Learners’ perceptions as to what contributes to their school success: a case study

Some historically black schools manage to do quite well despite their circumstances, such as dire poverty. We aim at explicating some of the causal factors regarding the effectiveness of three schools in deep rural  Mpumalanga, South Africa by tapping the perceptions of their learners. Data were collected from learner samples (four girls and four boys from each school, all of them black) by means of semi-structured focus group interviews. The results lead to the conclusion that the perceptions of disadvantaged black learners in this area, with respect to what contributes to their educational effectiveness, may also be understood in terms of hierarchical insights and awarenesses, the ontological basis of which seems to be successful pedagogical dialogue, with mutual acceptance as its fountainhead.Keywords: educational effectiveness; learner perceptions; pedagogicaldialogue; rural South Africa; school succes

Matsuoka Neuronal Oscillator for Traffic Signal Control Using Agent-based Simulation

AbstractMatsuoka neuronal oscillator is proposed to control the traffic signals of an isolated four-phase signalized intersection. The oscillator is a model of central pattern generator (CPG) and has seen various applications in humanoid robots. Matsuoka oscillator was chosen for the traffic signal control because of its stable and predictable rhythmic outputs that exploit autonomously the dynamics of the road system. In this paper, the dynamics of Matsuoka oscillator was described in a set of first-order differential equations and simluated in an agent-based modelling environment. This novel signal control algorithm was validated in a Application Programming Interface (API) function by AIMSUN (Advanced Interactive Microscopic Simulator for Urban and Non-Urban Networks). The results were compared to the performance of the existing traffic system and have shown the potential capability of the proposed algorithm in reductions of vehicle delay time and queues

Effective and empowering communication as an aspect of the training and development of principals

A school manager (principal, administrator, leader) should be keenly aware of the power relations and structures in a school, and also able to apply several communication skills effectively in a range of management contexts for the school to prosper. This article reports on a theoretical investigation into effective communication as well as an empirical study of educators’ views regarding the effectiveness of the communication skills of their school principals. The findings are of such a nature that principals should consider applying a similar survey instrument among their staff and other parties involved in their schools to helping them gauge the effectiveness of their communication skills. It is also recommended that principals consider the use of certain types of social media in their communication with other stakeholder parties.http://apps.ufs.ac.za/journals/dl/system/docs/21/171/1388/07_MoloiETAL.pd