak digaji selayaknya, hanya berdasarkan sukarela dari sekolah dimana mereka mengajar. Untuk itu, agar para relawan guru ini tetap dapat menjadi guru yang profesional diperlukan suatu workshop kompetensi dan untuk meningkatkan rasa keterpanggilan serta rasa kebersamaan diperlukan kegiatan spiritual dan sosial. Untuk itu dilakukan workshop penguatan modal sosial dan komunikasi bagi para relawan guru dengan tujuan para relawan guru menyadari akan pentingnya modal sosial sehingga memiliki semangat untuk terus menguatkan modal sosial yang dimiliki dan juga menerapkan komunikasi yang komunikatif serta produktif. Metode yang digunakan yaitu dengan permainan edukatif, interaksi, dan workshop. Dari kegiatan yang sudah dilakukan para guru menyatakan memiliki manfaat terhadap materi yang sudah diberikan dan memperkuat modal sosial dalam melaksanakan tugas nya sebagai relawan guru PAK yang sedang dijalani, serta dapat memahami komunikasi yang efektif untuk diterapkan pada saat melakukan pengajaran dan pendampingan murid PAUD.The Inter-Church Cooperation Agency (BKGS) in Salatiga is concerned about Christian religious education services in several elementary schools (SD), both public and private elementary schools in the city of Salatiga, which apparently still have a shortage of teachers. The problem of the lack of PAK teachers, especially at the elementary school level, is what BPGS then recruits for volunteer Christian Religious Education (PAK) teachers. The organizers of the Salatiga Christian Community Guidance informed that since September 2018 there have been 12 elementary schools that have not served religious education for Christian students and 8 elementary schools that have not served religious education for Catholic students. As volunteers, teachers are not paid properly, only on a voluntary basis from the school where they teach. For this reason, so that these teacher volunteers can still become professional teachers, a competency workshop is needed and to increase the sense of calling and a sense of togetherness, spiritual and social activities are needed. For this reason, a workshop on strengthening social capital and communication was held for teacher volunteers with the aim of teacher volunteers realizing the importance of social capital so that they have the enthusiasm to continue to strengthen their social capital and also apply communicative and productive communication. The method used is educational games, interactions, and workshops. From the activities that have been carried out, the teachers state that they have benefited from the material that has been given and strengthen social capital in carrying out their duties as PAK teacher volunteers who are being undertaken, and can understand effective communication to be applied when teaching and mentoring PAUD students

Bone health in childhood and adolescence: an overview on dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scanning, fracture surveillance and bisphosphonate therapy for low-middle-income countries

Bone accrual in childhood determines bone health in later life. Loss of bone strength in early life can lead to increased morbidity and reduced quality of life in childhood and adolescence. Increased availability of assessment tools and bisphosphonate therapy, together with increased awareness on the significance of fracture history and risk factors, have led to greater opportunities, to improve detection and optimize management of children and adolescents with bone fragility globally, including those in lower resource settings. Bone mineral density z-scores and bone mineral content are surrogate measures of bone strength, which can be measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), in growing individuals. DXA can aid in the diagnosis and management of primary and secondary bone fragility disorders in childhood. DXA helps evaluate children with clinically significant fractures, and monitor those with bone fragility disorders, or at high risk for compromised bone strength. Obtaining DXA images can however be challenging, especially in younger children, due to difficulty in positioning and movement artefacts, while paediatric DXA interpretation can be confounded by effects of growth and puberty. Furthermore, access to DXA facilities as well as appropriate paediatric reference norms and expertise for interpretation, may not be easily available especially in lower resource settings. Pediatric bone experts are now placing increasing emphasis on the fracture phenotype and clinical context to diagnose osteoporosis over bone mineral density (BMD) by DXA. Low trauma vertebral fractures are now recognized as a hallmark of bone fragility, and spinal fracture surveillance by either conventional lateral thoracolumbar radiographs or vertebral fracture assessment by DXA is gaining increasing importance in diagnosing childhood osteoporosis, and initiating bone protective therapy. Furthermore, it is now understood that even a single, low-trauma long bone fracture can signal osteoporosis in those with risk factors for bone fragility. Intravenous bisphosphonate therapy is the mainstay of treatment for childhood bone fragility disorders. Other supportive measures to improve bone strength include optimizing nutrition, encouraging weight bearing physical activity within the limits of the underlying condition, and treating any associated endocrinopathies. With this paradigm shift in childhood osteoporosis evaluation and management, lack of DXA facilities to assess BMD at baseline and/or provide serial monitoring is not a major barrier for initiating IV bisphosphonate therapy in children in whom it is clinically indicated and would benefit from its use. DXA is useful, however, to monitor treatment response and optimal timing for treatment discontinuation in children with transient risk factors for osteoporosis. Overall, there is lack of awareness and paucity of guidelines on utilizing and adopting available resources to manage paediatric bone disorders optimally in lower-resource settings. We provide an evidence-based approach to the assessment and management of bone fragility disorders in children and adolescents, with appropriate considerations for lower resource settings including LMIC countries