A Mixed Methods Study of Faculty Perceptions and Self Assessments of Constructivist Teaching Methods at a Regional University in the State of Georgia

The study, A Mixed Methods Study of Faculty Perceptions and Self-Assessments of Constructivist Teaching Methods at a Regional University in the State of Georgia” examined the self-assessments and perceptions of faculty at a regional university in the State of Georgia. The study followed a sequential mixed-methods study with three phases of the study, namely, a quantitative ‘descriptive’ phase, a qualitative ‘bounded case study’ phase, and a mixed-methods phase in a joint display table. The purpose of this sequential mixed methods study was to examine the understanding and implementation of constructivist teaching practices by faculty in their classrooms at a regional university in the State of Georgia. The study consulted a wide range of past literature pertaining to constructivist teaching practices in higher education. The findings of the study will be complementing the body of knowledge of constructivist teaching practices in higher education. Faculty participation was an important factor in this study to bring out their perspectives on constructivist teaching practices in their classrooms. The study involved 34 faculty for the self-assessment survey questionnaire and 12 faculty (out of 34) for the semi-structured interviews. The scores on the survey instrument “the Constructivist Learning in Higher Education Settings Scale (CLHES)” were analyzed using the SPSS 28.0 version. Semi-structured interviews were conducted through the Zoom platform and the interview perceptions were recorded by Audacity 3.0.4 voice recording tool. The transcribed transcripts were analyzed by using the NVivo qualitative data analysis tool. From the open codes and the sub-codes, eight themes were categorized namely, 1. Knowledge construction, 2. In-depth learning, 3. Authenticity, 4. Multiple perspectives, 5. Prior knowledge, 6. Teacher-student interaction, 7. Social interaction, and 8. Cooperative dialogue. A mixed methods joint-display table was used to integrate and present the results obtained from the quantitative and qualitative viii phases. Methodological data triangulation helped to increase the validity of the study by assessing the implementation of constructivist teaching methods in three different phases. The findings of the study support an understanding and implementation of constructivist teaching practices in the classrooms by faculty in their classrooms at a regional university in the State of Georgia

Survival of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, the causal organism of anthracnose disease of black pepper

Survival of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz) Penz., & Sacco the causal organism of anthracnose disease of black pepper was studied at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Trivandrum, Kerala. The naturally infected black pepper leaves and spikes of the variety Karimunda collected from black pepper gardens were buried in soil and another set kept in brown paper bags under laboratory conditions to study the mode of survival of the fungus. Samples were taken from these two sets periodically and plated on PDA. Viable colonies of C. gloeosporioides were obtained up to 90 days in the case of infected plant parts buried in the soil and up to 150 days in the case of infected materials kept in paper bags. The results indicate that the black pepper anthracnose fungus can survive on the infected leaves and spikes or in the soil and hence warrants strict phytosanitation to reduce the disease incidence. &nbsp

Transcultural Diabetes Nutrition Algorithm: A Malaysian Application

Glycemic control among patients with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) in Malaysia is suboptimal, especially after the continuous worsening over the past decade. Improved glycemic control may be achieved through a comprehensive management strategy that includes medical nutrition therapy (MNT). Evidence-based recommendations for diabetes-specific therapeutic diets are available internationally. However, Asian patients with T2D, including Malaysians, have unique disease characteristics and risk factors, as well as cultural and lifestyle dissimilarities, which may render international guidelines and recommendations less applicable and/or difficult to implement. With these thoughts in mind, a transcultural Diabetes Nutrition Algorithm (tDNA) was developed by an international task force of diabetes and nutrition experts through the restructuring of international guidelines for the nutritional management of prediabetes and T2D to account for cultural differences in lifestyle, diet, and genetic factors. The initial evidence-based global tDNA template was designed for simplicity, flexibility, and cultural modification. This paper reports the Malaysian adaptation of the tDNA, which takes into account the epidemiologic, physiologic, cultural, and lifestyle factors unique to Malaysia, as well as the local guidelines recommendations

Prolonged Video Viewing and Emotional Intelligence: An Experimental Investigation on Preadolescents

The present study investigated the nature and extent of relationships between prolonged hours of video viewing and emotional intelligence in preadolescents (n=400). The Video Viewing Questionnaire and BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version were used to measure video viewing habits and emotional intelligence scores. The results revealed that the two gender groups differed significantly in the mean scores. In addition to this overall EQ, a detailed analysis of each component of the scale was also done. The relationship between emotional intelligence and video viewing was found to be stronger in females as compared to males. The findings are explained in terms of the theories associated with the process of child development such as cultivation hypothesis, alienation hypothesis, and social learning hypothesis

Study of crystalline perfection and thermal analysis of zinc cadmium thiocyanate single crystals grown in silica gel

Zinc cadmium thiocyanate ZnCd(SCN)(4) abbreviated as ZCTC is a bimetallic thiocyanate complex that exhibits excellent nonlinear optical property. Single crystals of ZCTC have been grown in silica gel by the process of diffusion. Colorless transparent crystals of size 12 mm x 2 mm x 1.3 mm have been obtained. High resolution X-ray diffraction study was carried out to investigate the crystalline perfection of the grown crystal and the quality of the crystal was found to be quite good. Thermal stability of the grown crystal was investigated by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses. Fourier Transform Infrared spectrum was recorded to confirm the functional groups. Microhardness of the crystal is also studied. Being a nonlinear optical material, a comparative study of its second harmonic generation efficiency with urea has been made