Rethinking Muslim women’s equal rights: faith, property and empowerment

The pursuit of gender equality and women’s empowerment, especially in parts of the Arab and Muslim world, struggles in the face of several conundrums. How can women’s civil and political rights be strengthened without corresponding attention to their socio-economic rights and poverty alleviation? How could women’s participation in the public sphere be expanded when their private and intra-household leverage remains limited? How could Muslim women’s rights be sustainable through secular discourse in traditional and religious communities? How can innovative formulations of women’s rights be transformed into workable tools and embedded in formal systems for practical gains for Muslim women in complex environments? Recent developments and efforts in the arena of women’s access to resources and property offer some fresh approaches to women’s empowerment

Osmanlı Beylik Dönemi Anadolu'sunda Düşünce ve İlim Hayatı

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Relationship between motivation and physics perceptions of eighth grade students

The aim of the study we are presenting, was to determine the motivation of students towards science and to examine its relationship with their perceptions of physics. In the context of science education, it is important to determine the motivation of students regarding the lessons, considering the positive effect of motivation on learning and achievement. In the research, causal-comparison research design, one of the quantitative research methods, was used. The accessible population were all eighth graders studying in middle schools in the center of Kütahya. The sample consists of 630 eighth grade students from seven different schools. Convenient sampling method was used to select the sample. Data were collected using two different scales in the study. The first one is the Conceptions of Physics Questionaire (CoPQ) (Sharma, Stewart, Wilson & Gökalp, 2013) and the second is the Science Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ) (Glynn & Koballa, 2006). First of all, the adaptation of the CoPQ scale to Turkish was carried out. The translation and adaptation of the CoPQ tool into Turkish was done by the researchers. There are a total of 15 items consisting of two different dimensions in the CoPQ: fragmented and cohesive. There are seven items in the Fragmented and eight items in the Cohesive scale. The Science Motivation Questionnaire aimed to measure their motivation. This scale includes 30 five-point Likert items. This scale consists of six sub-dimensions: intrinsic motivation to learn science, extrinsic motivation to learn science, interest in learning science, determination to learn science, self-efficacy about learning science, and anxiety about science exams. The maximum value that can be obtained from the CoPQ is 75 and the minimum value is 15. With the Science Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ), the highest score that can be obtained is 150 and the lowest score is 30. As a result of confirmatory and explanatory factor analyses, the validity of the measurement tools was proven. The results showed that there is a moderate significant correlation (r=0.49) between students’ science motivation and their cohesive physics perceptions. Moreover, there is a low significant correlation (r=0.14) between students’ science motivation and their fragmented physics perceptions. The direction of these interactions can be examined by applying different control mechanisms with various experimental research. REFERENCES Glynn, Shawn M. & Koballa, Thomas. R., Jr. (2006). Motivation to learn college science. In Joel J. Mintzes and William H. Leonard (Eds.) Handbook of College Science Teaching (pp. 25-32). Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association Press. Sharma, M. D., Stewart, C., Wilson, R., & Gokalp, M. S. (2013). Can a Syllabus Change Impact on Students’ Perceptions of Science? Fragmented and Cohesive Conceptions of Physics. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 9(1), 33-44.

Motivation and metacognitive science learning constructs of eighth grade students

This study aims to examine the relationship between eighth grade students' metacognitive science learning orientation towards science and their motivation towards science. In this study, quantitative research was conducted to determine and analyze the current situation. The causal comparison design will be used as the design of the research. The target population of the research consisted of all eighth grade students studying in middle schools in the province of Kütahya. The sample consists of 590 eighth grade students from seven different schools in the center of Kütahya. In this process, two scales were planned to be used: Self Efficacy and Metacognition Learning Inventory- Science (SEMLI-S) (Thomas, Anderson, & Nashon, 2008) and Science Motivation Scale to measure the motivational attitudes of eighth grade students in their science learning orientation. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to check the construct validity of the scale. At the same time, various descriptive and inferential statistics were performed. The first scale used in the research; SEMLI-S, which is a 5-point Likert type and consists of 4 sub-dimensions, was translated into Turkish in another study (Gokalp & Kirbulut, 2013). The validity and reliability were tested in a sample consisting of students at higher education level and the students were evaluated. In this study, the validity and reliability of the measurement tool were evaluated at the primary education level. The Science Motivation Scale, which will be used in the research, consists of 5 sub-dimensions, and its validity and reliability were tested in a sample consisting of secondary school students and the students were evaluated. In this study, the validity and reliability studies of the measurement tool were also evaluated at the primary education level. The results of the current showed that there is a strong correlation between students’ science motivation and their metacognitive science learning orientations (r=0.69). REFERENCES Gokalp, M. S., & Kirbulut, Z. D. (2013). Investigating pre-service elementary school teachers’ metacognitive science learning orientations. Anthropologist, 16(1-2), 177-184. Thomas G., Anderson D., & Nashon N. (2008). Development of an instrument designed to investigate elements of science students’ metacognition, self- efficacy and learning processes: The SEMLI-S. International Journal of Science Education, 30,1701-1724

Translation and adaptation of “Study Processes Questionnaire for Physics” to the Turkish language

In this study, an aim was to adapt the Study Processes Questionnaire for Physics (SPQP) (Sharma, Stewart, Wilson, & Gökalp, 2013) to Turkish, which is adapted from the Study Process Questionnaire-SPQ (Biggs, 1987) by Sharma et al. (2013). The aim of adapting this scale to Turkish is that there is no scale of study processes suitable for science subjects available for secondary school students in Turkey. Our aim in this study is to use this scale on secondary school students studying in Turkey to measure the processes surrounding how they think about physics subjects, their ways of knowing how to learn and their working methods. The original SPQP scale contains 28 5-point Likert type items administered to university physics students. Its validity and reliability were tested and the results were evaluated. Afterall, 16 items were retained in the scale. Validity and reliability results of SPQP were consistent with SPQ. In the current study, the SPQP was to be used for younger students. Beside changing the language, cultural and environmental differences were taken into account by the researchers. The items were translated into Turkish and carefully assessed by the experts to see if it fit the culture of the country. Expert opinions were taken to ensure unity on the terms. Expert opinion was again consulted to see its suitability for the purpose and target students. At the current stage, the adapted SPQP is ready to be used for a pilot study with about 600 students. This stage will be completed by November and the detailed results and conclusions will be presented. REFERENCES Biggs, J. B. (1987). Student Approaches to Learning and Studying. Australian Council for Educational Research. Camberwell, Vic. Sharma, M. D., Stewart, C., Wilson, R., & Gokalp, M. S. (2013). Student Approaches to Learning in Physics-Validity and Exploration Using Adapted SPQ. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 8(2), 241-253

Fuzzy Simulated Evolution Algorithm for Topology Design on Campus Networks

The topology design of campus networks is a hard contrained combinatorial optimization problem. It consists of deciding the number, type, and location of the active network elements (nodes) and links. This choice is dictated by physical and technological constraints and must optimize several objectives. Example of objectives are monetary cost, network delay, and hop count between communicating pairs. Furthermore, due to the nondeterministic nature of network traffic and other design parameters, the objectives criteria are imprecise. Fuzzy logic provides a suitable mathematical framework in such a situation. In this paper, we present an approach based on Simulated Evolution algorithm for the design of campus network topology. The two main phases of the algorithm, namely evaluation and allocation, have been fuzzified. To diversify the search, we have also incorporated Tabu Search-based characteristics in the allocation phase of the SE algorithm. This approach is then compared with Simulated Anealing algorithm, which is another well-known heuristic. Results show that on all test cases, Simulated Evolution algorithm more intelligent search of the solutions subspace and was able to find better solutions than Simulated Anealing

Controlled access to cloud resources for mitigating economic denial of sustainability (EDoS) attacks

Cloud computing is a paradigm that provides scalable IT resources as a service over the Internet. Vulnerabilities in the cloud infrastructure have been readily exploited by the adversary class. Therefore, providing the desired level of assurance to all stakeholders through safeguarding data (sensitive or otherwise) which is stored in the cloud, is of utmost importance. In addition, protecting the cloud from adversarial attacks of diverse types and intents, cannot be understated. Economic Denial of Sustainability (EDoS) attack is considered as one of the concerns that has stalled many organizations from migrating their operations and/or data to the cloud. This is because an EDoS attack targets the financial component of the service provider. In this work, we propose a novel and reactive approach based on a rate limit technique, with low overhead, to detect and mitigate EDoS attacks against cloud-based services. Through this reactive scheme, a limited access permission for cloud services is granted to each user. Experiments were conducted in a laboratory cloud setup, to evaluate the performance of the proposed mitigation technique. Results obtained show that the proposed approach is able to detect and prevent such an attack with low cost and overhead. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Anticancer activity of aqueous myrrh extract alone and in combination with cisplatin in HeLa cells

Purpose: To study the impact of an aqueous myrrh extract on the proliferation of cervical cancer cells in vitro.Methods: First, 100 g of ground myrrh resin was boiled in 1000 mL of distilled water for 30 min. Different components of the decoction were identified using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography. The effects of high (20 μg/mL) and low (10 μg/mL) concentrations of cisplatin, serial concentrations of myrrh (20, 40, 60, and 80 μg/mL), and a combination of both were evaluated using cell proliferation assay, DNA fragmentation, and electron microscopy.Results: All four myrrh concentrations decreased the viability of HeLa cells (16.25 % p < 0.01). A significant further decrease occurred when myrrh was combined with 10 μg/mL cisplatin (11.42 % p < 0.01). This was confirmed by quantifying DNA fragmentation. Ultrastructurally, HeLa cells showed typical apoptosis after treatment with 10 μg/mL cisplatin or a high dose of myrrh. The use of 20 μg/mL cisplatin or the combined therapy resulted in cell necrosis with ruptured cell membranes and autophagosomes. The effect of combined therapy was more lethal than the effect of either of them alone.Conclusion: Myrrh induces apoptosis and autophagy and enhances the activity of cisplatin in vitro. It is potentially a basis for further studies of other types of cancer cell. The clinical use of myrrh in the palliative therapy of human cervical carcinoma might be justified.Keywords: Cervical cancer, Cell viability, Chemotherapy, DNA fragmentation, Myrrh, Cisplatin, Cell ultrastructure, HeLa cell